Snowball Quilt in Feather Flock (#50)

A perfect way to showcase large repeat fabrics is with a snowball block.  

 Feather Flock by Tina Givens is rich in saturated colors and harmonizes so well that only a little white is needed to separate all the different patterns and hues.  Some quilts look good with a random placement, but this collection needed similar colors to be grouped together so the weaker fabrics wouldn't get lost.

I used the Accuquilt snowball die, fat quarters and lots of starch.  Once you have had fun cutting out the center pieces, its just routine to do all the corners and iron.  

For all its simplicity in assembly, the final effect of a snowball quilt is a winner every time.  Aurifil 50wt. is my go-to choice to piece & quilt through spray baste, minky & batting.  By following the seam lines and then through the snowball, the finished blanket always looks good front & back.

One of my favorite dimple dot minky's is vanilla - great when I need a 'neutral' to go with a strong colorful quilt top.  A minky & batting blanket is heavier than a traditional quilt, but when I give everyone a choice of backing, they want "that soft fluffy stuff"!   My standard size of maximum 60" wide and no longer than 74" makes it machine wash & dryer friendly. 

Some fabrics are thinner than others but Feather Flock is regular quilting weight and needed a #14 needle to attach the binding.  Sometimes I can get away with a #12,  but after my thread kept skipping I knew it was the needle size, not the Aurifil Dove #2600, which blended well with the Kona Grape Mist. 

Materials:
Feather Flock by Tina Givens (LlamaFabrics)
Kona: White & Grape Mist for binding
Dimple dot minky in vanilla (Fabric.com)
Accuquilt snowball die
Warm & White batting
Aurifil #50wt. White, Light Sand #2000, Dove #2600
Size: 58" x 74"
April 2016