Modern Quilting for Animal Rescue

My previous post for the quilt along with the Free Motion Quilting Project focused on the assembly of my modern style blanket, using mismatched fabrics and wonky square blocks. I also stitched some large scale lines over the surface to divide the blanket into sections for the next step.

This week's exercise was to fill in each of those areas with a different quilting design to complement the ad hoc piecing. I used six different designs, and the three that turned out best were zippling (left), circuit board (centre), and good ol' stippling (right).

Even the stitching that didn't turn out quite as well on its own did end up looking all right as part of the overall design. There is so much to look at that no single area really stands out. I think the visual impact of this technique would translate well to a larger scale - I am keeping it in mind for future bed sized blankets. 

This is the tenth completed blanket in my Snuggles Project series. It will be donated to abandoned cats at a local animal rescue organization at the end of the year. Here is an overall look at the finished project:

Since my blanket is a mini, I used the extra time this week to finalize the first pattern of my Urban Quilt Block series. It is now ready for testing ahead of its release through Craftsy, and I am offering up the opportunity to be a pattern tester!

What does this involve? As a tester, you would be making a quilt block from this pattern at some point over the month of July and providing feedback about your experience. Sharing your creation through a blog or social media is welcome (but definitely not required), and best of all you would be the first person with a fire hydrant to quilt!

The block is composed of about 40 individual pieces and will take a few hours to put together. It finishes at 14" by 12". If you're interested, let me know in the comments below. If there are many awesome volunteers, I will let Mr Random decide.

Update: the fire hydrant pattern is now available HERE!