Friday, August 22, 2014

EPP did not get the best of me

Hello and welcome to finish it up Friday!
I'm sooo very excited...I finally finished my "Oh My Stars" quilt top!! Isn't that an appropriate name for it? It is English paper pieced (EPP for short), which means that it is completely stitched by hand. I never ever thought I would completely hand stitch a quilt top, but hey, I've done a lot of things that I seem to have fallen into! Ha! Looking back, I'm quite pleased with my choice of fabrics (30's and polka dots) for this quilt, because it should continue to get better with age. I am so thrilled that I saw this to completion!

Specifics:

2" 60 degree diamonds (2" is the measurement of each side of the diamond)
Cardboard templates (I cut my own)
Video tutorial here
Quilting On the Go by Jessica Alexandrakis is also a great resource
Started: April 2011
Top Finished: August 21, 2014
Fabrics: 30's prints and polka dots, various white backgrounds, but mostly Kona cotton
Finished size: 63" x 83"

Now I get to baste and hand quilt it. That will probably take me another 2 years and 4 months! But for now, I will celebrate the fact that the top is DONE!

It's your turn! Please link up your finishes for the week. Thanks for joining me for finish it up Friday!

78 comments:

Melissa Corry said...

Oh my goodness, oh my goodness!! Absolutely stunning!!! What a beautiful finish. And 2 years is nothing when you are doing all hand piecing. Gorgeous!!

Good Golly Ginger - Katie Dold said...

Wow! Wow! Wow! It's absolutely beautiful! Will you be hand quilting it? I'd love to see the quilting progress.

Gunilla said...

Beautiful top, I also love EPP :-)

Julie said...

This is so beautiful! Congratulations on the fabulous finish!

charlotte said...

Congratulations! What a great accomplishment. It looks wonderful.

Ellomee said...

HOLY MOLY!!! I am bowing down! What an accomplishment!!! Congrats on a job well done!!

Nanaofck said...

Congratulations on your finish. Yes, lots of people have hand pieced a quilt, but in this day and age they are few and far between. It looks beautiful, and no doubt the quilting will just enhance it..

Unknown said...

congratulations on an epic finish! It is so beautiful--30s fabrics are a perfect choice for this design.

Julia Graber said...

Oh yes. This is absolutely marvelous. And marvelously done. Congratulations an your wonderful finish!

Rene' said...

It's just incredible Amanda!!

Unknown said...

Beautiful and gorgeous colors.

Unknown said...

Absolutely beautiful!

Anonymous said...

Completely worth celebrating!! Congrats on the finish.

Anonymous said...

Oh my goodness, how beautiful is that top! I have seen a few EPP quilts lately and have loved them all, but I haven't had a go myself yet.

Quilter Kathy said...

This is gorgeous... so pretty and sparkly!

Darcy said...

HAND quilted too?! It's official, you're an over-achiever ;-) Love it. Congrats on an amazing finish!

Patti said...

So beautiful. I followed your blog posts about this quilt. And of course was inspired to do one too. Well I have the fabric and the templates, lol! Congrats. It turned out so lovely.

Jessica said...

It looks fantastic! Thanks for sticking with it~ you'll be curled up underneath in no time.

Emma said...

Ermahgerd! I love it!!! I'm working on a similar one. I'm so glad you plan to hand quilt it too!

Angie in SoCal said...

Congrats! It is a beautiful top, Amanda. Love the fabric - so appropriate. I invite you to link it to Hexie Weekend where we love to see any kind of EPP eye candy.

Rachel said...

Oh it's lovely!!! Can't wait to see how you quilt it.

tisha @ quiltytherapy said...

Wow! It is lovely.

Kristal said...

YAY! I got to see this one hit the top stage. Good job! This also means there is hope for me yet.

Unknown said...

So beautiful! I'm so glad you're going to hand quilt this as well!!

Lauren Deel said...

This is so gorgeous and is such a great accomplishment! Congratulations and good job!

Josie McRazie said...

Congratulations! ! I am so happy to hear you are going to hand quilt it!! It will be amazing!!

Anina said...

Pretty! I just did a post this morning about the Grandmother's Flower Garden I started waaaaaay back in 2007. It'll hopefully be a finish by the end of the year.

Carla said...

Just beautiful. There's nothing more satisfying than hand piecing a quilt top. And nothing more painful for the fingers...lol
Wonderful!

MellieWo said...

It's so amazing! You should be very proud!

Kat said...

Wow, what a master piece! I did a blink in a sampler once that was EPP and that was enough for me. Kudos to you for sticking with it.

karen @ badlandsquilts said...

Fabulous accomplishment! Having a hand quilting project will be nice if we have a cold winter!

MaryBeth said...

Congratulations!! It's simply gorgeous!!

Lucy | Charm About You said...

It's absolutely beautiful! I love dots and 30s prints and agree this will just get better :) I finished my first EPP quilt top last week and it already feels a bit strange that I won't be piecing it anymore but I'm excited to start hand quilting it over the winter! Do you know how you're going to quilt it?

Cathy said...

Congrats on an awesome flimsy! I love 30s prints and just finished hand quilting my second bed sized quilt and ready to do another! I learned a lot in the process...how to use a thimble for starters! Good luck on your journey.

Quilt Lady said...

Nice job. What thread do you use?

Unknown said...

Congratulations - I just love hand piecing and hand quilting it is so meditative. Your quilt is just gorgeous - Love it! Enjoy the next stage. As always, thank you so much for hosting the linky party. Have a great weekend. xxx

Schulz Family said...

I just love it. The first ever quilts I did were EPP as I did not know anything else. No longer though. But seeing this inspires me again.

Merry Merry said...

Gorgeous, gorgeous! Have you seen the EPP Insanity Quilt? One more tantalizing project! This finish of yours inspires me to get back to mine.

Unknown said...

Your quilt is beautiful! Congratulations on actually finishing, and I'm sure it will be a real treasure for you and your family. I also wanted to say I appreciate you hosting the link-up every Friday. Have a great weekend!

Susan C. said...

Now THAT is a FINISH!!!!!!!! Well done you. :-)

Serena @ Sewgiving said...

I fully appreciate how much time and effort this quilt took you! Such a lovely finish and your choice of fabrics are wonderful :)

KathyinMN said...

It's fantastic. Congrats on the finish!

Mary on Lake Pulaski said...

This deserves another WOW!

Veronica said...

So beautiful - it will be a precious family heirloom, I'm sure of it!!

eva said...

oh yeah..... this would be reason enough to call you "crazy"....
absolutely beautiful...
when did you start it??
ever so proud of you!!!
xo
eva

Linda said...

YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It's soooo pretttyyyyyy! :)

SuperMomNoCape said...

WOW, just WOW. It is stunning! And congratulations on finishing the top. I'll look forward to see it quilted and bound no matter how long it takes you.

Christine S said...

Wow, this is great!

SarahZ said...

That's got to be a sweeet finish! Enjoy the quilting...it is a super cute top!

Anne / Springleaf Studios said...

Beautiful. I hope it doesn't take 2 years 4 months to quilt because it needs to be shown off. I admit I have tops older than 2 years still waiting.

Anne said...

Oh how beautiful! I love it!

maybe said...

Oh, wow, it is beautifu. Congrats.

LisaAnn said...

Beautiful top and worth the time! There is hope for me to do a hand pieced quilt!

Kay said...

Congrats, it is beautiful. EPP is my favourite way to sew and I am slowly working on a Liberty fabric quilt at the moment. x

Granny Maud's Girl said...

Beautiful! There's a far greater sense of achievement from finishing slow projects, don't you think?
How did you find the diamonds? I am happily piecing hexagons by hand, but I have a diamond project in mind. The closer I get to starting, the more the skinny points make me nervous. I'll probably have to make a cushion as a test piece first.

Suzanne said...

This quilt is going to have satisfaction written all over it. Imagine, a quilt all by hand! Yes, I know that's the way they used to be made but in any day and age, it's admirable.

roberta mill said...

Yay! you are now part of the 'slow quilting movement'.

lindak21 said...

OH my gosh!!! Just love this and would love to try one...but think my grandkids would have to finish it...HA! Such a beautiful quilt and one to cherish!

Lorna McMahon said...

What a labour of love and perseverance. You have done an amazing job, Amanda Jean! Lovely work!

beth said...

Now THAT is the kind of quilt you HAVE TO SHOUT from the HOUSETOPS about! Beautiful.

elizabeth said...

this is amazing and beautiful. In two years I have been doing hexes I have enough for maybe a pot holder!! :) i am so impressed!

Lisa Lisa said...

Goodness!This is absolutely beautiful!

Janet said...

Your quilt is so lovely. You did a lot of work in a short period of time to complete it in just a couple years. Love it!

Annalia said...

WOW! That's amazing!

Unknown said...

Congratulations on the finish of your amazing EPP star quilt top - it is gorgeous - I hope you are going to keep it as a family heirloom when you are completely finished. Colours are gorgeous.
Pauline

perry94022 at hotmail dot com

Kris said...

Congratulations on the finish. I would be so thrilled too to finish that hand piecing. I am really impressed that you are going to now hand quilt it. I have ambition to hand piece but not hand quilt. This is a beautiful fantastic wonderful job of a quilt!

good4life said...

Fantastic! it looks amazing!

Unknown said...

WOW! That star quilt is a classic. Your tribute quilt (one patch) is also timeless, not to mention such a lovely tribute. :) Good job YOU!

Thimbleanna said...

It's BEAUTIFUL CrazyMom! I LOVE it! I've started one too -- but I like regular hand piecing more than EPP, so I'm a little worried that I'll never finish LOL! I'm SO pleased that you'll hand quilt it -- I cringe when someone machine quilts a hand-pieced quilt!!!

Live a Colorful Life said...

This is just beautiful. What an accomplishment!

liniecat said...

Love it! Well done lol I may well have given up and made it half the size!!

Amber said...

Can you link to where you did the math for the edge pieces? I remember reading about it, but can't find it on your blog! Thanks so much! It's beautiful!

Trish said...

Gorgeous!! That quilt will be a treasure :)

Unknown said...

Lovely stuff! I stitched little white shirt buttons in the middle of the stars to join my layers when I made a similar quilt. I didn't have the patience to handquilt!

Unknown said...

That's amazing! All hand stitched? That's a huge accomplishment. Great job on the completion!

Pieced Brain Quilt Designs said...

I love it! It is so beautiful... Great job!

Jade said...

This is so beyond fantastic and SO inspiring, especially as a new to EPP fan. I just love it and would love to do something like this one day. What an heirloom this will be. :)

Roxanne said...

I remember when you started this, I loved your fabric choices right off and look how beautifully it has turned out. I'm catching up on several of your posts and commenting as I go--you've been doing such interesting stuff!