Friday, January 13, 2012

Floral Bouquet...an epic finish....

Now according to my little notebook I started this quilt back in November 2010. Yikes! I recall the fabric arriving (jelly roll of Bliss by Bonnie & Camille), cutting out the components with gusto and piecing virtually all of the blocks in a weekend. And then the top stalled. The pattern is Floral Bouquet from the clever Jelly Roll Quilts book by Pam & Nicky Lintott.
Some months later, in a fit of WIP reduction, I finished the blocks and completed the top, showed it off at Show and Tell with the girls, and there that top sat in my cupboard for months.
Last year I re-measured the top and ordered the fabric for the back. By this stage the colours I wanted were no longer available in large quantities so I compromised and chose the green medallion. It arrived. I had a bit of a think about how I'd build the back and then, you guessed it, it stalled yet again.
Well fourth time lucky on an absolute mission to finish this quilt, that I must say is my absolute favourite from the book and cannot explain to myself with any reasonable excuse, why I didn't finish it! I pulled it all out, set about piecing the back, basting and quilting it all in a matter of days.
Free motion quilting was an epic adventure. This quilt measures 90" x 62". The biggest dimension I've encountered so far is 80", so that extra 10" plus 3" of backing overhang was a real test. I have to admit I got lost in the quilt on a couple of occasions and couldn't work out where I was and more to the point, how I was going to get back to where I needed to be to keep the quilting moving around to finish back at the start. But I got there in the end!
I debated long and hard with myself about binding. Primarily because I'd chosen the green medallion for the back. I was worried that the aqua and lime dot would clash too much with the green. But now that it's on, I'm really happy with it. It's quite lovely on the front and works quite well surprisingly on the back.
The biggest thrill with this finish is the fact that it's finished and what's 14 months between friends! Another spectacular Finish it up Friday that makes me smile....a lot!
Quilt specs:
Pattern: Floral Bouquet
Fabric: Bliss by Bonnie & Camille for Moda, and a Moda solid that I've forgotten the code for!
Size: 90" x 62"
Quilting: free motion by me!

4 comments:

  1. I have to say I think the quilt looks nice. I am new to quilting and have been reading any blogs I can find for ideas on what and how I should do things to quilt beter. You said that you checked your note book about a date. This is something Ive not heard (but sounds smart on the surface) How do you track your quilting?

    http://richardquilts.blogspot.com/

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    1. Hi Richard, firstly thanks for reading! I keep a little notebook that I devote a page to each project. I jot down the date, who it's intended for, the size, any calculations and the layout for the back. It's a bit of overkill, but seriously it's a wonderful record particularly when you remake a block (like Maverick Stars for example), making up patterns and the killer....the date you started! I've covered mine with Amy Butler fabric. Theresa (ps I noticed your son is autistic. I have a little boy who is also diagnosed as mildly autistic!)

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  2. You're quilt is BEAUTIFUL! You did a great job!
    Thanks for sharing it.

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  3. I love your quilt. I have never found a real use for jelly rolls until now. I could see using one to make this quilt, it is lovely.

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