Hugs and Butterfly Kisses - Finished Quilt!

I finished this quilt over a week ago. . . since then, I have been trying to figure out how to get a good photograph! It's big. Too big for me to get hung high enough (yup, I'm vertically challenged) and if I'm honest, hung at all without having it drag on the ground or end up in a heap in the dirt. . . and that just won't do! So this morning I enlisted the help of my ever patient husband who is not even a little vertically challenged :)

I showed the flimsy here and added this quilt to my Q3 FAL list (first ever!). I'll be linking up this finish with Adrienne's (On the Windy Side) end of the quarter linky party. Two items on the list done... I need to get moving if I'm going to finish all of it! I started working on the Family Tree quilt yesterday. Have any of you tried ripping out metallic stitching? Umm. . . not.fun. I'm thinking I can cross this one off the list by the end of the week :)

When I was planning the quilting for Hugs and Butterfly Kisses, I kept thinking - overall design. Do not go crazy. Because of the prints, no one is going to see the quilting. . . . I was not able to do it. Hi. My name is Judy. And I am a dense quilting addict. ;) There is a lot of ruler work on this one. What everyone says about practice is true, I'm getting pretty good at keeping those lines straight and actually hitting the mark when I come to the end of the line! Ruler work does take time, but I find it so relaxing - I don't have to think as much about getting stuck, where am I going to go next. I have heard others say that quilting in general is relaxing and they think about other things while they quilt. I cannot do that. If I am doing FMQing I need to stay focused. The minute my mind wanders, so does my quilting ;) LOL

How about some a lot of pictures?? :D

Yup, the second hanger from the right came off the top of the patio.... I couldn't fix it so decided to roll with it ;)

Of course the wind had to come up just when I went out to take pictures. . . that piece in the corner is going to be hand sewn down and I will put my label information there. Yes, I should have sewn that down prior to washing. . .

The colors of the X blocks are a little more true in this picture. When we hung this quilt up this morning, it was the first time I got a really good look at the quilting. . . I am pleased, and grateful it turned out as it looked in my head! Obviously at this stage it is way too late to turn back ;)

The texture is truly amazing! For the border I did piano key and then I decided it needed more so I added circles in every other strip. I think it works well with the plus blocks.

I did those same lines with circles in the middle in every other row of the Xs. And ribbon candy in the alternate rows.

I did stitch in the ditch on the entire quilt before starting quilting. I did half feathers around the X blocks. The dark gray backgrounds got the twirling square design a la Angela Walters and in the light backgrounds I used a back and forth line. It's a little tough to see either of these designs but they definitely serve the purpose of mashing down the fabric around the Xs :)

Don't you just love pictures at angles? :)

Love how the front shows through the back on this picture :) This is Prisma from Studio e, procured from Backside Fabrics. I am in love with this backing fabric. . . I might have it in four colors.... OK, yes, I do ;)

Quilting is absolutely invisible on the back, but the texture is not :)

Last one, promise :) The secondary designs created by the quilting are pretty cool. Not 100% planned but definitely 100% appreciated :)

Quilt Stats:
Post Wash: 85"x 96" Not the biggest quilt I've made but it is up there :)

Threads: I used a total mishmash of threads in this quilt. And a LOT of it. I used an entire 1049 yard cone of Aurifil 40 wt and 4 bobbins of Bottom Line 60 wt thread on the back. . . so double that to include thread on top. Threads included Aurifil and Superior King Tut of various wts and colors.... This was my first encounter with Bottom Line. . . LOVE! Another useful tip from the classes I took with Gina Perkes.

Fabric: The X/+ blocks are made from a bundle of Lizzy House Butterflies. The gray text background is On Time in Ink by Whistler Studios, the white text background is from a text bundle that I bought from Pink Castle Fabrics. The two X (or plus depending on which block you are looking at) block background fabrics are Sunprint Feathers in Charcoal (Allison Glass) and Lazy Stripe in Gunmetal (Tula Pink - True Colors). The purple butterfly stop border is leftover from the backing of Cally's first quilt and I also used it in the pillow cases! :) The binding is Chalk Line Inspirations in charcoal (the same fabric I used in the pillow cases).

Batting: Quilter's Dream wool of course :) I need to source another roll of it. . . yeah, this one is down to probably two more quilts. . . I just love that I can quilt the snot out of a bed quilt and it is still soft, surprisingly so. This is a great benefit of working with a wool bat (this is not a Quilter's Dream only characteristic any wool bat will provide you with the same results).

So now to pack up Cally's quilt, pillow cases, cushion cover and wall hanging (yes, she claimed that too!) and get them sent off to her. She was initially scheduled to move Aug. 1st. Not surprisingly, this has been delayed. We'll find out tomorrow what her move in date will be. My guess is that it will be soon. I need to get this winging across country so it can provide her with mom's quilty hug on her first night of her new adventure! :)

Linking up with Pet Project with Julie over at Pink Doxies, Beth over at Cooking Up Quilts for MCM, Patchwork Times for DWM, Let's Bee Social with Lorna and Finish it up Friday.

Until next time, keep on quilting!