Zig Zag ROAR!

Whew, two posts in one day!  Exciting stuff!

Anywho, I originally posted about this quilt here.  I've decided to call it Zig Zag ROAR! because the dinosaur print is by far my favorite.  I wish I had more of it so I could have featured it.  It also would have made for a fantastic backing.

I made this quilt almost entirely from the scraps and extra fabric from Sam's Quilt.  The only fabric I purchased was the Kona White, which needed to be added to my stash anyway, so win-win.

For the backing I used some of the fabric I had leftover from the napkins I made my brother and sister-in-law.

I really like the effect of the echo quilting on the back. The white thread blends in pretty well on the front, and then makes a nice, bold statement on the back.  My lines are a bit wonky, though I'd say not too bad for my second quilt.  And I kind of like the effect of the wonkiness...

I made a scrappy binding using all the fabrics from the front.  I was originally planning on spacing each pattern randomly so the binding would be a bit of a hodge-podge, but after laying it out I decided I liked a more organized look better, so I grouped all like patterns together.

I machine bound it (the correct way, this time) using tutorials from Diary of a Quilter and Crazy Mom Quilts.  I found I preferred the no-pinning method when sewing the binding to the front, as suggested in the second tutorial.  I did secure the binding in place with binding clips (no pin pricks, thank you!), but I ended up removing them well before I actually got to that section and pulling the binding around tighter by hand.

I clearly still need to work on precise seams, matched corners and straight lines, but I'd say this is a vast improvement from my first attempt.

I'll be throwing this in the wash tonight and then handing it in to the DC Modern Quilt Guild this weekend for the 100 Quilts for Kids drive.  Word on the street is they're doing a group donation to an outreach center for pregnant women and teens in SE.  This quilt is a bit small - only 34" x 27.5" - but I think it will be a perfect security blanket for some little boy.

(Sidenote: This will be my first Guild meeting and I'm a bit nervous...  I feel too young and inexperienced to be eligible).

Materials: Green with white polka dots, white with green polka dots and solid green Birch Organic Fabrics  mod basics; all other prints JoAnns; white is Kona White