Mendocino Dreams Quilt

Mendocino Dreams Quilt, a photo by jenib320 on Flickr.

IT'S DONE!!! I'm so, so, so happy with how this quilt turned out! I started collecting fabrics for this quilt during the Fall of 2010, so it's been a long time coming! This quilt is based around Heather Ross's last fabric line with Free Spirit, Mendocino.  The colors and the whimsical mermaids are too much for me, I love them so much! I knew I wanted to feature the mermaids so I ended up deciding on scrappy log cabins with the mermaid prints as the centers. 

There are eight Underwater Sister prints and four Presentation Mermaid prints, so I made twenty-four log cabin blocks, featuring each print twice. Each block varied in size, so putting it all together was a whole other adventure! I added strips to make each block 18" tall, then used strips between each block to make each row 96" wide.  It was time consuming, but worth it!

Regrouping, a photo by jenib320 on Flickr.

I used the entire Mendocino line along with tons and tons of other fabrics in coordinating colors. At one point the fabrics for this quilt were being kept in a overflowing laundry basket, to give you an idea of the number of different fabrics in this quilt.  I LOVE mixing fabrics from different collections and I think that's part of why I love this quilt so much. 

Mendocino Dreams Quilt, a photo by jenib320 on Flickr.

Since this quilt is giant at 96"x108", I knew it needed a special long arming treatment. I knew I wanted bubble quilting from pretty early on, and I'm so happy with how it turned out! It was quilted by Lindsay of Eileen Quilts! She did a fantastic job, and was patient and willing to help me make the right decisions on thread, density and design. Thank you for taking such good care of my quilt, Lindsay!

If you're thinking of getting one of your quilts professionally quilted, I encourage you to check out Lindsay's website! She was a real pleasure to work with! :)

Mendocino Dreams Quilt, a photo by jenib320 on Flickr.

Mendocino Dreams Quilt, a photo by jenib320 on Flickr.

Some close-up shots of the quilting! :)

Mendocino Dreams Quilt, a photo by jenib320 on Flickr.

For the back, I wanted to feature the Giant Octopi prints and some of the coordinating prints too.  Since the back had to be so big, I used solids to finish up the sides!

Mendocino Dreams Quilt, a photo by jenib320 on Flickr.

It's bound up in my current binding fabric of choice, voile! This time I used Pastry Line in Saffron by Anna Maria Horner. It's so soft and it's the perfect color of gold-yellow!

Mendocino Dreams Quilt, a photo by jenib320 on Flickr.

In the interest of full disclosure, there was a little mishap yesterday when I washed it.  Even though I used two Shout Color Catchers, I still had some color bleeding.  It felt like the marker disaster all over again! I tried a few different things, including vinegar + detergent, Oxi-clean, and Oxi-clean Max Force spray.  I think the spray helped the most.  It isn't 100% gone, but it is much better than it was (in the above photo!).  I'm not sure what I could have done differently to prevent this (apart from pre-washing all the fabrics). I may try using Synthapol when I wash my smaller Mendocino quilt.  I'm okay with where it's at now, but there were definitely a lot of tears in the last 24 hours! Why is it always the favorite quilts that this happens to!?

Mendocino Dreams Quilt, a photo by jenib320 on Flickr.

I think I can safely say that this is my favorite thing I've ever made. I have been referring to it as my dream quilt, and it couldn't be more true. I think we can also safely say we need a bigger bed! Knowing how much I would end up loving this quilt, I wanted to ensure that we'll never "outgrow it".  So, it may look pretty weird on our double bed, but will look great one day on a queen or king with no problems! :)

For more photos of the finished quilt, the quilt-in-progress, blocks and fabrics, see here.

Happy Quilting!