Friday, June 06, 2014

Malena's quilt finished

Welcome to finish it up Friday!

I pushed hard this week to finish my niece's quilt. Since it was in progress so long, the finish was all the sweeter! (I got about 1000 mosquito bites while trying to photograph it. That was not so sweet.)
I used my Go! baby to cut out the circles, then I appliqued them (without fusible) onto solid gray background squares using a blanket stitch on my Janome. After all the applique was done, the top went together super fast!
I used leftover pieces of fabric from the front (plus a little extra stash fabric) to piece the backing. It's like a big puzzle and it takes awhile, but it's so rewarding to bust the stash in this manner. Plus, it makes the back so interesting! I really love how this one turned out.
I stippled the background and quilted free hand swirls in each circle. (I used Aurifil #2600....it is THE most perfect gray thread ever!) The quilting on this is far from perfect, but I reminded myself over and over to let go of my perfectionist tendencies and just do it!
Binding fabric is from the Wild collection by dear Stella. Isn't it so fun? It matched the colors of the quilt so well and I thought it was a sweet way to finish the quilt.
This is my favorite detail of the entire quilt. That piece of white binding is only about 1 1/4" long. Eeeep! Makes me smile!
The quilt measures about 60" x 75". Hurray for a finish!
 
Thanks for your feedback (last week) about whether or not to run finish it up Friday through the summer. Based on your comments, I plan to keep up with it as much as I can. I love that it helps me stay motivated. I can ALWAYS use the push to get things done. :)
 
Now it's your turn! Please link up your finishes for the week! Thanks, as always, for joining me for finish it up Friday!

52 comments:

MaterialGirlQuilts said...

Such a cute quilt!! I'm sure your niece will love it :)

Marie said...

She's going to love it. I like the back almost as much as the front. Good Job!

beth said...

Great quilt AmandaJean! That little bit of white binding is so sweet. ;)

Jade said...

This is so fantastic. I love the quilting and the scrappy back and binding. Also, the photos are awesome. You are so good at taking creative shots of quilts. I love how green and springy the background is. Love it!

Carla said...

That quilting looks pretty darn perfect to me : )

Gina said...

Awesome finish!!! Yay for another Friday finish!

Leanne Parsons said...

The quilting looks great! I really love the swirls in the circles. And that itty bitty bit of white in the binding is cute too.

CapitolaQuilter said...

I'm so glad you'll continue Finish it Up Friday. I really enjoy seeing all of the posts even if I didn't get anything done myself! Love the quilt for your niece.

Lauren Deel said...

Lovely finish! I love the solid gray background - I'm a sucker for gray! Thanks for continuing Finish it up Friday as much as you can. I always love to link up!

Susana Neiger said...

Beautiful! I love the quilting - especially the extra dimension that the swirls give to the back of the quilt!

Bess said...

Gorgeous quilting, I love the swirls on the circles. The whole thing looks like a Damian Hirst painting!

Anonymous said...

I love circles on quilts.

Rebecca said...

That's really pretty!

Catskill Quilter said...

This is a lovely quilt! I am so glad that I had a chance to see all of your photos!

Pieces of Cotton said...

I love the quilting on this one - the swirls in the circles with stippling in the negative space. Great choice.

Lynn said...

I like how you applique'd your circles, I need to give that a try. The swirls and blanket stitch are so pretty. And thank you for continuing Finish It Up Friday!

Suzanne said...

You must be the best aunt ever next to me, of course. I know you spotlighted that circle in the corner just for me. :-)

Terri said...

Love the circles, and the quilting is on point!
Love your linky party, but I wish it had pictures... Is it more difficult to do that? I've not tried to set one up myself - not enough followers to bother.
Hugs

Barbara Gröger said...

WOW! Wonderful!

Wendy @ Wendysquiltsandmore said...

What a great quilt you've made. I'm sure your niece will love it. It's really different and unique with circles. I love the colours too.

Cheryl Arkison said...

Aurifil 2600 is indeed the perfect grey thread!
Yay for circles too.

Tamie said...

Great finish! Letting go of perfectionism is so hard and so necessary.

Lucy | Charm About You said...

Beautiful! The binding is so cute and the circles look brilliant! May I ask why you didn't use fusible?

Snowcatcher said...

Yippee! I'm so glad you're going to keep Fridays going, although I would have understood if you decided to take a break. It would be difficult to go without your great finishes and your sweet little comments about details such as your little white binding strip. Love the circle quilting!

Knitwitsowls said...

what I lovely quilt! I cant wait to try some applique quilts on my machine
Frankie
http://www.knitwits-owls.blogspot.co.uk/

Ina said...

it's beautiful!!! sorry about the bites. ;p

SarahZ said...

A sweet sweet quilt and finish! I had to look for it, but I found the little piece of binding in the first picture :) Very cute!

Michelle@factotum-of-arts.com said...

It is fantastic. I love that heart fabric too, very versatile.

SeeMaryQuilt said...

It turned out so nice! That binding is perfect. I'll keep an eye out for it.

BKringel said...

The binding is fantastic!! Thanks for keeping the Friday Links going. I just linked up for the first time!!

Anonymous said...

Love your quilt and colour choice Amanda. Your niece is a very lucky girl. I am sure she will love it! As always, thank you for hosting the linky party! Marie x

Di~ said...

Mmmm, love that quilt! The binding is awesome, you are the bomb! :) (I sound like a teenager)
Glad to hear you "let it go"! :)

Taryn said...

I love your style! Thanks for telling us about Aurifil #2600 - I'll have to hunt that one out. :-)

Annie said...

Love the simplicity of this

Rosa said...

Spectacular and the binding caught my eye!!

Pamela said...

I love everything about this quilt from the simplicity of the circle, the quilting, the edge binding and the back! Nice job. You have one lucky niece.

margaret said...

very nice, love the circles, are they put on with bondaweb? What a very pretty name your niece has

Carolyn J. said...

Lovely quilt - enjoy summer with your kids!

Lorna McMahon said...

Malena is going to be so thrilled! What a gorgeous quilt. The scrappy backing and binding are such a compliment to those sweet circles. And the quilting is amazing. Stupid mosquitoes.

Ginette said...

I just love this quilt! The simplicity, the fabrics, the quilting...it all ties together perfectly. The backing is great too!

J Martin said...

Love it. Both front and back...really bright and beautiful.

Quilting Stories said...

Very very beautiful quilt, on both sides! Congratulations!

Susan K from Canada said...

I love this quilt - I am just trying circles on a quilt I am making - this is perfect inspiration - thank you

Shellie said...

Do you happen to know the brand and color of the background fabric you used? Thanks for sharing your work.

mlisshouston said...

Cheers to a job well done!
I am currently working on a large applique quilt as well! My stumbling point is the quilting on this one. Sometimes I am comfortable with quilting over appliques, but not with this one. I plan to have it finished by end of July...that's my goal : )
Would you like a pic of it finished?

Nita said...

Love it! It's so unique and fresh! May I ask an unrelated question? My son wants a quilt that is monochromatic grays and beiges. I was wondering if a large slab would work. Have you ever just kept going with a slab until it was a full size? Would that work?

Vera said...

Pretty! I really like the combo and simple design. Plus the quilting add to it as well.

Anonymous said...

What a fun quilt. The interesting binding really makes it pop!

Lisa Lisa said...

So cool! I think it's time for me to get out my Accuquilt circle die and make a quilt. I love this!

Janet said...

I love the quilt. Making a circle quilt is on my to make list so I enjoyed seeing your quilt.

Laura said...

Oh the quilt is wonderful! Love the backing!

Liz said...

I'm going to have to give this a try - my Bernina has a blanket stitch an your's looks great! Love the colors, too!