my Flower Show on Old Blue

I can't believe I'm finally done with this quilt! I started it it over a year ago as a gift for my mom, but it's one of those things that I just kind of put away for a while. I decided to pull it out and finally finish it because I needed something substantial to quilt on the vintage quilting machine I bought in April, which I affectionately call Old Blue.

The pattern I used is Flower Show by Bill Kerr and Weeks Ringle from the Spring 2010 issue of Quilts and More. It's very easy and perfect for a beginner.

I used a variety of fabrics from my stash in shades of moss and olive green, pink, and aqua, using prints from Pat Bravo, Paula Prass, Joel Dewberry, and some Kona and Bella solids. The back is pieced from leftover scraps.

Old Blue makes a chain stitch, and it's easiest to quilt in a meandering pattern on it. It gives it a lot of texture!

I used one layer of Warm & Natural cotton batting and the quilt's been washed and dried once, but I've never been able to achieve texture like this on my standard machine.

I don't think I did too bad of a job on the quilting, considering that it was my first large quilt on Old Blue. Isn't this texture crazy?!

It's been a learning curve to use the machine, because it doesn't have any feed system. Instead, the fabric moves through the machine by using a hand crank, so it's a whole new way of quilting for me!