Majestic! - Riley Blake Designs Challenge Quilt

Here is my finally finished 2022 Riley Blake Design Block Challenge quilt - Majestic! It is destined for my nephew, who loves to hunt. Gary was born to my oldest brother and his wife when I was 8 years old, so he has always seemed more like a little brother to me. Gary and his family live in Oklahoma, not far from the town where we both grew up. I made a quilt for his wife Shelli back in 2016, and you can read about that here. Gary is the father of Cory, whose wedding quilt I recently made, detailed here.

Pinned to my design board

I really like the blocks presented for the RBD quilt-alongs, and I also made a quilt for last year's challenge, posted here. It is a fun challenge for me because I enjoy the format of one block per week for three weeks, then one week off, and I like almost all the blocks presented by various bloggers. All the fabric requirements and block patterns are parked on one page and easily accessible. It is a well-run QAL, in my opinion. And the next RBD Block Challenge begins on January 3 - details right here!

After finishing the blocks, I was undecided about a layout. I had purchased this deer panel for the back, but after fussing a bit with a layout, I decided to let it be front center and place the blocks around it. I think he looks majestic, hence the name of the quilt. Everything was just too "square", so I decided to set the blocks on point with some dark brown Grunge as setting triangles. This increased the block size from 10-1/4 to 14-1/2 and made for a larger quilt - and that was fine with me.

I wish I had changed out one block - the second one from the left - and redone it with more contrast.

Once the blocks were finished, I needed sashing to make the dark blocks pop. I added 2-inch strips of the background fabric, Decostitch in Cloud, between blocks and around the panel. I had to order more fabric from Fat Quarter Shop (which is here in Texas and came a little faster!)

While I waited, I coaxed Toby off the backing fabric and pieced a backing. that I had purchased from That's So Janice, the Etsy shop of  Janice at Color, Creating, and Quilting. Janice carries older and out of print fabrics for very reasonable prices, and I got 6 yards of this soft paisley flannel for $6.00/yard!

For quilting, I decided on a design that is less dense and fits right into the theme of the quilt - Maple Leaves. Once I finished, I wish I had found a variegated thread to blend, but I am still pleased with the overall effect. I did make mistakes with positioning, and in one spot two of the leaves were about an inch off. I showed it to my husband, and he laughed and said in all his life he had never even looked at the quilting on a quilt and that no one but me would notice! So I left it as is and simply corrected the next row, and he's right - I don't notice it!

My husband suggested the flannel backing as binding, and it turned out to be the perfect choice!

I decided to go ahead and launder it, to make it crinkly and to make sure none of the red fabrics on some of the blocks faded (they didn't). Toby jumped right up afterward and slept there for 2 hours! Gary's daughter (who lives about 20 miles from me) will deliver both The Wedding Quilt as well as this quilt to my nephew when she drives to Oklahoma for Christmas later this week.

Quilt Details:

Front fabrics:

"Close Encounter" panel, artwork by Jack Paluh for Marshall Dry Goods

Decostitch Elements in Cloud by Art Gallery

Various fabrics from stash

Hot Cocoa Grunge by Basic Grey for Moda

Backing and binding:

Vintage flannel paisley by Peter Pan Fabrics

Superior Threads So Fine

Piecing: #503 Genoa Gray and #402 Pearl, both 50 wt

Quilting: #402 Pearl

Binding: #425 Brown Sugar

Quilt Pantograph: 

Maple  Leaves from Urban Elementz

Finished size:

65" by 83" before laundering

63" by 78" after laundering

I am linking up with Joy's Monday This and That and Melva's Sew and Tell!