Saturday, May 31, 2014

Friends - a quilt - Ta Da!

Friends - a quilt

In the nick of time, I have finished this quilt - which I have named Friends. My friends in the Modern Stitching Bee made most of the blocks for this quilt and I made the rest. When I was picking a block for my turn in the bee, I saw this photo by Bananaphone Robin on Flickr. She kindly gave  her permission to use her idea when I asked her. You will see that, in the end, I did not follow her idea properly for the edges but I decided not to change them once I noticed.

Friends - a quilt

I have loads of photos for you of this quilt. My friends carefully cut cute fabrics and low volume prints that read as lines to make my idea work. I actually picked this block before the economy/thrift blocks became so popular.

Friends - a quilt

I quilted this quilt a lot on my long arm machine. The quilting was all hand guided free motion. I have a ruler and used it sort of free style to stitch in the ditch. Clearly I need a lot more practice with both the fmq and the ruler work, but still I love how this turned out.

Friends - a quilt - back

I put some of my favourite fabrics on the back.

Friends - a quilt

Here are some detail shots after washing.

Friends - a quilt

If you look carefully you will see my concentric circles in the larger white areas are pretty squarish. My brain is much happier to make squares than swirls.

Friends - a quilt

Around some of the blocks I quilted swirls.

Friends - a quilt

Around other blocks I quilted wavy lines and teardrop shapes. The washing softened it all up without obliterating the quilting, which makes me very happy.

Friends - a quilt

Here are a few before washing shots so you can compare.

Friends - a quilt

Aren't the fussy cuts from my bee mates great.

Friends - a quilt

There is the whole quilt before the wash.

Since I messed up my last binding choice I thought I might consult the internet. Of these three I am leaning to the Jungle Ave dots - far left. Any comments? #quiltbinding

I put this photo on instagram and flickr to get some help picking the binding fabric. You can read all the comments on instagram by clicking here and just click the photo to go to flickr. Another reason I named this quilt Friends is because of all the help from my internet friends in making these choices. In the end I went with the Jungle Ave. dot print on the left for the binding and I made no effort to match the dots exactly - I prefer the modern industrial look.

Friends - a quilt

Friends is 60" x 72" after washing. She pulled in 5" in each direction from the wash, probably due to all that quilting. This quilt is for me, I am hoping she will work well for nice summer naps.

A Lovely Year of Finishes 
Friends was my May goal in A Year Of Lovely Finishes, and I have managed to get her linked up with just seconds to spare.

Finish Along 2014

This quilt was also one of my Q2 FAL goals too, and so now I have 3 finishes off my very long list.

 Best,

Leanne

33 comments:

Susan said...

This is absolutely gorgeous Leanne! And "Friends" is such a perfect name for it!

Canadian Abroad said...

Fabulous! The quilting really pulls it all together perfectly, and I love the contests between all the colours and the LV.

Anonymous said...

Hi Leanne! This quilt became so beautiful! The pattern is great and I love the way you have used low volumes. x Teje

margaret said...

this is a real beauty, love both the fabrics used and your quilting

Vera said...

I like those swirls on white! Congrats on lovely finish!

Judith, Belfast said...

Beautiful name and concept for a beautiful quilt! Love the quilting too! Jxo

Sarah @ FairyFace Designs said...

Fabulous. Love the colour mixed with the LV and the quilting is so lovely.

Michele said...

Yeah for you! It is a great finish and I love that you did different designs with the quilting on it.

Izzy said...

Wow this is a fabulous finish. Love the quilting too. Very nice job!

Heather J said...

Love the quilt and quilting. You and your friends made gorgeous blocks!

Pieces of Cotton said...

That is a fabulous quilt!

the running hare said...

Another beauty Leanne, and such a good name for it! Your quilting finishes it off perfectly

Ben said...

Love this design. Great work from you and your friends!

Sarah said...

I could happy dance to have some block in that gorgeous quilt of yours! It looks fantastic all quilted up - who knew you could lose as much as 5" all around from the quilting? Just goes to show I quilt as little as I can get away with so never notice much shrinkage! Enjoy napping and being hugged by all of our blocks.

elle said...

Nap away! It is a wonderfully friendly quilt!

Debbie said...

This is such a fun quilt! I love your border treatment and also am really shocked by the shrinkage! I've never had one shrink so much. Very lovely finish. Definitely looks snuggle worthy!!

cakath said...

Happy quilt - glad you are keeping it. Your bee mates did a great job of fussy cutting for you!
Another great finish for you.

Katherine said...

A truly wonderful quilt, Leanne. Much to look at and admire - from block to block as well as with your quilting. You really are a quick study with that longarm! A beautiful finish to enjoy - congrats to you and your bee mates.

Lea said...

I think she'll be perfect for mid summer naps. I love the colors and fabrics. Beautiful.

What Comes Next? said...

ooohh - lovely! All that quilting gives it such wonderful texture. I like the fussy cut centres and the use of the text prints - all in all, a wonderful May finish for you!

Mrs Flying Blind... said...

Gorgeous!!

Annabella said...

I love Friends Leanne. The LV fabrics work so well and yes, you definitely set the trend with the economy blocks. I love the quilting and the binding is perfect. Fabulous.

Sheila said...

You are certainly enjoying that longarm! I love the way the LV fabrics play against the crisp white, it's a gorgeous quilt.

Vicki said...

What a fantastic quilt! The colors are wonderful, and your quilting is a dream.

Rachel said...

The quilting looks great!

margaret said...

a real beauty

Charlotte said...

so pretty - a wonderful block for a bee!

Wendy said...

what a fabulous quilt. I love the colour arrangement and the way you've quilted it

Cindy said...

Oh, Leanne, another stunner. The fussy cut blocks are perfect and your idea of LV settings fab - they work so well together. Your quilting is just amazing too - love the swirls and tear drop loops. Great finish.

pandchintz said...

Gorgeous!

Anne said...

I adore this so much! I love the edge treatment, and the LV setting. :)

Sarah said...

Really nice! Funnily enough, I made a quilt using the economy block in May 2013. We are soo ahead of trends!

Archie The Wonder Dog said...

It's smashing!