Friday, May 16, 2014

Blogger's Quilt Festival

Hey everyone! I am entering "Holographic Hexagonal Triangles" into the Spring 2014 Blogger's Quilt Festival over at Amy's Creative Side in the Home Machine Quilted category.  If you are visiting from there and new to my blog, welcome!

Check out the AMAZING quilts in the many different categories!! See the major eye candy, vote for your favorites and most importantly - BE INSPIRED! (first read my post though! LOL)

Lots more pictures to come!! :)
This quilt started out to be something completely different than the resulting quilt (those who have been following me know this is a common occurrence) in a very big way :) I made the quilt in connection with the Triangle QAL over at Sassy Quilter.  I knew I was going to make a triangle quilt and the quilt along started at exactly the same time I was going to start the quilt.  This quilt was intended for my niece, Anna, from the beginning.  I have been making quilts for my nieces and nephews and Anna and her sister Lilly were the only two in their family that had not received quilts from me.  They were patiently waiting :) A little birdie (named Grandma) had told me that Anna's favorite color was purple.  I had downloaded this pattern from Freshly Handmade.  I intended to make this quilt. . . and ordered the fabric but threw in some pink fabric and took out some of the blue.  And then I saw this quilt. . . Oh my! Ideas started forming and I started cutting :)

My nieces read my blog.  I was trying to keep the design under wraps and wanted to have this quilt finished and in Anna's hands before I had to reveal the design.  That did not happen but Grandma did a good job of keeping the girls busy and off the blog :) As I was sewing the triangles together a quilting plan started to form. . . and form . . . and form ;) I spent a lot of time on Judi Madesen's blog Green Fairy Quilts.  And by a lot, I mean I looked at every picture on her blog. . . obsess much? LOL

I quilt on my domestic sewing machine.  It is a Janome 7700.  Love this machine! I had recently discovered that Janome made a ruler foot for the convertible FM foot.  I purchased it immediately! I also purchased both the arc and straight Fine Line Rulers and had been practicing with them prior to starting the quilting on this quilt.  By the time I started quilting, I knew exactly how I wanted it to look and it turned out exactly as the picture I had in my head :)  Don't you just love it when that happens? :)  More pictures:

I used Superior King Tut Egyptian Princes 40 wt thread for all of the quilting.

I used the arc ruler for the flowers in the center of the hexagons.

I used the straight rulers for all of the straight lines.

Because of the color of the backing matched the color of the thread so well, it is difficult to photograph the quilting on the back but it looks really cool!

A close up of the back which is a wide backing flannel batik.

The spirals and the echos are free handed.  I did not mark anything on the quilt.

I think the alternating designs on the diamonds and the hexagons grouped in echoed and open flowers in the middle added some interest.

What is the very, very best part of making a quilt? For me, it has been giving it away and hearing about the reactions of the recipients.  Anna's reaction went like this:

When Anna received the box in the mail, she knew what was in it.  It was from me and even though I had mailed them on the same day, her sister Lilly had received her quilt the day before.  As she was opening the box she said, "I hope it has purple in it." And of course she was wearing purple jeans ;) And here is her reaction:

I'm thinking that smile says it all :)
Anna is my 'little' brother's daughter.  He is convinced that I did not quilt this quilt on my domestic sewing machine. . . I think it might  have something to do with the fact that he can't imagine that his big sis might have a little bit of creativity flowing around in that crazy brain of hers!  Honestly, I started on this journey of quilting just under a year ago and I'm pretty sure that there is no one more surprised than me about the creative side of me that I had never tapped into before! :) 

This quilt gave me the confidence to 'go crazy' with quilting and think outside the proverbial all over meander quilt box :) I learned that quilting this dense truly does 'hide' those little glitches in quilting and totally takes the eye away from any pesky points that might not have been perfect :) 

Thanks for stopping by and enjoy the show! So many amazingly talented quilters out there!

Follow on Bloglovin

 


24 comments:

  1. BEAUTIFUL! And that smile makes it all worth it. Great design, great quilting!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Wow! Amazing work on a domestic. Congratulations!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Holy cow, that is just fabulous! Your quilting is always an inspiration, but this one... Wooziers!

    ReplyDelete
  4. I love getting to see quilts snuggled with, and I love her smile. :) Good luck in the Quilt Festival!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Her smile is precious. And how good of them to send you a picture.
    The quilting is amazing!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Wow, you did a super job, and it's hard to believe how quickly you're gifting all these nieces and nephews ! Great going !

    ReplyDelete
  7. Your quilting is amazing, and in just over a year too! No wonder there was such a big smile:-)

    ReplyDelete
  8. Perfect quilt to enter the festival. Your FMQ is just amazing on this quilt. And the picture with your niece is just priceless.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Thanks for stopping by my blog and commenting - glad to have found you. :) I love your quilt and your quilting is amazing! Really pretty.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Gorgeous work! I love how the colours look like layers of cellophane or the way sun shines through stained glass.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Beautiful design and quilting!

    ReplyDelete
  12. Hello, I'm from the New Blogger Group. I love your quilting on this piece. I'm think it is fantastic how you divided it into diamonds and hexagons, I also like the subdivided areas and contrast between some very densely quilted areas, and those with a little less density.

    ReplyDelete
  13. I've just recently heard about ruler work on domestic machines, and here's proof that it works! Congratulations on a gorgeous finish, and good luck with your entry!

    ReplyDelete
  14. Oooo, I really like that ruler work. I've got to try that. The colors and layout are so cheery and calming. Makes me just want to snuggle into it!

    ReplyDelete
  15. WOW! That is one big beautiful quilt. Your quilting is gorgeous and so worth all the hours you spent on this work of art! Judy... I am so glad we have become friends. You are sew inspiring to me! Your niece is so lucky to have you for an aunt!

    ReplyDelete
  16. You did an amazing job on your layout and quilting. I like all of the variation you did within your design. I really like how the colors play off of each other.

    ReplyDelete
  17. Beautiful, and your quilting is amazing.

    ReplyDelete
  18. I am excited for you!!! I am still a straight-line stitcher on my DSM, and I love it, but am proud of anyone who is so good with designs!!

    ReplyDelete
  19. Awesome quilting... and congratulations with your nomination :)

    ReplyDelete
  20. Oh you ARE so right...Anna's enthusiasm and smile are worth 1,000 words!! THIS is why I make quilts too....just love it when the recipient is this happy....thus why I call them Quilty Hugs!

    ReplyDelete
  21. I love the color choices! Omigoodness--so enchanting. Your daughter is enchanting. The quilting is beautiful and adds a lot of movement to the quilt.

    ReplyDelete
  22. Oh my! Only a year of quilting? And the quilt is gorgeous, splendid, spectacular, WOW. You definitely have a creative gift. Many more years of happy quilting I wish for you.

    ReplyDelete
  23. Beautiful quilting! Love your quilt, and the design is fantastic. Very impressive indeed! (celiaambrose@hotmail.com)

    ReplyDelete

Comments make me smile :) Thanks for stopping by and taking the time to comment. Come back real soon!

If you left me a comment, I will be responding in kind either by email and/or by visiting your blog and commenting on your wonderful creation :)