I just finished quilting this big quilt for Annette. She made the quilt for her lucky daughter.
It's a yummy blue - not as electric blue as in some of the photos.
I quilted it with blue and white So Fine thread and it has a white backing. Annette requested blue thread on the back which is not my favorite for a white backing; it shows every start and stop. It turned out looking okay but you notice I did not take a picture of the back!
As I lay the quilt on my machine to get it folded up it looked so pretty in the sun.
I worked on Cecelia's quilt during the 'polar vortex' and it was a pleasure to have such a cheerful, spring-like quilt to look at while it was so cold and gloomy out.
This is a busy quilt which makes it hard to give the quilting some impact. Luckily, Cecelia had me use my favorite wool batting which has enough loft to give the quilting a nice definition.
I have quilted several quilts for Eddie over the past few years. She made quilts for her grandchildren -usually huge bed quilts, always precisely pieced and well made. Here and here are a few of her quilts. She always had me save her a spot in December for two or more quilts. Last summer she called to cancel her scheduled spot and not long after that died of cancer. A few months ago her husband called and asked me to quilt the tops she had finished. Eddie was a prolific quilter - we found five unquilted tops and I have been fitting them into my schedule.
This Dresden plate is one that her husband says she had been working on forever. She only took it out when they traveled so it took her years to finish. They are hand pieced as well as hand appliqued. I was trying to guess when she started it; judging by the fabrics I'm guessing the early 90's - do you agree? I remember when every hotel lobby and restaurant bathroom were decorated in that mauve and green.
I kept the quilting simple but I think the repetition of the feathers and Dresden plates is pretty.
I'm glad that her quilts will be finished and appreciated by her family.
This is the large amazing quilt I mentioned in an earlier post. Russ made this quilt using a cross stitch pattern; he allowed a half inch finished square of fabric for each stitch. It is machine pieced, has over 17,500 pieces and took him 2 1/2 years to finish.
The original pattern was designed by Nancy Spruance and shows an historical Victorian house in Eureka, California called The Pink Lady.
He really did an amazing job - I think this is a case of a project that took on a life of it's own. The finished quilt is 83 X111 inches, that is before trimming and binding. It is so large that it drags on the floor below my design wall.
The black details are done with what must be miles of embroidery .
It was fun to quilt. I designed a border inspired by Victorian fretwork.
Quilting over a million seams took it's toll. I had to switch to an 18 needle and even then went through 3 or 4 before I finished the quilt.
It is quilted with mostly So Fine thread and I used a poly batting because it seemed the lightest choice. This is one heavy quilt!
