During fall 2018 International Quilt Market, Karlee Porter...Renowned Longarm Machine Quilter and creator of Graffiti Quilting...announced that she started a fabric company. Not just any fabric company, but a one of a kind, custom printed quilt top company. She has a three fold mission, to give you great quilt tops that are fair trade, eco friendly, and USA made. Go to https://www.honestfabric.com/ to check it out. I thought it was an amazing idea!! I’ve quilted several quilts that are custom printed onto fabric...some of you may be shocked which ones they are...but to be fair to those I quilted for, I won’t tell you which ones. My point, you wouldn’t know the difference. Not everything would be easy or possible to piece. AND, if you’re like me...you don’t love appliqué, yet you love the quilt. So...with Karlee’s debut of Honest Fabric, she decided to do a giveaway. To win you had to tag someone in the comments, and you both had to be following Honest Fabric on Instagram. So...of course I entered, and tagged some quilty friends who I knew would love one, too! And guess what!!!! I WON! I hardly ever win anything. My quilty friend Molly from Molly Lovely Threads was the lucky person that I tagged. Yay!! Thanks Karlee for such an awesome giveaway!!!

So, I was talking to Molly about which design she was going to choose, and she told me her sister Bonny Steele was designing some designs. I saw this yummy striped orange peel in the most wonderful colors, and knew this is what I wanted to pick! This design is available right here... https://www.honestfabric.com/shop/modern-orange-peel-2/

Now let me tell you about this fabric... Karlee said it will be printed on the most soft colorfast polyester fabric, and that’s the absolute truth! I’ve quilted polyester before...not my favorite, but this fabric is seriously so soft and yummy.

To make this quilt even better...I used Hobbs wool batting in it...oh the texture is fabulous!!! The first time that I’ve used only wool in one of my quilts...love love love it!! I’ve used wool for other people’s quilts, or done a double batting in some of my own quilts...never just wool. Now, I may need to do it in every quilt. Haha!! I used a white 30 tex Perma Core A&E thread. I quilt on a Gammill 22” longarm machine, with a Statler. (Computer)

Funny thing... the quilt top is polyester, the backing/binding fabrics are cotton, the batting is wool, and the thread is poly wrapped poly. Lots of different kinds of materials, and yet it turned out this beautiful!!

This quilting design is one of Patricia Ritter and my oldie but goodies... it’s called Bubble Wrap Double Take and is available at https://www.urbanelementz.com/bubble-wrap-double-take.html

This design is so versatile, and it’s available in paper...digital formats...self print...design board...and tear away. All at Urban Elementz.

When I use digital designs, I’m going to try and remember to share the height of the design. I quilted this design at a 1” height. Because each row is only half of the design, it’s a great size.

So, why did I pick this design? I wanted something fresh, modern, curvy like the backing fabric and orange peels on the quilt top...but really, the underlining reason I pick any particular design for a quilt, it’s harmonious. This design fits well with the fabrics and designs, yet doesn’t take away from or compete with the quilt itself. Quilting should always enhance a quilt, not fight for attention. That is my major rule of thumb. What is going to look great now, and still look great in 10...20...30 years. Quilts are treasures and last forever, I think the quilting should too.

I found my perfect backing fabric and binding at https://www.etsy.com/shop/sistersandquilters or https://www.sistersandquilters.com/ Same shop, they just have an Etsy as well as a .com

And...if you read my long post about my Ombré Gems quilt, then you saw my quilt tags. I LOVE THESE!! Custom Labels 4 U made them for me... I got tons for a great price! https://www.customlabels4u.com/

If you want to change it up and order a custom printed quilt top, I highly recommend it!! I look forward to getting more. In fact there are a few that I’ve been eyeing. It’s nice to have something done and ready to quilt. Plus, if you haven’t already taken a look, Karlee has some amazing artists and designers with such an incredible variety. There is something for everyone!!

Happy Quilting!!

- Leisha