Have you ever started something that you thought would be one of your easiest and fastest projects... to have it take forever? That's kinda what happened here. I bought this Indian Summer by Sarah Watson for Art Gallery Fabrics from Vintage Fairytale over a year ago. The minute I saw them they reminded me of my sister, so I bought some fat quarters. It was supposed to be for her birthday last year, and then this year. It's a couple weeks late...but it's done :)
I used this simple tutorial from John Adams aka Quilt Dad, you can find it here. I thought the design was a good fit for the southwestern fabrics. I did make one change from the tutorial. I only trimmed my half square triangles to 8 inches instead of the 7 it called for. It seemed like a waste of fabric so my quilt ended up bigger than the tutorial. I believe mine finished at 60 x 75.
This took much longer than it should have, mainly because I just wasn't feeling well again. Then I got to the back and nothing went as planned either. I did not have enough Pure Elements Snow left to do what I wanted. Sooo, I had to piece more than I wanted to. I used every last scrap of the white I had left except one small rectangle. I purchased the circle print from The Intrepid Thread for part of the backing. The back looked funny and I wasn't liking it at all. There was a big empty space at the top. I have been wanting to try making my own labels for a more personal touch on gift quilts, so I did!
It was a lot harder to write on the fabric than I thought it would be, so mine's kind of sloppy but it was my last piece of white and I knew my sister wouldn't mind :) I used the Pigma Micron 01 and I think I may like a little bit bigger tip as well. This pen is great though, even after ironing over it, it never changed the ink a bit. I definitely recommend it! And I tried something new, yay for me!
Binding is one of my favorite parts of making a quilt, it comes easy for me. This is probably one of my worst binding jobs as far as stitching the last side down. It got a bit too far from the edge. My vision goes out the window when I'm not feeling well, so it took me way too long to finish this part too. But again, I knew she would not mind my imperfections :) I planned to do all diagonal straight lines in the direction of the arrows but my eyes weren't having that either! So I just quilted it wherever I saw fit and called it good.
I'm just glad this is done and I can get it in the mail finally. The colors in this fabric are so pretty, I really love them!
Linking up to Needle and Thread Thursday at My Quilt Infatuation, Fabric Frenzy Friday at Fort Worth Fabric Studio and Finish It Up Friday at Crazy Mom Quilts
Yes, the colors indeed are pretty. The pattern is neat too. I love blocks of color and this pattern shows them off well. I can relate to not wasting the inch of fabric from each block and winding up with a bigger flimsy. The baking came out well despite your misgivings and I bet your sister loves every inch of it.
ReplyDeleteI made one for my sister earlier this year and she adores it. Sleeps with it every day when she naps and some nights too, she tells me. I love that feeling.
Wow, that is a great sized quilt. I know your sister will treasure it! Sorry to hear that you haven't been feeling well. I hope you are doing better. This is a wonderful finish!
ReplyDeleteAwww, hope you are felling better. I really like this quilt! Funny thing - when I was looking at the full picture of it, I was thinking, 'Ohhh, I love that circle fabric'. Then lo' and behold, I scrolled down and you had used it for the backing too - great minds...haha. I am glad this one is off in the mail - it may not have felt like your best, but it really does look lovely - sometimes we are harder on ourselves than we should be!!!
ReplyDeleteIt turned out very pretty. I'm sure it was worth the wait for your sister.
ReplyDeleteIt looks fantastic Christine! I love the back a lot, looks very natural and more personal because it is pieced. Good on ya! (Now I want to be your sister hehehe :)
ReplyDelete"Have you ever started something that you thought would be one of your easiest and fastest projects... to have it take forever?"
ReplyDeleteyeah. every. single. project!
I think it was worth the wait! It's a lovely piece that should be well used and loved. The label is perfect, I love circles and see nothing wrong with the back at all.
Sorry you've had a rough time, I hope you're feeling better soon!
Love this quilt! I think it would make a great Quilt of Valor done in red, white, and blue.
ReplyDeleteI love this Christine!
ReplyDeleteI hate when a quilt takes longer than I thought though. That's my problem I'm having now with a jelly roll quilt I've been working on since June. I'm pushing to get it done by the end of the year at least at this point. :)
Hope you are feeling better.
Staci
I got an email after I posted that comment saying my email was undeliverable permanently you?
DeleteUgh it's probably something to do with me not getting my notifications! I'm not sure, it makes me so mad!
DeleteThanks for stopping Staci. I hope you get some progress on your quilt! :)
DeleteBetter late than never! Your sis is going to luv this quilt! You did good. I pray you are feeling better now. If there's anything specific I can pray about please let me know. The label is awesome. When I first started quilting and making quilts for family members, I kinda made my own...I used a book of iron-ons and colored them, but I never thought about putting borders on them. It and your pieced backing look fantastic!
ReplyDeleteWhat a wonderful finish and I like the size it ended up. What a lucky sister! And I really love where you put the label.
ReplyDeleteYour sister will be thrilled to get this wonderful quilt! It is a lovely pattern and such pretty fabrics. Congratulations on sticking with it and accomplishing such a beautiful finish, Christine!
ReplyDeleteI love your quilt! I think you choose the right pattern for the fabrics, they compliments perfectly each others. Very very pretty! :-)
ReplyDeleteThis is a great quilt pattern for using special prints! Your quilt turned out wonderful!
ReplyDeleteHere's a tip for using pens to write on fabric. Iron the fabric onto freezer paper first. It peels right off when you are finished. This works great for labels and for signature quilts. I used this method to make a signature quilt for a special family in our church, and all the members of the church (even those with shaking hands) wrote messages on fabric squares with no problem!
Fantastic finish - Great info about the pen, I've been meaning to get one of those so that I can add cute labels on my quilts too! I'm sure your sister will be happy with it
ReplyDeleteYour sister must be super glad that you persevered Christine, because her quilt turned out great! I'm sorry you had bad days health wise, but admire that you stuck with it! There is nothing but cause to admire your work!
ReplyDeleteEvery quilt takes much longer than I think it will. LOL
I really love big block quilts and this one is so pretty! I think I wouldn't have trimmed that extra inch either. Congratulations on your finish!!
ReplyDeleteI like the label in the center! I was using Printed Treasures and the computer to make mine, but have switched to hand written labels. Way to go on a great quilt for your sister!
ReplyDeleteThat burst of tangerine/orange really suckers you in...it gives a really fresh take on a delightful pattern// really fresh and inspiring
ReplyDeleteVery pretty finish! I like those fabrics in the simple pieced design, it really shows off the prints.
ReplyDeleteNice to see your quilt featured this week at NTT!
ReplyDeleteI adore that fabric line and this pattern is perfect for it! Beautiful quilt! I find adding some interfacing to the back of the label before writing makes it easier :)
ReplyDeleteLove Sarah's fabrics and this pattern is a perfect choice!
ReplyDelete