Monday, February 8, 2016

Only 2 years in the making!

It's finished!  It's done! Happy dance!  It. Is. Finished!!!


I sewed the first seam in this one on February 10th, 2014, and I took the last stitch in the binding on February 1st, 2016.  I would have celebrated here earlier, but nobody was available during daylight hours to hold it up for a picture until today.  Hmm, and looking at it now, I think I forgot to turn the flash off and it washed out the colors.

Here it is on the bed.  Note the model, who approved the quilt and assumed the photo shoot included her. Given a choice of anything to lie on, Rosie will settle down on the quilt every time.


Most of the 2 year delay in finishing was due to hand quilting.  First, I'm slow.  Second, summers are too hot for me to want to sit with a quilt bunched in my lap so there's no hand quilting happening for at least 4 months a year.  Third, I had a couple of inconvenient bouts of tendonitis that curtailed the hand work for a while.  Fourth, I sometimes I feel like hand quilting, and sometimes I don't, so it isn't a continuous process in this house!




This quilt is for my son, who chose the colors.  Here's the back, which has nothing at all to do with the front but plenty to do with my son.  The blue and red lines like the lines on a hockey rink seemed like a good idea until I started hand quilting and remembered I don't like quilting through seams.  I shouldn't have added any extra ones on the back!

The fabrics are not actually on an angle like that.  I just took a crooked picture.  However, that would look pretty cool...


So now that's done, the hand work has shifted to sewing binding to the back of the Minions quilt. The binding of three other projects is attached and waiting for the hand stitching, so there should be 4 more finishes to share soon!

And just to have it to refer back to, here's my quilt-related to-do list:

1.  Finish binding treeskirt, table topper and snowflake quilt.
2.  Final proofreading of the Blaze pattern.
3.  Finish writing pattern for snowflake quilt (half done)
4.  Finish writing pattern for treeskirt/table topper (2/3 done)
5.  Finish last 4 blocks of yellow/grey/black quilt (must name that one sometime)
6.  Pick out quilting I started on purple Sparkling Trail and start over (that's a whole other story!)
7.  Finish cutting out and start sewing red Valentine version of Tic Tac Kiss
8.  Start one or two completely new projects (ideas are percolating as I type)

18 comments:

  1. Awesome finish! I'm sure it feels good to have this beauty done and on your son's bed. I really like the design and the colors.

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  2. Drool!! You know I just love this quilt!! Congratulations on this fabulous finish! SO beautiful! Your son has some seriously awesome taste and a truly talented mom :)

    Oh, I can't wait to see what is percolating!

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  3. Beautiful quilt, I'm sure your son will appreciate the two years of love you've put into it.

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  4. Your quilt was worth the wait - it is gorgeous. I love the bright colors with the dark fabric. The design is fantastic and the border is perfect. I think the back is pretty cool. I'm sure your son will love it. ~Jeanne

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  5. This quilt is so amazing. You have created such a thing of beauty.

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  6. Huzzah! It's a beautiful quilt and looks great on the bed. I can understand why it took so long (I wouldn't cross stitch in the summer because the needle would get slippery with hot hands).

    Congrats! Your son should love it.

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  7. Your son's quilt is wonderful. I love all the colors against the dark background. Your quilting really makes it sparkle, well worth all the work. The back is perfect, too. You have quite a list of "to do's" but making the list will keep you on track. Can't wait to see your new quilt ideas!

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  8. Beautiful! If I had the choice, I'd lie down on this quilt, too. I really admire your persistence with hand quilting. I'm afraid my patience runs very thin with the slow pace of the work.

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  9. What a fabulous finish. I love how striking the colours look and how beautifully the design stands out with the use of the dark background fabric. Defintiely a quilt worth waiting for and one that I am sure is going to be very much enjoyed for a long time to com.

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  10. Beautiful! Hope your son realizes how blessed he is to have it!

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  11. I know you are very proud of that beautiful finish, and also very relieved that it is all done now. Your quilting is gorgeous! I love the piecing of the blocks. I'm always fascinated by colorful and intricate optical illusions, and that quilt is full of them! Every time I look at it, I see another colorful circle that I hadn't seen before. It is truly wonderful! ---"Love"

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  12. I'm sure he is a happy camper now!! It's fabulous! It seems like you have your work cut out for you. It's good to keep busy and keep the ideas coming.

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  13. Great finish--I'm sure your son will love using it! Good luck working through your list!

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  14. Only two years? Amateur! It's a terrific quilt and to have hand-quilted it makes it extra special indeed. Good to know that the Quality Control Officer has approved it as Fit-for-Purpose. Not too many things on the to-do list but I suspect you'll be adding things as time goes on.

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  15. YAHOO!!! Having seen this quilt for about a year and a half of its quilting, I am so pleased to see it done! I'd be still quilting for another 5 years or more, look how long it took to get my handquilted runner done! Woot! Woot!

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  16. Beautiful! I am still working on binding... maybe I'll get the second side done tonight. You have quite the list going. Good luck on your goals.

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  17. It is beautiful! I bet your son loves using it now. And I have to say that two years is faster than any bed quilt I ever hand quilted!

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  18. I am slow at hand quilting as well. This is absolutely stunning...the pattern, the colors, the quilting; all beautiful workmanship !

    Nice model you have there too :)

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