Avant Garde Quilt

Every fabric bundle that enters my sewing room is special to me for one reason or another, but if I have to name my absolute favorite fabric collection that I acquired in the past year, it would definitely be Avant Garde by Katarina Roccella for Art Gallery Fabrics. This entire collection of striking hot pinks, teals, yellows, blacks, and whites in graphic patterns and formations is about as my style as it gets. This is a quilt that I would want to look at all the time, so I decided to make my very first queen-sized bed quilt with this collection.

I'm using the pattern New Waves by Elizabeth Hartman, because it doesn't require cutting the fabric into tiny pieces, and in big bands across the quilt, it really helps the prints to shine and take center stage. I've made this pattern once before in the form of a lap quilt, so this is just a bigger version.

However, since this is a queen sized quilt, I'm very reluctant to quilt it on my midarm. I know people have done king sized quilts on much smaller machines, and I admire that. However, for me, it's probably going to be too painful to be fun. I want quilting to always be fun. But that brings me to a little plan brewing in the back of my head ...

I'm thinking about getting a real longarm! I figured this day would come, but I didn't expect it to come this quickly. I have a tough decision ahead, and I want to try a lot of machines (meaning I'll have to go to a big show where it's all there) so I'm not sure when it'll happen, but as long as that's a possibility, I'll put this quilt top aside to wait for it.