a silk quilt top

On the subject of quilting, I remember an unusual quilt top I bought a few years ago.

Knowing almost nothing about quilting, I was surprised to discover from Anna's blog that quilt tops can be found in thrift shops and on ebay. I did not know this!   (dumb as it sounds)  Well, it gave the idea of quilting a greater appeal to me, with the fussiest part already done by someone else, so I started trolling the internet looking at inexpensive quilt tops.

One day I happened upon a silk one from an estate sale, with the beginning bid at .99!  I liked it - and I immediately thought of my friend, Cyndi, who loves silks and velvets.  I thought it would be a great surprise if I made her a silk quilt for Christmas. I got it for only $10, but when it arrived, it was so unexpectedly heavy, and I wasn't sure if I should go ahead with it.

A year later, I told myself to just do it.  Each square was backed with sheeting, which was the cause for the weight, and which also made it very sturdy.

Very well done!  I wanted to back it with something which seemed the opposite of something silky, and found in my stash, some pink flannel with little lavender flowers in it - a sort of wallpaper stripe. There were many colors in the quilt top, but it looked like pink was the most prevalent.

Purple shades were also common, so I got some corduroy for the binding.

I tied it in each corner with 2 or 3 strands of embroidery floss, but then I realized that the quilting wasn't close enough in some places, so after asking advice from others on a sewing forum, it was Anna who suggested the little circles in the centers of the squares. I used the eyelet cam on my sewing machine buttonhole attachment, and had fun changing thread many times to match it with surrounding fabric.

I include so many pictures here because the designs are so varied.

It was later brought to my attention that it might not be real silk, and in order to find out I'd have to do a burn test. But it was all right with me either way - it's a very interesting piece, and Cyndi - who, I should point out, sews much better than I - really liked it, and could appreciate the work I put into it.

A one-of-a-kind quilt for an unusual friend. And my first experience with quilting!