Thursday, March 12, 2009

red + white


Here is my quilt top made from the blocks I received from the Virtual Quilting Bee. It's nice to finally have it assembled!

I thought long and hard how to put these blocks into a quilt top. I couldn't decide what color to use for sashing, so instead, I added a 3" border (3.5" cut) around each block, which made each block 18.5" unfinished. The blocks are HUGE! It was fun to be able to put 12 monster blocks together to make up a substantial quilt top. I much preferred adding borders to each block rather than working with long sashing strips. The colors of the blocks lent themselves well to adding white borders to half of the blocks and red to the other half. The quilt top measures 54" x 72".

Now I have to come up with something for the back. From my stash, of course. :)

I'd like to say thanks to the lovely ladies that sent me such fabulous blocks!

80 comments:

Kerri said...

wow!! i love the red and white, so crisp!!

Thimbleanna said...

You're brilliant Ms. Crazy! But then we knew that, didn't we??? Adding those alternating borders is a stroke of genius and pulls the whole thing together so perfectly!

Anonymous said...

Beautiful! So clean and crisp. I love the look of the individual frames. Great job AmandaJean

Unknown said...

Wow! I love it and the borders look great. I too would rather put borders then work with the large pieces of sashing.

Maria Stahl said...

Ooooh, that's a fun one!

Katherine said...

This is such a striking quilt. Love your idea of adding borders to each block - it really ties all the blocks together.

Jennie said...

Gorgeous! The big borders on the blocks really help unify them! ~ Jennie

Two Dogs and a Quilt said...

Fantastic borders. This looks stunning with so many different styles of blocks.

Julie said...

I love it! I wish I could do something half that good. Wow! I am impressed.

V and Co. said...

just AMAZING! we need a tutorial on some of those blocks on there!

Skipper said...

Long time blog-stalker, first time commenter...

I LOVE THIS! It's amazing!

Jessica said...

That quilt top is stunning. I've been looking for a virtual bee, but I always find them too late. Do you know of any other ones starting up?

KC Quilter said...

Ohmigosh, I love this quilt. You did a fantastic job--as usual!!!

Anonymous said...

This is so very cool, AJ. I love the border you added...pulls it all together really well. Nice job! :)

Unknown said...

It looks so great! I love the borders and how crisp each of the blocks look. Have fun figuring out the backing :)

Emily said...

Sometimes a simple/plain concept is the most beautiful. I think that applies here!

Mary on Lake Pulaski said...

Most beautiful Virtual Quilting Bee results I have seen yet! Nice.

Trisha said...

I like how you surrounded each block in red or white and then alternated those blocks. Makes the quilt very visually interesting.

ilovebabyquilts said...

Love it! I like the upper right corner the most.
Wendy

Dallas said...

That looks so fantastic. I'm glad you posted the final product. Sometimes the simplest things (just red and white) really open themselves up to tons of creativity.

Anonymous said...

This is a great quilt,i love it. Wig.

Kristi said...

I love it! What a beautiful piece--I can't decide which block is my favorite. The borders make each block pop--the perfect touch!

Anonymous said...

oh I'm green with envy here...

Joyce said...

Beautiful. Bordering each block was a good idea. That way you can trim each block to exactly the same size. It looks really good.

Jane's Fabrics and Quilts said...

Oh I love red and white, so crisp and clean, stop by you just might to join my Rainbow swap, red is still open!!

G'G'ma said...

Stunning!!

Fabric Fanatic said...

Fantastic! I've been collecting red/white prints and solids to make a 2 color quilt, but am nervous about it because I don't pre-wash my fabrics. Are yours pre=washed and if not, how are you going to prevent the red from bleeding? Will you use a color catcher every time you wash it?

heather said...

amandajean,
it looks GREAT. if haven't even seen a sneak peak of this. which is all the more fun sometimes. can't wait to see what you come up with for the back. it will be fabulous for sure!:)

Amanda Jean said...

fabric fanatic,

i don't know if i pre-washed the fabric or not. i did a hot water test to see if the red would bleed or not. i had 2 red solids that i did this on. one bled and one did not. the one that bled, i handwashed until it wouldn't bleed anymore. you can be sure that i will be very very very careful when i wash this one. every time. :)

aj

Anonymous said...

This is wonderful!

The Calico Cat said...

Love how you put those together!

Grace said...

I am so sorry mine hasn't arrived to you yet. It has been so crazy around here with the baby. Anyway, I'm still sending it, even if you can't use it. So sorry!!

black bear cabin said...

i like the sashing done in every other color...very clever and fun! i may have to give that a go on one of my quilts :)

Philigry said...

i love the red and white together. it is going to be great.

Elizabeth said...

stunning!

lera said...

I love this.

It almost looks like a quilt for looking at, not using.

Anonymous said...

I can't wait to see how this one comes together! Love the top.

pratima said...

It looks stunning. The white and red borders make the blocks stand out so much more. Great look!!

Anita D. said...

My first thought: Grandma W. would have loved it.

Louann said...

It's gorgeous! I love it! Great job!

Sara said...

That quilt is so beautiful. I love the blocks...they are such interesting blocks...

Tammy in Ontario, Canada said...

I've always liked the simple combination of red and white (I'm Canadian..so that figures..eh!). Great job on the quilt!!
I too would love to know of any virtual quilting bees or block exchange groups. If you know of any maybe you could post them...you got people interested in it now. tammy

Anonymous said...

wow, it's so nice to see one of these virtual quilting bee quilts come together! It looks great!

Amy said...

It's spectacular. The borders look very much a part of each block - like they came with the blocks. I love our little (big) virtual world of sewing bees - it's such a fun modern interpretation of the craft we love so much.

Amy Jo said...

I. am. in. love.

Gorgeous!!!

Andi said...

It looks wonderful. The border for each block is inspired! Looks great.
Andi :-)

Andrea said...

Wow, I love red and white! The individual blocks are incredible! Can't wait to see what you come up with tfor the back!

Nancy said...

What a wonderful quilt top....

Anonymous said...

Each one of those squares are so intricate and beautiful. People are so very talented. And patient.

Laurie said...

It looks great! I love the borders, it's perfect!!!

Mama Urchin said...

This just makes me so happy.

Heather said...

The read and white look very stunning together. I really like it.

Nanette Merrill said...

Well I'm a fan of red and white and of your work. This is another great finish. Well nearly finished.

Heather @ Camp Slop said...

What a great quilt! I may be in the minority, but I think it would make a great quilt for a baby (maybe with a black and white back). It would be so visually stimulating!

Anyway, it looks great. I love your site. You inspired me to make my first quilt (with a very simple pieced back too!).

Mandalin said...

Yet another fabulous quilt!

Katie Webb said...

Wow, it looks great. I love it!

Donna said...

For the person who said they didn't get their block to you in time to put into the quilt, a matching pillow would be great!

Anonymous said...

Terrific quilt and terrific idea. I always have trouble with sashing and this has given me an easy way to create a great quilt. Thanks!

Anonymous said...

That is a stunning quilt--that was a very effective setting you chose, and I loved those blocks!

Linda said...

What a fun quilt top! It is interesting to see the different ideas that people come up with.

Rebekah said...

This is fantastic! I love how all of the blocks came together perfectly!

Anonymous said...

OMG, it's so refreshing, i love it !! - hope i can try it too as soon as my baby grow bigger :D

Kathy - Pink Chalk Studio said...

A perfect finish! I LOVE how it turned out.

Shari said...

This is such a great quilt! I love the big blocks, the boldness of the two colour theme and the fact that many hands worked on it. Fantastic!

Jilly's Space said...

Fabulous!
The third row is my fav.

Jane said...

OH. SO. STUNNING!
RED is my favorite color so I am GREEN with envy.

Anina said...

It looks great! I really should put mine together.

Anonymous said...

You did a great job! I'm not surprised you were the first to piece yours!

Anonymous said...

it looks great. how clever to add borders instead of sashing!

Janet said...

What great things come from collaboration! But your finishing decisions is what makes the quilt smashing.

I am Arizona; a person, not a place. said...

I love it! Red and white quilts are so pretty.

CocoJ126 said...

I didn't know how to email you...

Do you ever use sheets to back quilts? I do.

On the Bargainst website today...they mentioned a sale at The Company Store. They have cute sheets on sale for $3.00, $4.00, $5.00 would make fab quilt squares or back your quilt them with at super great prices.

I ordered 3 cute twin sheets and paid $10.97 with free shipping. Details are on my blog. That is over 6 yards of fabric? Do you think this is a steal?

http://cocojdesigns.blogspot.com/

Busy Little Quilter said...

I love red and white quilts, too.

This one is beautiful! Everyone that made a block did so well.

melissa f. said...

this makes me so happy to see them all together!!

Chris, Kristina, Nathan and Audrey... said...

I LOVE the red and white! One day I want to make an all red and white quilt. They are so gorgeous!! And you always do such a beautiful job on all your quilts!

Lina said...

Red and white - quilter's delight...although I would say that wouldn't I? Love this and how special to have such a keepsake.

Happy weekend!

Anonymous said...

Lovely! just love every new piece of work by you;) thanks for sharing!!! Cheers! Mag from Singapore

Anonymous said...

Amanda - you are a star! I love it so much I want to eat it! I bet it would taste like a peppermint candy : )

Not Lucy said...

A great quilt from great blocks! I have used that method of framing each block instead of using sashing and it works really well.

Kritta22 said...

THis is wonderful!!!!

What were you directions for your blocks?

I mean when you sent out the fabric did you say, just make something or have each person make a different thing??