picnic blanket makeover

I made this very simple and quick picnic blanket/ giant outdoor tablecloth almost a year ago and while we used it a few times as a tablecloth while camping, we never really used it as a blanket. So, I had a "brilliant" idea of giving it a makeover.

Since I used no batting and the two layers were tied together in the original blanket, it was pretty easy to rip it all apart and start from there. I never really liked the old curtains I used as backing, so I decided now was a good chance to make a new, matching one.

Not bad, right? I used some of my very precious Promenade by Denyse Schmidt as a jumping off point and raided my stash for more matching fabric.

I then decided to use very thin polyester batting to make it more cushy and comfortable - I think that was the main reason we were not using it, it simply was not comfy to sit on. 

Quilting this giant, I must say, was a nightmare. I don't think I ever did this much unpicking in my whole life. I first wanted to make some free motion loops but after a few rows of struggling I gave up. It looked bad and my stitches were not uniform at all. I tried another free motion pattern which looked even worse than the first one :(  so I finally switched to my trusty walking foot and did this sort of organic grid. I like how it looks and it was wonderful not to have to mark any lines (I don't like marking quilting lines at all).

 I think this makeover was totally worth all the extra work and I'm sure the blanket will get tons of use now. 

See? Not only will it make a lovely picnic blanket, it works great for rolling down the hills, too. We tried (like a gazillion times) already.

Thanks so much for reading.  Svetlana

Linking up to AmandaJean's Finish it up Friday.