“Fruit Loops”, by Mary Kerr, Quilted by Kelly Cline
Mary Kerr is one of my all time favorite quilters AND she creates the most wonderful vintage tops. I don’t quilt for hire anymore, but maybe Mary enticed me when she sent me photos of this gem. There are just a few tops I can’t pass up, this was one of them! How can you NOT work with bubblegum pink?
Mary ALWAYS puts together the most fabulous vintage tops. She mixes elements of new and old, vintage turned modern in most cases. These parts were from various blocks and fabrics. She told me she had a heck of a time getting those orphaned circles to lie flat!
Once on the frame, I have no problem taming ANYTHING. You can visit my Kelly Cline Quilting YouTube post on the process of quilting a wonky quilt on the longarm.
I work row by row, but I did all the quilting in the blocks before free motion quilting the pink background. Ditch stitching the blocks first will take up some of the excess fabric. Using a little starch and steam will flatten out lots of wobbles.
I used every bit of these rulers to complete this quilt. They each have their purpose. The 9” Slim is great for long ditch stitching, the shorter rulers are good for the small lengths and the Kelly Bean (that’s the curved ruler) is fun for all short curves. They are made small to fit in smaller hands, which is why I designed them! They are available singularly or in my online shop.
OHHH, that texture!
I’m always relieved after I’ve finished the first row. I don’t really plan out a whole quilt, I decide as I go and let the quilt speak to me. (yes, they really have a voice!) Once the first row is done, it sets the design for the rest of the top. Gotta love that texture!!
Duplicating shapes and lines are important elements in design. If you do it in art, then do it in quilting! Lines and curves together are important for balance. The quilted lines give your eye a place to rest after seeing so much movement in the circles, spirals and curves.
Rulers for domestic or longarm quilting can be found HERE in my online shop
One tip when quilting lines, don’t make them equal! Random spaced lines are interesting AND you don’t need to work so hard at making them precise. No one will ever know if you’re ‘off’ a bit because everything is a little off!
A few details about this quilt….I used Glide 40 weight threads in matching colors to the fabrics, two layers of Hobbs batting, 100% wool on top of Heirloom 80/20, and all quilted on my Handi Quilter Forte longarm (completely hand-guided quilting).
The final row! There is no better feeling than finishing a quilt, especially one with so much going on! I quilted this for Mary in August 2020, in the heart of the pandemic. It was great to have projects to focus on at home. I can’t say I’m ever at a loss for projects, but this one was definitely FUN and it’s such a happy quilt!
You’ll find this quilt and many others in an upcoming book of Mary’s, The Art of Make Do Quilting, available HERE (aff link). Isn’t that the BEST title?!!! It’s my favorite kind of quilting, make do with what you have, or find a few unfinished parts and pieces from folks who didn’t get theirs finished! I find it to be the most rewarding job, to finish someone else’s work. I know it’s not for everybody, but I’m glad I found my joy!
You can order Mary’s book HERE (aff link)
I hope you’ve enjoyed the journey of this quilt top. Have a fabulous weekend everyone! This inspires me to shop a few antique shops, I hope you’ll support your local ones as well!—Kelly