My Marcelle Medallion

Welcome to Bloggers Quilt Festival;  it has motivated me to get on and share this quilt which I finished last month.

Just over 3 years ago there was a quilt along for the Marcelle Medallion pattern by Alexia Abegg from her book Liberty Love. It made it on to my must make list and for a while I coveted it and then I got round to buying the book.  Back in February of this year I pulled fabric:

I didn’t end up using much of this fabric but pulling and thinking was all part of the process.

I had so much fun making this quilt, I opted to foundation paper piece the centre rather than deal with ‘Y’ seams:

Some borders were much quicker to choose and add and not just because of their lack of complexity:

It was really enjoyable sorting through my scraps boxes choosing fabrics both colour and low volume for the scrappy borders:  I spent a lot of time on the 6th border, it’s just one print but I was undecided about using the Anna Maria Horner Garden Party Receiving Line (in green apparently!) print that I’ve had in my stash for years (Christmas 2010).  I auditioned a few other prints but in the end the Garden Party won.  It’s not an all over print but with careful cutting I could make the most of the print and it looks similar on each side:
The cross border was a joy to make, I think it was one of things that grabbed me about this quilt.

Hand quilting took a long time but I enjoyed every minute of it: I decided to bind the quilt using a fabric from the top and then had to source some, fortunately I was able to find some at Simply Solids.  As I had hand quilted the check on this print near the centre of the medallion I decided that I would also like to hand quilt the print on the binding!   So I stitched it on to the front of the quilt and spent a number of hours on the long drive to Snowdonia for our summer holiday quilting the print.  Then I spent a few evenings stitching the binding down to the back of the quilt.

We had a great holiday exploring with the children and showing them the farm where my dad was born and grew up, the chapel he attended and the school in Llangollen where he went from the age of 11, boarding in the town as it was too far to travel each day.  High up on the hill above the school is Castell Dinas Bran, it’s a steep climb but well worth it for the views – on a clear day anyway!  We took the quilt up there for a photo shoot:

It was a bit windy but we managed to get some decent photo’s (you can see the cloud in the background):This is a quilt for us to keep, it is my most favourite quilt I have ever made, I don’t think I have enjoyed making a quilt quite as much as this one.  I’m even tempted to start another!

I’m entering this in to the Small Quilts category as it measures 240″ all the way round.  Go on over and check out all the other entries.

I’m also delighted that it’s a finish I can tick off my 3rd quarter FAL list.

Quilt Stats:
Pattern – Marcelle Medallion in Liberty Love
Backing – Viewfinders in Navy from Playful by Melody Miller Cotton and Steel
Binding – Bias Check navy from Doe by Carolyn Friedlander
Wadding – Super-Soft 80/20 by Sew Simple
Quilting – hand quilted by me
Finished size – 60″ x 60″
Made for – me

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