Wedding Quilt... The Finished Edition

I am thrilled to show my finished Wedding Quilt, which has now been delivered to the happy couple.

Last July, I set out to make a quilt for my husband's cousin and her husband-to-be.  I did not know their tastes but thankfully, there was a great description of their preferences on their registry:

We love sea tones and earthy, organic styles. Blues and greens are our favorite. K's ultimate color is turquoise/aqua, and P's first choice is forest green. Our house is "country" as opposed to modern...

Note to future brides: this helped a lot!!!

Here was my first fabric pull.  I added some dark greens and a brown to the mix.

The piecing went together quickly, and before long, I had this: 

 

(Clearly, my front lawn is a popular spot for pictures...)

Then I hit a few stumbling blocks.  I did not want to buy yardage for the backing, but when I looked at the fabric I was thinking of using, it just did not fit.  So I had to piece.  I love a pieced backing, but  I find them quite tedious.  I am still not 100% pleased with the back, but at some point, you have to let it go.

On the bright side, I did get to use two fabulous fat quarters, courtesy of my travelling husband, with scenes of Seattle and Washington State. 

 

I remember thinking, when my husband brought these home "what am I ever going to do with those?"  turns out they are perfect additions to a quilt back for a couple who lives near Seattle!

My second stumbling block was the basting, which I first did on a late night, only to discover tons of puckers the next morning.

Arghhh!  The quilt sat there for a few weeks before I mustered the courage and the energy to remove all those pins and start over.

Finally, I hesitated for a few nights before settling on the quilting design.  Once I got going, I was done in a few evenings.  I used various threads in beige, green, aqua and brown and quilted random wavy lines.

Here is a view of the back where you can see the quilting better: 

This was taken after the quilt was washed.  I love the texture!

As I mentioned in a previous post, I added some trees here and there, quilted the word "love" and "forever" and the bride and groom's names.  I added my initials and the year.  It was my first time quilting words and names, and I really liked this.  These were taken before washing the quilt.

Binding was a breeze, hand stitched during kids sports activities.  I still can't believe my luck for finding this binding fabric after completing the quilt.  It could not have been more perfect!

I ran out of time to make a hand-embroidered label, so I used my machine and free motioned a few words.  Because the names and the date was already quilted, I did not add them to the label. 

Taking pictures of the completed quilt was a difficult task since I had no adult on hand.  I did not thing the lawn shot was adequate, so I enlisted a couple pint size quilt holders:

Good effort, but they are missing a few inches. 

 

So I took my quilt to work, offered to accompany an unsuspecting colleague on her lunchtime errands, waiting for the perfect combination of location and light.  There were nicer spots along the way, but the sun kept hiding at the most inopportune moments.  There's my best shot:

 

 

I enjoyed making this quilt, and I think the recipients like it.

 

I am linking up to TGIFF and Finish Up Friday - hop over to see what other people have finished!

 

Work in progress - 1930s nine-patch

It's not Wednesday but I have a new Work-In-Progress.  I just can't help myself!  So many unfinished projects and yet I had to start another one.

This one is fun, fun, fun.  Squares and rectangles with very little thinking (I am not overthinking any of the blocks, I just grab 2 random sets of 4 and one lone square and just go).  For a long time now, I had been wanting to combine 1930s reproduction fabrics with that green.  You know, that kind of vintage-y mint green that immediately brings you straight back to the past?  I am really liking this so far, and I anticipate the top will be finished in no time.



With two sides of sashing (which I am sewing directly on each block), each block is 12" x 12".   I have made a few more blocks since this picture was taken so I only need a few more to have 6 rows of 5 for a 63" x 75" quilt.  Or maybe I'll go with 7 rows for a nice twin size 63" x 87"

Older 1930s reproduction projects

Since we are talking about the 1930s, let me introduce my earlier projects, all of which are in my daughter's bedroom.  First, her baby quilt :

Which is now on her big bed because Mama's still working on her real big girl bed quilt...

 

Second, a quilt for her babies.  

I once read this tip: when you make a baby blanket, save some scraps and make a matching doll quilt.  I have only done this once, but what a great idea!

Third, a wall hanging for her bedroom and my first attempt at appliqué:

And I am slowly but surely plugging away at this one, a full-size quilt that I am hand quilting:

Despite being quite ready for the hand quilted one to be done, I am not tired of the 1930s type prints. 
With all the stuff that is marketed to/for little girls, I like the innocent simplicity of these 1930s prints and patterns like the Sunbonnet Sue for a little girl's room.

I know I should now quit starting new projects and finish her overdue big girl bed quilt.  I only have so many years before she outgrows these cutesy prints and wants something more grown up.

Have you made anything with 1930s prints?


A Published... Tip!

I have always liked American Patchwork & Quilting magazine, and have been a subscriber in the past, though not for the last couple years.  So I was a little bit surprised when I received a copy of their latest issue in the mail yesterday.  An early Christmas gift from my in-laws, perhaps ?

Once I found a few minutes, I started reading.  Well, I almost fell down from my chair when I saw this tip published:

 

There is a typo in my name, but yes, that is me.  I completely forgot about sending this tip - that was at least 2-3 years ago.  I came up with that idea while working on this quilt for my mom:

Now, here is the full disclosure:

• I forgot about the tip since submitting it, and I have never included a quiz with any of my other gifted quilts.
• In fact, although I did write down the quiz for my mom’s quilt, I don’t think I ended up actually including it when I gave her the quilt.
• Oh and that quilt wasn't technically a scrap quilt - most of the fabrics were newly purchased!

So, there you have it.  You now know that people who submit these tips don’t always practice what they preach.

And a Sewing Space Tip...

Since we are on the topic of tips, I remember also submitting this one: My iron and radio are plugged in to the same outlet, which is operated by a switch.  If the music is on, so is the iron.  It is easy for me to remember to turn off the iron as I leave the room, since it is the same as turning the music off.

My tip was not published - someone beat me to it with something fairly similar - can't remember what exactly.  So, am I following that tip?  The truth is that soon after I wrote that, I reorganized my sewing room, which resulted in the radio being located at the end of the room.  This said, my iron and sewing machine are plugged in to a power bar operated by the same switch as the main light in the room.  Either way, it works.

Well, that's it for my moment of quilty fame.  Now, I am waiting for the hand-picked gift...

 

A New Post about an Old Quilt

Fellow bloggers, what do you think, is it bad blogging etiquette to re-blog about a quilt that one has blogged about before?  Well, before I give you time to respond, I am just going to go ahead and do it.

This quilt was the subject of my second post ever, back when I had about 3 people reading my blog, (including 2 that were related to me).  I had no idea what I was doing and my pictures were terrible.  According to blogger, that post has received a grand total of 35 views.  I am pretty sure 30 of them are from me when I was signed on to someone else's computer.

But this quilt is one of my favourites and I think it deserves a brand new post with nicer pictures !

This is my first real modern quilt.  I fell in love with High Five by Amanda Jean in her and Cheryl's book Sunday Morning Quilts.  This link will take you to a miniature version of High Five made by Amanda Jean.  To make the quilt my own, I made my blocks bigger, tweaked the larger blocks and the layout a bit.  But really, I loved everything about the original, so I wanted the same feeling.  Colour, colour, colour!  This is my happiest and brightest quilt.

Most of the fabrics were scraps.  As you can see, there are very few modern prints, but the result is still far from traditional.  I am especially pleased with the binding! 

The quilting is definitely not my best work.  I outlined the white "frames" but rushed through the meandering on the rest of the quilt.  I'm talking about very large, extra jumbo meandering.  On the bright side, less dense quilting = softer quilt with a better drape.

These outdoor pictures were taken during my summer vacation, in a beautiful piece paradise somewhere in Atlantic Canada. It was sunny but windy.  The quilt kept flying off the fence.  I just could not get a good picture of the back (or, for that matter, of the entire top).  Oh well, there is always the old post.

 

This quilt makes me smile every single time I look at it.  I am still in love with it, and I am glad this one lives at our home, ready for snuggling anytime.

 

 

So, forget about my earlier question.  Have you been tempted to re-do a post from your early blogging days?

 

 



A wee finish and a glimpse of a big one

It's a finish!  Yay! 

The wedding quilt is finished, but I won't blog about it until it reaches its destination, in a week or two.  Well, maybe I will share a couple pictures, just because.

In the mean time, I have another finish of a much smaller scale...

A name tag!  I don't know what took me so long, I have belonged to one guild or another for the past 5 years... (and paid a lot of fines to the library for not wearing a name tag).  Now that I am getting ready for the first meeting of the Maritime Modern Quilt Guild, I thought, it's about time.   I was inspired by these cute name tags by Amanda Jean.  I did the embroidery free motion, by machine, and the whole project took me less than 24 minutes (one episode of the Backyardigans), start to finish! 

And now a glimpse of the wedding quilt I have been working on for a few months.  I decided to quilt it with wavy lines with occasional change of direction.  I used a variety of threads in blue, green, beige and browns, from the fine Aurifil 50wt to the much thicker Connecting Threads.

The quilt has not been washed yet, so all the little jerky movements are showing.  I try not to worry too much about those, because I am confident it will disappear with the wash.

Just for fun, I added a few trees here and there:

I hid the word "love" (and "forever") - wonder how long it will take for them to find it:

Oh, and did you notice the binding?  Well that was the score of the week!  I used all my leftovers for the quilt back and did not have enough of any of my dark prints for a binding.  Unless I wanted to piece a gazillion little strips - which clearly I did not.  So I set out to my favourite local store to buy something to go with the color scheme and the wavy line theme.  And what did I find?  Could this be any more perfect? 

 

 

And the final shot for today: I quilted their names at the bottom of the quilt:

 

I still need to attach the label (which is done) and to wash this quilt, after which a family member who is flying back west will deliver it to the recipient.  I am really looking forward to this quilt reaching its new home!

 



Calling all Modern Quilters in Maritime Canada!

I am so excited!

Adrienne, from Chezzetcook Modern Quilts started the ball rolling for the creation of the Maritime Modern Quilt Guild.

If you are in New Brunswick, PEI or Nova Scotia, and you are into modern quilting, head over to the Maritime Modern Quilt Guild blog to find out all of the details about the upcoming first meeting.

Yay!

More cushions !

Hello, there!

Well, I am on a roll.   Relatively speaking, of course.  I have a couple more personalized cushions made (the blue one is just a prop):

The colours don't seem quite right on my pictures.  The red and light blue are a bit more muted than they appear. 

For this one I was running out of time for embroidery or appliqué, so I just drew the name and went back and forth, free-motion.  Too easy!  I did remove the lint before we gave it away...

And here's another one, embroidered by hand and improve-pieced:

The backing is a vintage sheet I adore, and the opening is closed with a velcro.

I love making those.  So satisfying!

 

You know what else is satisfying?  I started cleaning up my sewing room, and actually found stuff that had been MIA for months... like 4 seam rippers, an empty bobbin, embroidery scissors...

 

Linking up to TGIFF at Quilt Matters.

 

Happy November, everyone!