Tuesday, August 21, 2012

my finished oatmeal quilt!

My oatmeal quilt has been finished for almost a month now. I've been procrastinating blogging about it because in order to post about it I would need decent photos of it. That still hasn't happened, but if I waited until that happened, well.....you can see where this is going. (I will save you the rant about my lack of photography skills...let's just say I have had a lot of frustration with it lately!)
Now, about this quilt....I love how it turned out!!! It's another one in my monochromatic series that I started way back when. Free piecing slabs (as found in Sunday Morning Quilts) is a great way to use many scraps of various sizes all in one quilt. I also like this technique because I like making design decisions each step of the way, watching it unfold a bit at a time, then tweaking as needed. It's my favorite way to work! 
The quilting is just several rows of "e's" or "l's all looped together. It took awhile, but the texture is great. I'd definitely quilt more quilts like this! I used the piecing as sort of a built in guide for the lines, so I managed to quilt most of it without marking. I marked just a few lines here and there to keep me on track in a few small sections. It worked really well.
The pieced back was designed around the funky 'leisure suit print' and a few odd pieces of neutrals from my stash. I love piecing a back together with what I have on hand. Again, it's kind of like a puzzle. It's also like two quilts in one. Love that!
For the binding, I made kind of an unpredictable choice, I think. I chose a print that when chopped up has bits of color here and there and it almost matches the backing fabric. :) The little bits of color add a little interest without stealing any of the attention from the rest of the quilt. I rather like it! 

The quilt measures about 62" x 78".

56 comments:

Rachel said...

Even though I am not a fan of oatmeal (LOL) I am a huge fan of this quilt! Well done (and I love the pictures!!)

Renae said...

I'm gearing up to do a slab quilt--though not in neutrals. I definitely need to see some more projects so I can get the feel for it. It makes me a bit nervous. This is one of those things I'll be trying in order to work on being more random and less structured.

Carla said...

Wow, I just love this quilt!

Real beauty.

Well done Amanda

Wacky Woman said...

This is a great quilt; but, I bet it is hard to get a picture to do it justice. But, I'm lovin it!

I must say I am not liking these new "prove you're not a robot" tests. Grrr. Guess my eyes aren't that good. I'll try again.

Maja said...

I don´t like oatmeal, but I LOVE the look of your quilt!!!
Great Work!

donna from canada said...

I have used your slab method as a jump start on several quilts. Uses up fabric, goes quickly, is spontaneous , and gets my imagination going.
Your Sunday Morning book was my first " modern quilting" book.
I think it is great!

Flo @ Butterfly Quilting said...

Love it !! And I gotta get me that book!!

Denise said...

Very pretty. Love the monochromatic look.

Emily said...

Such a beautiful quilt. Love the uncluttered look created by the "low volume" colors/patterns of your fabrics.

Suzanne said...

Yippee for another finish!

Alex said...

Oh that`s a nice quilt, I absolutely love the colors, and the name. Wonderful work.

Carla said...

This is so calming---so beautiful. It leaves me pining for oatmeal! I wonder if the hubby would mind it for supper.....

Kathy Davenport said...

Love the quilt, but also the binding. I love your reasoning about the almost matching color of the backing with little bits of color. I'll have to file that under "try sometime." Thanks!
Kathy
Cherry Street Quilts

Live a Colorful Life said...

I love this quilt so much! It was fun to watch you quilt it.

Mama Pea said...

I love how this turned out, too. I think the binding choice is spectacular! Just perfect. Amanda, I would be so scared to try to pull off a monochromatic quilt. You make it look easy! :-) Love it!

Lauren said...

I really love the binding. The colors are beautiful and that bit of whimsy puts the quilt over the top. Love it!

Cherie said...

A fantastic finish! I love the oatmeal theme. Such a shame the weather wouldn't play nice for you to get pictures =D

sallgood said...

Tone-on-tone is peaceful in such neutral fabrics! I love your fun pop of a bit of color in the binding.

Brittany said...

The pictures are perfect, and I think the binding was a great choice.

Shelina (formerly known as Shasta) said...

It is a gorgeous quilt, and the name fits it so well. I am looking forward to making my own Sunday Morning low volume quilt.

Ann Ferguson said...

So subtle, so sentional!

Sarah Craig said...

It's beautiful, Amanda Jean! it makes me want to make one for myself..... and I love your fabric choice for binding!!

Donna said...

Very nice. I love your quilting loops.

BTW, I bought your book. Going through it now to see what I will make first. Love, love the yellow and gray triangles.

Thanks much for a great book.

Jeneta said...

Wow! This is such a beautiful quilt. I immediately thought of a few people I could make an oatmeal quilt for - it would suit them perfectly! Great choice for the binding fabric. Love the quilting - do you think a beginner could pull it off?

CapitolaQuilter said...

Love the finish. The "e's" seem like a style I should try and the unexpected bits of color in the binding is terrific.

Cheryl Arkison said...

Love it! The binding is perfect.

Rachel said...

I love it! Particularly the quilting design, the texture looks just lovely

Unknown said...

I love it. I am on block 13 of my Missing U and have a feeling an oatmeal (or my version of it) could be next. Thank you ladies for giving me a "new take" on quilting.

Gemini Jen NZ said...

Looks awesome, well done! I am quite inspired to try a monochromatic quilt like that too!

Zuzan said...

Amandajean this is such a gentle quilt so calming to relax into. I like the way you let the fabric talk so the quilt grows. I would like to do that.

To help me out Sunday Morning Quilts is on its away.

Maggie said...

I love your oatmeal quilt. It's very calm and comforting. I've just bought your book the kindle version. I can't put it down and I'm in the process of sorting all my scraps!! I want to make your boxes first for all my scraps. I love the quilts too. Can't wait to try them when I've sorted my scraps:) Maggie xx

Martha said...

What an absolutely beautiful quilt. I love the monochromatic color. I want to make one!

Esch House Quilts said...

Love how your Oatmeal quilt turned out! I'm a big fan of neutrals :)

I think your pictures are great, but I struggle with photography too. Seems like I always have too much light and things look washed out or too little and they look dull.

April (Polkadot Sparrow) said...

Love the leisure suit fabric! Great use of it!

And the oatmeal quilt looks delicious. ;)

ultraorganized said...

Lovely quilt -- I like neutrals in quilts, it gives a warm effect -- I'm starting a photography class -- hope this helps my picture taking !}

Quilt n Queen said...

Love your Oatmeal quilt, love the neutrals....a beautiful finish!!My picture taking skills are nonexistent. I try to take a decent picture but always have my DH retake them....I don't know how to change the settings...I know I should learn but I would rather be quilting!! You know what...he is so supportive of my quilting and it is his way to be involved...he loves it!!

PatSloan said...

Reading blogs is DANGEROUS..as it gives me ideas.. ideas to challenge myself... I'm not sure I can do a tonal quilt.. maybe a tonal RED quilt.. does that count? or tonal GREEN as I have about 8,000 lbs of green fabric

Anina said...

So pretty! I've been think about making a monochromatic quilt.

Cyn said...

Love your quilt. It is very interesting. Thanks for the quilting idea of using "e's" and "l's". I'm going to try that on my next project. Thanks for sharing.

Anonymous said...

Leisure suit print, ha ha!!
I'm a sucker for all things neutral. This is a great one!!

Karen said...

Amanda, this is a wonderful quilt....I LOVE everything about it.

Megan said...

The "leisure suit" print is my favorite part! Wherever did you find such fabulous fabric?

Lullaby said...

I love this quilt, love neutral colours and binding with those bits of colour adds extra interest to it. Very nice work.

Elizabeth's quarters said...

What a beautiful, cool and neutral quilt. Learning to love your camera can indeed be a challenge!

Richard Healey said...

I know the feeling of procrastinating posting because of bad pictures. I live in Salt Lake City and their is fires all around us and the sky looks like crap and just cant get out to take good pictures of my recent finishes.

http://richardquilts.blogspot.com
http://trackmyshows.blogspot.com

Oops-Lah said...

Fabulous quilt and brilliant quilting.

Michele said...

This quilt turned out really great. There isn't one part of it that I don't love.

Clair said...

I like your oatmeal quilt way better than oatmeal. :)

Anonymous said...

Beautiful quilt! Great idea to finish up all my color-sorted scraps. I also love the name oatmeal quilt :)

Unknown said...

I love the subtle look of this quilt. It would be one I'd gravitate to on a cool fall night. I will have to start collecting some light fabrics and do one of these.

Loved seeing you today!
xo
Nancy

Smultronbo said...

Like many of the other comments. I dont like oatmeal. I think this quilt is awesome though and I dont see anything wrong with your photo's. Well done on both accounts. ;)

Karen Sue said...

When my niece requested these colors for her wedding quilt I thought blah-blah-blah... but then I saw yours called an oatmeal quilt and it took on a whole new feel. I loved hers when I had it finished. A local girl long arm quilted it, but I'm thinking in another year, I could maybe manage a queen on my JUKI! Maybe sooner! Love your quilt and I've just started piecing backs and it's fun and funky and not so "precise" as piecing the front!

Nifty Quilts said...

GEEorgeous!! Congratulations on your finish.

Kim said...

Nicely done :0)
When are we going to have our Friday link ups again?
I'm sure missing it :0)

Happy Sewing

lindag1947 said...

you were in Holland. I have lived there for thrity years. love it. are you going to make a pattern for those small bags you made a while ago? I think it was you. you made them for a class or something. hope i got the right person . it has been a while. Linda Gerig

lindag1947 said...

you were in Holland, Mi. i live there and have for thirty years. lovely place. don't take advantage of lake like i wish i could. are you going to make a pattern for those thread catchers you made a while back? loved them. linda gerig