African Village Quilt--Completed.

by Judy Tucker

Here's my completed African Village Quilt.  It measures 40 x 57 inches. 

African Village Quilt

African Village Quilt

I recently took Jacquie Gering's Craftsy course, "Creative Quilting with your Walking Foot."  She had some great tips and suggestions about using the walking foot for quilting.  I used echoing in, radiating designs and straight quilting using a variety of specialty stitches on my domestic sewing machine. It was lots of fun to use her techniques.  

The echoing in stitching is in the setting triangles in the upper strip of diamonds. 

Here is a detail of radiating quilting on a roof. 

Radiating quilting done with walking foot on the hut roof,  Free motion quilting used to create grasses and heat swirls. 

Radiating quilting done with walking foot on the hut roof,  Free motion quilting used to create grasses and heat swirls. 

I used Jacquie's suggestion of using the Bernina specialty stitch #4, the serpentine stitch, to make the current in the river blocks. She said that this stitch is intended for use in garment construction making lingerie which needs to stretch!  Doesn't it make a lovely river current?

Bernina Stitch #4 to make the waves in the river blocks.  Free motion quilting to make the stream pebbles and swirls around the women.

Bernina Stitch #4 to make the waves in the river blocks.  Free motion quilting to make the stream pebbles and swirls around the women.

I also used the serpentine stitch to make the smoke coming out of the chimney in the central hut. 

Central hut showing serpentine stitch for smoke.  Also note the straight stitching done on the focus fabric blocks adjacent to the block and on the hut walls.

Central hut showing serpentine stitch for smoke.  Also note the straight stitching done on the focus fabric blocks adjacent to the block and on the hut walls.

 

There are also lots of straight stitching using the walking foot throughout the quilting. 

Straight stitching with the walking foot and 2 decorative stitches in the outer quilt border.

Straight stitching with the walking foot and 2 decorative stitches in the outer quilt border.

You'll also see free motion quilting on this quilt.  I used it to make heat currents, pebbles and grasses and other vegetation. 

This quilt was a lot of fun to make and to quilt.  

Note 2021: For those of you returning to the post, the free pattern no longer is available. I wrote it so long along that the files weren’t intact and no longer secure.

Thanks to everyone who did use the old pattern to make a quilt! I hope you enjoyed the process.

African Village Step 6--making the back and label

by Judy Tucker

NOTE 2021: The PDF patterns for this quilt are no longer available so the links to them have been deleted. I’ve left the other instructions in case you still have the original patterns.

The top of the African Village Quilt is done!   Great job.  Now it's time to make the back. 

Back of the African Village quilt

Back of the African Village quilt

I had left over triangles from the setting blocks and corner blocks from the diamond strips on the front of the quilt.  I also had some triangles which I cut for the quilt and then decided that I liked other fabric better.  So I decided to make a strip back for my quilt. 

You will need a backing that measures at least 48 x 65 inches.  This will give you a 3 1/2-4 inch overhang.  If you plan to send it out to a long-arm quilter you may need it a bit larger.

I used fabrics for the strips that are in the quilt top and I varied the width of the solid color strips  to make the back more interesting.  I also made a few more half square triangles for the strips.  You'll note in the photo above that the half square triangle strips were extended with a piece of background fabric.   If you wanted to, you could just use a couple left over half square triangles and make the strip long enough with other fabrics. 

However you do it, it's all good! 

I really like this back.  It could stand on it's own as a quilt in its own right!

Once you finish the backing, layer sandwich your quilt with top, quilt batting and the bottom. I used a cotton baby quilt batting which measured 46 x 60 inches.

Quilt as desired or send it out to your favorite quilter!   Add a binding once it is all quilted.

And finally make a label.  Here is my label before I wrote on it. I used some selvages from the fabric in the quilt along with a strip from my focus fabric.  It adds a bit more information about the quilt and it's fun!

Selvage label for the quilt

Selvage label for the quilt


Next post…my finished quilt!

Please leave me a comment to let me know how you are doing!