What's this?!

This was a fun quilt to finish just before Christmas!  It came to us from Slidell, LA, just outside New Orleans.  You may recognize the theme print from the 1993 animated movie by Tim Burton, "The Nightmare Before Christmas".  While we had it to work on we listened to "What's this" as we decided upon the right quilting pattern.  The quick and easy blocks play off the movie and we wanted a pattern to suit. Our only direction from the customer was edge to edge style quilting and "surprise me" for the pattern.  We went for a fun pattern that combined all sorts of shapes and patterns.  While the last photo shows detail better, I couldn't resist sharing the overall finished product immediately below.

If you look closely, you will see the purple binding used to finish this quilt.  A perfect compliment that shows up better in person. 

Though the quilt measures 64" x 85", it only took three hours to quilt on the long arm.  The quilting pattern isn't very dense nor is the pattern complicated. White was used on the front to contrast against the medium and dark blocks set around the theme fabric.  White thread was also used on the bobbin so the quilting would show up nicely on the dark backing. The photo doesn't capture the mottled back very well, but in person the thread really contrasts nicely. The entire Circle Meander pattern can be seen below.

Maybe in 2018 TGQ can hire a real photographer! 

I liked the pattern and asked the quilter about it.  I had to laugh because she had the pattern on hand but said she didn't follow it exactly.  I told her no good quilter ever does!!  We have had several pieces dropped off that were "modified".  Below is a close up of the blocks and it looks just fine!

The quilting pattern is as fun as the top pattern and the fabric!

Because the last journal entry was lengthy, here's a shorty!!  We hope Jack Skellington is okay with that!

Merry Christmas from The Gentleman Quilter!!