Friday, February 16, 2018

Abby's sunset quilt-complete

Welcome to finish it up Friday!

Abby's sunset quilt is complete! I LOVE the simplicity of this quilt. It's made of just plain squares and just solid fabrics, but it's anything but boring. Hurray!
This is a variation of my Hot and Cold quilt. (The original pattern can be found in my book No Scrap Left Behind.) I loved playing with the contrast of warm and cool colors again, but this time I wanted to let the colors mingle a bit more than the original, yet still be separate. (I talked about the construction of the quilt top in this post, if you care to read more about it.) I can only guess how many different colors are represented in this quilt top. (It's a LOT!) As with any scrap quilt, the more the better!
For the backing I used some of my good neighbor's yardage in this lovely lime green. I love how it looks like a field of flowers. A row of patchwork squares breaks up the repeat, so no fancy piecing is needed to match up the print exactly. (I did think about trying, but then I came to my senses. Phew!)
I quilted it on my Janome Horizon with a walking foot. Normally when I machine quilt, I use the same colored thread in the top and the bobbin. Why invite unnecessary trouble? Well, this time I decided to use two different colors of thread: green in the bobbin and silvery gray in the top. It's not perfect, but it's not an eye sore, either. In the end, I'm glad that I made that choice. The straight line quilting, however.....it's. not. easy. In fact, when I started quilting this on Saturday, I got soooooooo spun up and frustrated at how poorly I was quilting it. Thankfully I had enough good sense to walk away and take a break. (I normally don't!) The next day I assessed the situation again. When I showed my husband where I was going to pick out some stitches, he scolded me....and he even used my middle name!!! I guess I was being a little bit unreasonable. (what??!?!) Let me tell you, I have a perfectionist streak that runs DEEP and I got to stare it right in the face. (It wasn't pretty....sigh.) Anyway, I carried on and finished the quilting. It's definitely not perfect. I did go back and pick out some slightly crooked lines...and then I tried to let go of the rest. Again, not. easy. I know that some people say that if you can't see it from a galloping horse 10 feet away, then it's good enough. (That one always drives me crazy!) I certainly don't agree. Somewhere in the middle there has to be a happy medium, right?
I used two different colors of Kona cotton for the binding: cerise and dark violet. I used cerise for the top section, in the warm area, and the dark violet in the cool area. I was pleased that I could come up with a decent solution from the stash. I did all the hand binding in a marathon session...less than 4 hours. (I love to savor the binding process, but yesterday it was a race against the clock, and the sunset!)

When my daughter and I were taking photos it was CRAZY windy. Here are some of the outtakes...just for fun.
 

I LOVE how the front and the back look together!!!
At the end of the photoshoot, my daughter was holding the quilt and I thought it would be fun to add a quick snapshot of her, since the quilt IS named after her and all. I love this photo so much! She posed like that all on her own. :) I also love the fish house in the background and the little bit of sunset, too. It sure sums up a Minnesota winter!
The quilt measures 62" x 74" and it's scrap project #197. This is also my first completed quilt for my "salute to solids" challenge. (You can read more about that here.) It feels good to have one done!
 
Here's a few sunsets from the past few months, taken right outside my patio door. Of course a camera doesn't capture half of the awesomeness of the sunsets....but you have to try, right?




Alright! Now it's your turn! Please link up your finished projects for the week. Thank you, as always for reading, commenting and joining me for finish it up Friday! I sure appreciate it! Have a great and safe weekend. xo

33 comments:

Chris said...

It's beautiful!

Mari said...

Your photos make a Minnesota winter look amazing. And what a great picture of your daughter! The quilt turned out lovely, too! Have a warm weekend!

em's scrapbag said...

Great play with color! I love it! Good job!

Colleen said...

Nobody does "Scappy" as well as you ! I love this colour pallet - both of them, although I think the warm is my favorite. The quilt I linked up has some "Good Neighbors" in it as well and it's too bad that Connecting Threads wouldn't make some of your prints 'basics' like the stitched fabric I used and those green flowers - I also liked the blue flowers.

Brooke said...

wow, wow, wow!!

such an awesome finish!
love all of your Minnesota winter photos!

brooke@sillymamaquilts.com

Mary said...

Just beautiful! Your daughter, your scenery and the quilt! Regarding your less than perfect straight lines....I've always said my favorite sewing tools are my washer and dryer....when that quilt has been washed and dried I can't tell the difference between the 10% near perfection and the 90% adequate 😉. Enjoy your posts!

Rene' said...

Beautiful finish Amanda! It looks like you and your daughter had fun with the photo session. Keep warm!

Alison V. said...

I love this modified version of the quilt from your book! I don't have a lot of solid scraps so but I would love to make one of these eventually!

karenbbsnow said...

Beautiful photos of a lovely quilt and those sunset shots are stunning. However the shot of your daughter is the best!!! This quilt will bring memories of her mom for decades to come:)

Yvonne from Quilting Jetgirl said...

The sunsets and the quilt are spectacular. I definitely agree that there should be a happy medium on perfection and letting things go, but finding that balance is more than tricky.

Turid said...

What a wonderful quilt, and great photoes.

Sarah Craig said...

So beautiful!! And that shot of your daughter snuggling in the quilt is priceless!

Crystal_235 said...

Beautiful quilt.

Robby said...

Another great quilt! My deep seated perfectionist has chilled out a little over the years. I was apologizing to someone about a less than perfect aspect of a gift and they replied, "But, if it was perfect I don't think I would be able to enjoy using it while I worried something might happen to it." That helped a lot. I'm now more selective about fixing things.

Susan said...

Super pretty and love the back too!

Anonymous said...

Cute photo of an Eskimo and her quilt :)

Christine S said...

So awesome as always, love it!

Linda said...

Your husband using your middle name made me literally laugh out loud! I've never met you but I'm guessing your posts are pretty much the way you talk, and I get a big kick out of reading them. :)

Lucy | Charm About You said...

It is such a beautiful quilt, all those squares, simple but pretty design! Cross hatch quilting is one of my favourite things to do and I agree straight lines aren't always easy. Have you tried a hera marker? I rarely quilt without using it for marking. I agree with you about there being a happy medium for perfectionism :)

Sue K said...

I so get your perfectionist streak. That is the biggest stumbling block in my quilting (I guess, in life in general). Mine is so bad that my husband has threatened to hide my seam ripper!!!

Patty said...

Beautiful photos. Love the quilt.

MyLittleBlueDog said...

Really lovely quilt and beautiful daughter. It all looks so cool and we are baking here in a ridiculous Australian summer... roll on winter I say, not that we get much snow. You look like you live in the wilderness it looks WONDERFUL.

Kerry said...

I agree - WOW! To the quilt and the awesome photos. Maybe do wavy lines for quilting - if you stray it wont worry you so much. Says the person who is gets really picky with her own things! LOL!

FlourishingPalms said...

It's a lovely finish, Amanda Jean! I admire your perfectionist streak - it helps validate my own! - so I understand your hesitation about leaving the quilting just "as is." And I gotta ask... you have ANOTHER middle name besides Jean?! I'm happy for you to have taken on the solids-only challenge. I have done that too, but not as formally as you. Mine began with the "Bars" quilt started during a workshop with Tara Faughan. Her lesson really opened my eyes to how to use color in a solids-only quilt. Though, it seems you've already got that mastered! I love that you can photograph your quilts - for now - against that lovely white backdrop. That's the ONLY thing I miss about no longer living in a snowy climate!

Little Quiltsong said...

The quilt turned out beautifully!! Love those 'windy' pics - it seems like no one is holding it and it's just fluttering on its own. Also enjoyed seeing the fishing hut and the Minnesota winter atmosphere - now I don't feel so alone :)! Cute pic of your daughter!!

Marie said...

so were the fish biting????

beautiful finish --- occupational challenges (CPA) keep me away from sewing for 4 1/2 months ... so I really look forward your Friday blog post and linky party ... keeps me sane -- thank you ....

pennylanequilts said...

I love the quilt, your quilt holder, your photo shoot and your sunset inspiration!

BJ said...

Beautiful quilt, great photo shoot, best backdrop! Favorite pic is of your daughter - she's already in love with this quilt! I'm working on my fear of straight-line quilting this year. I can tolerate a few wobbles in free motion, but that perfectionist streak comes out when I try straight-line designs. Your trials give me inspiration to continue trying to master it without turning my brain inside out. Thanks!

Anne / Springleaf Studios said...

Beautiful!!! Usually when I make an all solids quilt, I end up getting a little bored and have finally come to realize that's because there isn't enough variety in color to keep me engaged. Yours is just wonderful with all the warm and cool color changes. Using two colors in the binding was a great idea. Fits nicely with those sunsets too.

Unknown said...

Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful...every stitch,smile,and sunset. Great job!

Pam said...

Beautiful. Thank you for including the outtakes - fun to see

Di~ said...

Awesome Awesome quilt! Love every aspect of this great quilt. And you are funny! :)

KaHolly said...

Magnificent!