The Hand Quilted Swoon is Done!

Hooray!  It's pieced, it's quilted, it's bound!  But it's not washed and dried yet!  Usually that is the first thing I do when I complete a quilt.  But I wanted to take some pictures before it crinkles, as I have never made such a large piece with hand quilting, and with linen....I just don't quite know how different it will look!  But I will let you know.

Final dimensions (before shrinkage) are 107" by 90".  I have also resized these blocks, you might remember if you've been following me, to about 3/4 the size of the pattern.  So the original pattern has blocks that finish 24" and mine ended up at about 16.75" (please don't ask me to explain how that math works!  I have no memory how I arrived at the numbers I did, but it worked out.)

Piecing this one began in March 2013 and the top was finished in October.  I began hand quilting in January of 2014 and completed it at the end of June!  It works out to roughly about a block a week plus the borders and sashing in another 2 - 3 weeks. 

I love, love, love this backing I used which is a Denyse Schmidt print, from her line Greenfield Hill.  Unfortunately, as is usually the way things go, I did not have enough for a king size quilt and so I stuck in a panel down the middle of a Shelburne Falls floral print which I also love.  So yay!

What a joy to look at each of those stitches and feel a bit more connected to them, as each one constitutes a moment in my day, a precise movement of my own hands, a bit of my own concentration to make it just right, and so really... a piece of me!

(The size of the quilt is ample enough for our king size bed, but I've pictured it on a queen size bed as it was easier to take pictures in this room.)

And finally all the details to sum it up:

Pattern:  Swoon by Camille Roskelley for Thimble Blossoms (resized to my own dimensions)

Print Fabrics for Blocks: Various Denyse Schmidt lines, including Katy Jump Rope, Hope Valley, Shelburne Falls, and Flea Market Fancy.

Background Fabric for Blocks: Essex Yarn Dyed Linen in Flax

Binding: Chicopee Simple Plaid in Black by Denyse Schmidt

Backing: Greenfield Hill Preservation Peony in Blueberry and Multi Floral from Shelburne Falls by Denyse Schmidt

Piecing Thread: Aurifil 50 wt. in 2325

Quilting Thread: Aurifil 12 wt. in various colours, DMC perle cotton

Batting: Warm & Natural

Dimensions: 107" by 90"

Hope Valley Table Runner

A little finish today with some scraps! Made from 2 inch strips and squares I had left over from my Hope Valley Quilt, and 2 inch strips of Essex Linen in Putty I pulled from my 2 inch strip bin. I also was able to bind it in 2.5 inch strips I had left over from binding my Swoon Quilt way back in the fall. It's a woodgrain print from Timeless Treasures, I think. The backing was from an old sheet!



I have been using Bonnie Hunter's system for storing my scraps and I really love it. Whenever I am done a project, I cut the scraps into useable pieces: 1.5 inches (strips and squares), 2 inches, 2.5 inches or charms. Then they are ready to go for whatever I want to make. Like this postage stamp table runner!

Some Daylight Photos of La Petite Ecole Quilt

See post below for more information on this quilt.

La Petite Ecole Quilt Quilted

I finished quilting and binding yesterday and pulled it out of the dryer tonight, hence the dark picture. But I love it's crinkliness! I quilted a quarter inch away from each side of each seam and I love how it makes each little square puff up in the middle. Especially the ones with little pictures. Like this bug my littlest son loves to find in the quilt (while I was quilting it, while I was binding it... He'd crawl on me and look for the pictures!)



I used a recycled flannel sheet for batting and some wide flannel from my LQS for the backing. It is nice and drapey and snuggly!

Hope Valley Log Cabin Finished!

I finished the Hope Valley Log Cabin quilt yesterday. I so love to curl up on the couch and hand sew the binding on. MMMMMM. So cozy. And I LOVE the binding on this one. Would you believe I found some Flea Market Fancy in a fabric shop in Hawaii last month? I was so excited, inexperienced fabric store shopper I am, living in the boonies of Canada. I bought all they had on the bolt which wasn't much, but I got a discount! There were two more prints besides the brown. PLUS. I got some Katy Jump Rope. Yes, I am a follower of modern quilty fanaticism.



Anyways, today is windy and snowy, but my hubby braved the snow to hold up this very long quilt for me to photograph in the dimness. I originally thought to make it for a tablecloth quilt.. but it is so crinkly it won't look right. I used old flannel sheets for batting, thinking it wouldn't crinkle as much as new cotton. Oh well, I love the crinkly look. It adds to the vintage feel I was going for with the Hope Valley and the linen.

As we were walking out to take a picture, hubby asked his usual question: "Who is this quilt for?" And usually they are for me, or us! Is that wrong? A couple of quilts I have parted with after having them with me for several months...I think you know how I feel.

Quilting Hope Valley

Hope it works out! I'm doing straight parallel lines on either side of the log cabin seams and then across the sashing... Not sure about it but I am pretty committed now! I'm sure it will look great when it comes out of the dryer right???!

A Happy Weekend

I got started on THREE quilts this weekend! So happy!! This is the only top that is near finished though. I had to share it!!





Made with a jelly roll of La Petite Ecole from French General/Moda and some Essex Linen in Natural. The pattern is "Daisy Chain" from one of the Jelly Roll Quilts pattern books by the Lintotts.

Rural Jardin Pillow

Made with some scraps of Rural Jardin to audition a pattern for a possible king size quilt. This is using a pattern from American Patchwork and Quilting magazine by Lissa Alexander called Granny Squares. (October 2010). Lissa used honey bun strips (1 1/2 inches), but I used leftover jelly roll strips, so my squares are 2 inches finished, rather than 1.