armstrong wedding quilt

I started making Ashley and Jason a wedding quilt before I was even quite certain I was going to their wedding. It was a primer in sewing with silks. Generally I stick to cellulose fibers in my sewing - with the occasional wool. Though for a few large quilts I have used raw silk (silk noil) but those have all been hand-stitched. The top was pieced with vibrant solid colors - also something a little different from my usual.

I had anticipated making it twice as large but after piecing the first half I concluded that if it were to be any larger it may not be very manageable.

The pieces were sewn together side to side and then the ten block strips sewn top and bottom.

It was kind of tight getting the front and back lined up.  There was really no room to trim the front so I had to make sure the back was big enough.  I used only one layer of batting - I usually double it up - so it made stitching much quicker and easier.  This also helped to preserve the lightness that silk contributes.

I machine stitched down all the strips and then went back to add hand-stitching in line with the diagonals.  At first I was a bit unsure of how to approach the crossing of the diagonals but I just ended up adding a crossing square.  I really like the argyle effect it produced in one line of the pattern.

Machine stitching it also allowed me to take it to Prospect Park to enjoy a sunny Sunday of stitching.

I also enjoyed a bit of stitching waiting for the train.

The binding is a jacquard woven silk - also another first.  I also machine stitched the binding down instead of hand-stitched.  I think this helped to hold the silk together better.  The fabric is a bit finer and more stitching adds security.  I also added a little monogram/inscription to the corner.

It took a ride in the washing machine to get all the sizing off add create all the delicious puckering.

The slate fabric is linen and the lemon is raw (noil) silk.  In the middle there is a thick textural cotton with gold monofilament.  

Much thanks to my quilt models - Rachel and Joshua.

to: Ashley + Jason

*Photo by Mercy Mcnab

Ready to be given complete with gift wrap.

All in all I really love how it turned out and am excited to get experimenting with more silks.