Monday, December 15, 2014

Twirling Aqua - Finished!

Despite running out of thread, Twirling Aqua is finished!! YAY! I cannot tell you how good it feels to have a finish and to feel like my sewing mojo is back with a vengeance! I loved every minute of making this quilt. This quilt is going to my niece. . . but my sister had better send me my niece's address soon. . . I might decide to keep this one too! . . . Wait, did you say too?? Yup. I did. When I made the Plus Quilt, I had intended to send it to her. . . and then I absolutely fell in love with it. . . and I kept it . . . I know! How selfish! ;)

OK, enough already! On to the pictures! More info on the quilting and quilt stats after the show :)

TA DA! :) Front. Just call me Captain Obvious. . .

TA DA! Back. . . Front? No Back. . . Might depend on the feeling of the day :)
Close up of middle. Honestly, if I were going to rip something, I would have ripped that spiral in the center. . . but I committed (and it wasn't hard LOL) to NO ripping on this quilt. Nothing, not in piecing, not in quilting, not in binding! I actually was able to follow through with that commitment.
Love the texture on this one and I am glad I used a high contrasting thread on the gray :) Please excuse that lose thread. . . I just noticed it and now I can't stop looking at it LOL

Another front close up.
Close up of back. I pieced together all of the scraps and sewed them together for that square in the middle and then just started sewing on large pieces.
And then I added the Kona Charcoal to both sides to contain the prints.

Another frontal. . . ;)
Another of the back. . . front. . .
I'm sorry, I had a hard time picking what pictures to put in. . . so I put most of them in ;)
The last one :)
Quilt Stats:
59.5" x 59.5" (before quilting and washing, it was 63" x 63")
Fabric: The prints are from a Friday Bundle Batch from Fortworth Fabric Studios. Have you checked out their Friday Bundle Batches? I'm not affiliated in any way - I just love looking at what they come up with for their Friday bundles! Always a mix of designers in the bundles and they do a beautiful job (this quilt is a pretty good example of how good they are!) of putting them together. The gray on the front is Peppered Cotton and the gray on the back is Kona Coal. I used the Kona Coal for the binding as well - I have to say, the color of the two grays match pretty darn closely. I was afraid it was going to look funky but it turned out well.
Thread: Pieced with Aurifil 50 wt in a dark gray and quilted with Aurifil 40 wt 2615 (I think it is simply gray... but that number is correct). LOVE the 40 wt and this color is spectacular! I'm thinking it would blend right in when quilted on most prints. 
Batting: Quilter's Dream Wool. . . of course ;) 

I had a blast quilting this quilt! It had been awhile since I quilted feathers. Now I'm wondering why. . . they are sooo much fun! As I said under the picture (do you read the remarks under pictures?), if I felt like I was loosing my 'curve' with the feather prongs, I threw in the spirals every now and then to start a new starting point. I learned that little tip from Cindy Needham's Craftsy class. Loved that class and she has a ton of great little tips like that. Again, not affiliated with Craftsy or Cindy :)

As for the spirals, I watched this video about a week before I started quilting this quilt. You might have noticed. . . I kinda dig spirals. They show up in A LOT of my quilts. I threw in some paisleys and sometimes I followed the outside quilting line instead of the inside one when coming back out of the spiral the first time - but it really didn't seem to matter. Did I do that on purpose? Nah, just got a little lost and went with it! LOL It's a pretty forgiving design. I loved quilting it.

One more thing. Thread. Don't you just hate running out??? UGH! There are not a lot of local sources for Aurifil here and the stores that do carry it have 50 wt and are limited in colors. SO, I order a lot of thread. I use Redrock Threads. Again, not affiliated. But I am a very happy customer! They ship FAST. When I order early in the morning, it is typically shipped the same day. I usually get the package in two days (NV to AZ so it isn't going far). It's almost as good as having a thread shop next door! They carry a lot of different brands, not just Aurifil. Check them out. You don't need to say I sent you - we aren't on first name basis. . . yet. . . it might happen with what has been a weekly order lately! LOL 

I am plotting my next quilt, I am going back to the snowflakes and I have a 20 yr old UFO sitting on my shelf that needs attention. . . wait, what?? a 20 yr old UFO? ME??? Yes. But it's not mine! I'll be posting on this later this week. Come back to see how I ended up with a 20 yr old UFO :)

Linking up with Design Wall Monday, Fabric Frenzy Friday (Fortworth Fabric's Friday linky party) and Finish it Up Friday. Check out the links for lots of inspiration!! 

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19 comments:

  1. I *love* how this finished out, Judy. Your sister better act fast on that address for your niece; I would be really tempted to keep this one, too! Adding a spiral here and there in your feathers looks great, I will have to keep that tip in mind.

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  2. This quilt is beautiful! I can see why you would want to keep it! Do free motion on a longarm or a home machine? I haven't spent the time to master feathers, but I do a lot of spirals!

    I have a UFO that is older than yours and it was a top that I pieced. It was partially hand quilted and then it got set aside. Then it lived thru several renovations so it got very dirty. I ended up taking out the hand quilting, washing the backing and the top, and threw away the icky polyester batting - they didn't have 80/20 back then. Now it is just waiting for me to finish it.

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  3. It is super pretty! I love the movement the quilting gives it.

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  4. Wow! That's a lot of quilting on that quilt! I have ZERO courage to try this on my home machine. It looks so "easy" on a scrap of fabric, can't imagine it on a quilt~your quilt looks amazing! I would have left the center alone as well...

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  5. Another amazing finish, Judy! I absolutely love the quilting and can see why this is a reversible quilt. You have another lucky niece. (That is assuming she does receive the quilt this time.)

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  6. I used some Peppered Cotton in grey on a project as well. I really liked the texture and it's proved to be pretty durable in the shorts I made.

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  7. Judy it has just been so much fun watching you grow in your quilting! Love your feathers and breaking them up with the swirls adds lots of interest. Nice job!

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  8. Love this quilt soooo much. I love aqua. I love feathers. I put them on pretty much all of my quilts. Angela Walters' class on Craftsy is awesome for them. I like the front best, but the back sure is cool too. Okay, nice to hear someone else "gets lost" in spirals...good links-will check them out. Hey, you're "allowed" to link up for a Friday finish if you didn't finish it Thursday or Friday?? Can you tell I'm a firstborn or what... Are there blog police?! LOL.

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  9. I started a similar quilt using Angela Walters fabric line 2 years ago and had to order more fabric. I have since tucked it away! I want to Thank You for reminding me and will pull it out to finish. This is absolutely beautiful and I can see why you would want to keep it for yourself. Quilting is spot on!!!!

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  10. I like how the spirals in the feathers provide a visual link to the spirals in the rest of the quilting...the designs are great companions! I love, Love, LOVE the back, too! The quilting has a ghostly effect that I particularly favour, and the texture...! Well, you know how I feel about that!!! Another beautiful quilt, Judy! :-) BTW, I will send you MY address if you don't hear from your sista! ;-)

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  11. Great feathers! They are my go to FMQ! So much fun! Waaaay easer than stippling! Why do beginners think stippling is best? Can't WAIT to see the old UFO. I've got one that I bought at an estate sale, very old hand pieced top, just siting on me. Not perfect, not squar, kinda floppy, prob a nightmare to quilt, but when the time us right, I'll get to it. Great work Judy!

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  12. You must love your niece tons and tons! This quilt is a stunner and I am in awe of your quilting Judy! I particularly love the alternating rows of spirals and feathers. Wow!

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  13. Major, Triple, WOW! It is so beautiful! The quilting is what really makes it glimmer.

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  14. Oh My Gosh!!! Yep - I wouldn't be able to part with it either!! it is fantastic!!!!

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  15. What a fabulous finish! I love the colors...quilting...front...back! Perfect!

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  16. I don't blame you for considering keeping this gorgeous finish, Judy. Love the aqua against the coal. And the quilting? To.Die.For!

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  17. Love that quilting - you are very talented indeed!

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  18. What a fabulous quilt! Beautiful Judy! Well done!

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  19. Gorgeous quilting as always Judy, I'd be squirelling this one away! Love the back too, everything about this one!

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