Quilt Finish! Navy/Grey/White Half Square Simplicity with Pillows

I have a big quilt finish to share today!

This is for my brother and new sister-in-law who were married in October.  Yes, its a bit late.  We had two weddings in the family this year (five months apart!) and I did wedding quilts for both of them so this one ended up being gifted over the holidays rather than at their fall wedding.  Thankfully they're both great people and it was no big deal.  :)

Their wedding colors were navy and grey/silver.  I stuck with their great colors and chose a simple block in a simple layout and I love the overall look.    

Capturing its true colors in photos has proven tricky - I have a mix of indoor and outdoor photos, in shade and in sunshine.  Its a mix of dark navy and grey prints, and the white is a crisp clean solid for great contrast.

The quilt finished about 75'' by 95'' - large enough to cover the top of a queen mattress and hang over a few inches on each side.  It'll also be happy on a couch with two people snuggled up under it.  :)

I hand quilted this one.  It's been a few years since I last hand quilted a big quilt and it was very enjoyable.  I was determined to gift this over the holidays so I worked on it a little bit every day for five weeks with a little push at the end to finish it.  Most days were somewhere between 15 and 45 minutes of quilting time, usually in the evenings after the girls were in bed.  If I skipped a day I'd make up for it the next day or on the weekend.  Its amazing what you can accomplish in a few minutes a day!  I quilted on two edges of each white triangle so it makes a square 3'' grid all over the quilt.   You can see it a bit better on this side-angle picture.  

The backing is a grey-on-grey print that looks like knitted fabric.  It's a bit of an inside joke because my new sister-in-law is a voracious knitter.  Not exactly a play on words - more of a 'play on fibers'.  You can also see the quilting grid a bit on this photo of the back.   The fact that its not too densely quilted means its soft and snuggly and has good drape.  

I always embroider my initials and the year on big quilts.  This label is extra fun because I added a motif from their wedding invitation as well.  The bride hand stamped all her invitations with this cute love bird stamp so I copied it and added it to the back of the quilt.  

I made two throw pillows to go with it and - if I'm honest - I like the pillows as much as the quilt!  I hand stitched the white lines with perle cotton on solid navy and I just can't tell you how much I love it.  I want to make myself new living room pillows just like it in a myriad of colors.  I can guarantee I'll use the pattern again sometime soon.   I sketched the design on paper and then marked it on the navy fabric with a hera marker (a tool sort of like a bone folder for paper but its for making creases in fabric).  It's a good way to get straight lines without having to remove any markings afterwards.

You'll have to excuse the fuzz in these pictures - I was concurrently sewing a fuzzy trim onto a cape for a Christmas concert and now anything that comes within three feet of the sewing room gets a layer of fuzz.  No matter how many times I vacuum, the fuzz just keeps reappearing!  Nothing like solid navy for showing off the fuzz in the air...

Here they are together... sigh... love it!  

And a few more full-quilt shots with various shadows from surrounding trees...

This last picture also gives a good view of the border fabric - its silver stitching printed on navy fabric (I didn't stitch the swirls).  I quilted the same 3'' grid as the rest of the quilt, just in navy thread to blend in.

Thanks to my helper for holding it up high!  And to the girls for 'helping' hold the side. 

May the quilt be used and loved and snuggled to bits!