Goldfish-a-swimin'

This quilt was made for a friend’s 40^th birthday!  I had such a great time piecing this quilt.  He picked out all the fabrics (actually bought them as well).  I love the color scheme of this quilt. 

He planned to use this quilt in his basement so it is backed with flannel.  Flannel is a bit tricky for backing as it does seem to have a bit more stretch.  Because of that I pieced the back more than needed to give me anchors. 

The entire top is free stitched.  I ditched and stippled the center of each square freehand.  Then, I outlined each square and stippled the white/goldfish fabric.  I freehand ditched the border and stippled it, with matching thread.  Then, I went back to each square and with my handy dandy chalk pen I marked two lines for straight stitching, that I also did freehand.

Did I mention that I love to quilt freehand?!  I find that it is so much more enjoyable as it gives me complete control of everything including stitch length.