Scrappy Rainbow Quilt: Finished

Please excuse the excessive amount of pictures in this post!  I started snapping, and just couldn't stop...and then couldn't decide which I liked best, so I included most of them all!  

I am so incredibly happy with how this quilt turned out, I just love the controlled scrappy-ness (yes, I think that will be my made up term for describing this quilt).  This was really my first attempt at any sort of improvisational piecing, by just sewing random fabric scraps together and cutting them into squares.  I love the randomness of the centers of each block, but the borders that are consistent throughout the quilt give it some order as well.

The finished quilt measures approximately 60 inches x 76 inches, the perfect cuddle on the couch quilt.  This quilt is definitely a keeper, I don't think I could give it away if I tried.

When I put the quilt back together I was really unsure of it...it just seemed a little bit...much.  I am affectionately referring to this as my Rainbow Brite quilt back (doesn't it remind you of one of those Rainbow Brite dolls from the 80s??)  But I love it.  I used most of the solid colors from the front in varying widths to make up the back.  

As for the quilting I stepped outside of my typical free motion designs (stippling, and newly found loops) and did kind of a boxy maze type of quilting.  I didn't intend on it being so heavily quilted, but thats how it turned out.  I used a record 10 bobbins and almost a whole huge economy spool of Gutterman white thread to quilt this!  Needless to say my shoulders were a little sore from quilt wrangling this on my machine.

I just love how the solids on the back make the quilting so visible.  I took everyone's basting advice and was super picky, bordering on neurotic about getting my quilt back taped down to the floor near perfectly.  I used basting spray in between each layer and used pins on the corners of each block to keep everything in place when wrestling with the quilt while quilting.  It worked!  Thanks everyone for  sharing your tips and tricks!  I had one minor pucker on the back, which if you look close enough on the above picture you can see in the middle of the green, but I figure after a trip through the washer and dryer and crinkling up, it won't even be noticeable.  

A few parting shots and a good shot of the binding.  I really struggled picking a binding, I knew I wanted a print with black, as the quilt itself was so colorful.  I had a black and white pin dot picked out, but I found this black with skinny stripes in pinks, oranges and whites at Joann's, and decided this was it. 

As the weather is finally turning warmer in these parts, I may have to turn the AC down so I can snuggle with this quilt on the couch!