Flashback Friday Finish - My own bed quilt!!

Last December, I finished one of my oldest UFO's-- a quilt for me to use on my bed. True to form, I didn't do a final 'finish' post with pictures of the quilt at 100% complete.  I'm trying to improve and document all of my quilts when they are done.  I did write a nice summary of the journey of this quilt
here.  In that post, I said how I couldn't wait to snuggle under it and I am certainly happy to have this on my bed.

On Saturday, the Mad City Quilt Guild had a small workshop on photographing quilts.  A professional photographer talked to us about considerations in choosing how to display a quilt for a photo and the biggest take home message was to think about the light source.  Outdoor light is best and indirect, less harsh sunlight is good.  Having the light source angled from the direct plane of the quilt will show texture by creating shadows.

We all enjoyed our time and experiments with photographing in different manners and we are hoping to set up a recurring time, once or twice a year when we can use the guild's quilt stands and lights to take nice photos of our quilts.  A member of the community was clearing out a family member's estate and donated a stand and two floor lights to us, plus the guild had invested in a very large stand several years ago.  The location that the guild meets at has a spacious community room with a nice covered porch that is that ideal setting-- indirect sunlight and protection from the wind.

xoxo
Kristin

ps
linking up with Crazy Mom Quilts Finish Up Friday

2016 - Year in review

Another year has passed and it seems to have gone faster than ever.  How is that?!?!  I always have ambitous goals, whether it is chores on a Saturday, things to do on a vacation or quilts to make in a year.  Looking back on 2016, I might think that I wasn't very prolific in finishes, but I had a lot of wonderful experiences.

I quilted my longest UFO (my bed quilt) and completed the binding in less than a week! (2006-2016).

I entered a quilt at Quilt Expo for the first time! And-- my Aunt Nancy happened to be visiting from Seattle at the same time as Expo and was able to spend a few hours there with me (so much fun!!).  

I sent my second quilt ever home with Nancy to give to my cousin who is expecting her first child! This quilt was waiting patiently for a special home.

I added another vintage machine to my collection.

I had a fantastic weekend in Eau Claire making bags and meeting new people.

I participated in the Lutherdale gala quilt again and feel honored to help with such a fantastic cause.

I've started what I think is my most stunning quilt ever!

I'm settling into my new sewing room at my new home and feel very blessed.

All in all, it was an amazing year!!  And I can't wait to see what 2017 brings.  The way things are looking, this might be the year of the baby quilt.  I have plans to make quite a few. 

xoxo

Kristin

My oldest UFO --> Quilted!

Very early this year, I declared that it was the year of the UFO.  Lately I was thinking how I haven't been as productive with finishing up projects this year and found time to quilt my oldest UFO.  It's "My Bed Quilt".

As it turns out, I haven't been as bad as I thought! Of the 5 tops I listed that needed quilting (Maize Maze, Cartwheels, Elephant Parade, Civil War Throw and My Bed Quilt), two were already complete and now my bed quilt is quilted!  I've exceeded 50%!  Hooray!

I named my bed quilt 'Swallow's Flight', because the shape of the burgundy pieces reminded me of a swallow diving.

According to the dates on the in progress photos, I started this in 2007! I saw the pattern at a wonderful shop in Fitchburg that has since closed-- "Going Quilting".  That shop was fantastic and I'm still missing it today (even though it's been ages since closing -2008?).

I had been quilting for about 8 years when I bought the fabrics and had done one other queen sized quilt before this.  Otherwise all my quilts were crib and throw sized.

My records are a little fuzzy (this top pre-dates my blog (2008)!), but I sewed the blocks together pretty quickly and might have even sewn the rows together right away.  But those borders-- yuck!  I don't enjoy long seams and really don't enjoy calculating borders.  It took until 2012 for me to sew the borders on! =O  Then I let it age more!  Quilting-- How to quilt it??!!??  After all that time, I used a pantograph.  It needed to be quilted and I wasn't going to deliberate any longer.

Maybe I should name this "Like a fine wine or cheese" due to all the aging?  My bedroom has literally gone through multiple redesigns in the time I've been working on this.  Of course these fabrics were selected to match the bedroom from 2007!  Oh well-- I love burgundy very much and I will be THRILLED to put this on my bed.  Especially with the wool batting I used!  I can't wait to snuggle under it!  After I get the binding done, I'll do a proper photo shoot and share the official results.

xoxo 

Kristin