A LONG Time Coming

It's been a long time coming, I finally sent one of my quilts to a longarmer!! I know! It's crazy that I haven't before...but Ginabean did an AMAZING job!I made the Modern Cross quilt from Modern Log Cabin Quilting by Susan Beal! It's one of my most favorite quilty books and available at all of my LQSs- Sew Original, Studio Stitch and The Little General. I consider it a must own!!I've been wanting to make this quilt since I got the book! I just love it:) I knew I wanted to use Denyse Schmidt fabric. Her aesthetic is the perfect vintage, but still bright feel for a modern log cabin quilt. My background is FreeSpirit Cream. The quilt on the cover is Kona Snow (which I love), but I wanted it a little creamier. I tested out a few backgrounds: Bella Snow, FreeSpirit Artic White, Kona Snow & FreeSpirit Cream. I took photos, but you can't even see the difference (so I'll spare you)!The pattern also called to offset the rows with solid rectangles. I decided I liked the look of the offset rows, but made 1/2 cross blocks instead of the solid rectangles. So I needed 68 different prints. I was (briefly) concerned that I wouldn't have enough prints, but turns out I had 108 different Denyse Schmidt fabrics! My one issue is that the instructions offered no pressing instructions and I hate open seams...so I had to spend some time figuring out how to lock all the seams.Here is the quilt top finished!And the back! The book had this great back design in it. I love it! The design in the book is the opposite with cream everywhere and a print cross, but I didn't want that much cream on my back. I love this print from Hope Valley!!There was a small (major) snafu with the backing. I blindly followed the directions in the book. I realized too late that it was only giving about 1" all the way around of extra fabric. Gina had requested 4". I sewed on a patch. With the patch, I knew my cross would've been off center. I told Gina it would be okay if that happened, but she knows me and knew I'd be disappointed. She's a rockstar quilter and got my cross centered and perfect!! But, if you make it, you'll want to add to the back so your longarmer doesn't cuss you! I'm sure my name was mud for a few minutes there:( The quilt in the book is tied, not quilted, so an inch all the way around does make sense. Live & learn!And my neatly pressed, thread removed quilt top and backing were off to Gina!! She had passed out a really helpful information sheet on how to prepare the quilt top and backing.This is the first moment I saw the amazing quilting!! Gina posted to Instagram:) There was squealing...For the binding, I did scrappy. I wanted the strips to be all different lengths and all different prints. I love it, but one fabric is so much easier!! Binding is always my least favorite part. I don't like making it or sewing it. And the guru is still out of commission to hand sew, so I had to sew it myself:(I love all the different prints! One of my favorite things about Denyse Schmidt is that her different lines all go together. She uses colors that have a hint of grey in them and the palettes blend well. Love her:)The quilting Gina did is perfect!! She used one of her new pantographs. She has a whole library of designs.Here's the full quilt in all its glory! My class for this project starts next week at Studio Stitch. I'm really looking forward to it!xo LC