A Grand Reveal - Reverse Rainbow Starburst Quilt...

It's done, it's done and I couldn't be happier!

From this rough idea in my head...

To this finished quilt...

It has taken shape even better than I possibly imagined!

Huge thanks need to go to my Sew & Bee-Happy ladies for helping me make this quilt... Leona, Emma, Allie, Henny, Wendi, Cindy, Judith, Nicky, Kara and Hilary.
I really love the fact that so many of us have made this quilt together!

So what are the final details?

Quilting: I decided to live dangerously when I quilted and use white thread on the front & navy thread on the back. Eeek I was a bit nervous because that left no room for tension error with my free-motion quilting, but I'm pleased to say that it all worked out fine. Phew! I must be improving (or getting to know my machine settings better, one of the two ;) )
I free-motion quilted it using an all over swirly heart pattern. I think I'm getting lazy because that has become my go-to quilting pattern now. I could have done something else, but since the back has rainbow hearts all over I decided to go with the heart quilting too.

You can see a wee sneak of the back in this photo:

Backing: I didn't take a full one of the back since I just used an all over print.
Next time I have the wise idea to use stretch knit for the back of a quilt, just shoot me first!! What a PAINFUL exercise that was and I think I'm running nearly a week behind in jobs now because I procrastinated so much over finishing but I didn't want to take it off my machine...
It just did not want to slide, therefore was super hard work on the shoulders to quilt. Way more work than it needed to be.

Of course I could have done myself a favour and stuck with straight lines - that probably would have worked out ok. But no... I had to go for the free-motion didn't I!
Never.again.
BUT
In saying all that I LOVE the back. The navy fabric with rainbow hearts is just perfect for this quilt which is why I chose it in the first place. It not only compliments the front perfectly but is a perfect choice for a picnic blanket, which is what I plan to use this for.
So alls well that ends well.

I know it's giving some of my friends shivers at the thought of using this as a "picnic" blanket, but honestly 99% of the time that just means something to sit on while we're at the beach, so that we're not sitting straight on the hot sand. This will suit that purpose perfectly, and we certainly won't get lost in a crowd will we ;)

Binding: The binding is perhaps the only part I'm not completely happy with it. I decided to use a rainbow stripe on a white background. I'm kind of wishing I had gone for something in navy like the back to frame it a bit better - or actually I really liked the edges raw and just pinked. But I was a little worried about how that would wear long term with the wadding exposed so wussed out and did binding.
Anyway it's growing on me and I'm sure I'll forget all about liking it better raw very quickly.

We've already used it for 2 picnics and it's been broken in by 2 sets of baby toes...

Finished Quilt:  of course lets not forget the obligatory rolled up pose:

And one more just for luck...

Tutorial for the block is found here...
And as usual if you end up making it from my tutorial I'd love to see your version!! :)

I think this might only be my second finished quilt for the year and the other one I finished on the 1st January!! But a ha... I just finished another today, so watch this space for another reveal...

Linking up with Fabric Tuesday and Show me what ya got...