Pflaumen Quilt Reflections

Originally published in Patreon, July 15 2021

I've said before that I'm not a monogamous quilt maker, but I wonder if I should expand on that. The truth is that I am a slow decision maker when it comes to quilts, so while I work relatively fast in the moment my quilts take a long time to finish. I don't like to rush or make rash choices if I am not sure of my decision, so I frequently put unfinished quilts away and start another one while an idea is percolating. This quilt is sort of the perfect example of my quilting process. 

I began the quilt in late October 2020. Cutting and piecing took place over a couple of days. In the middle of my documentation photos I found that snap of purple cabbage, pink turnips and a lemon all ready for the compost- my winter veg palette in action and definitely informing this quilt :) I was really trying to eke out the biggest top I could from some oddly shaped scraps, which gave me the chance to play a bit with that little green corner and a couple of more subtly pieced rectangles within the quilt. The process of making the top was pretty chill but then I could not wrap my head around how I wanted to quilt it so I put it away and let my brain ferment on it for a while. I even made a small wall quilt to test out some ideas for quilting and binding (and to use the rest of the scraps, because I was not nearly over that palette!).

I thought about quilting the quilt in pale green linen- I even bought the thread. But I had decided to try a new batting (much thicker than my usual) and the combo of the rough (pre-washed) linen thread and the thicker batting was not my jam. I tried tying the quilt- I envisioned it covered in purple nubs of wool, which I thought would be beautiful. But again, it wasn't compatible with the batting (have you ever bruised your fingertips? It hurts!). Eventually I remembered some gorgeous purple thread that my friend Kayla gave me from her trip to Thailand and I gave that a go with great success. I quilted the quilt quite traditionally- on either side of each seam. The close quilting along the seams paired with the space in the center of each rectangle makes for a really pleasing texture in the finished quilt. 

After quilting I found myself totally stuck. I couldn't decide on a binding, so again I put the quilt away. I had been working on a few others at the same time and the bindings I chose for them started to sprout into an idea for this one. After a quick gut-check with my pal Lucy I felt affirmed that green was the right choice and I cut my binding from a pair of green linen pants I had picked up at the unofficial flea market in our neighborhood. 

I don't consider a quilt finished until it has been washed (on cold, with a mild detergent) and dried (as close to tumble try as our building's dryer offers, plus a dance in the breeze on the fire escape). When I pulled the quilt out I was blown away by the texture- that frustratingly dense batting had bloomed into totally divine, squishy fluff. I also realized, to my gut sinking horror, that three of the squares had bled dye onto the back. After mentally kicking myself for not testing the scraps for colorfastness I sewed on the tag and put the quilt in time out while it rained too hard for photographs. Revisiting the quilt a few days later I found the staining to be almost invisible on the busy back (the front is unscathed) and I decided I was not a total amateur and could still sell the quilt. 

9 months start to finish!

You can see more pics of the finished the quilt here and read a little more about it if you'd like!