Quilt ADD in therapy

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Colorado, United States
Other than my family, the passion of my life is quilting. An eclectic, I love a wide variety of styles and techniques encompassing both machine and hand work. I am a longarm quilter who can work for you. I enjoy any style, from pantographs to all-over to full custom, ranging from traditional to modern. I love bringing vintage tops to life and am willing to work with a challenging quilt top. Instagram: lyncc_quilts

Thursday, July 25, 2013

TGIFF Link-Up is Here - Run, Kitty, Run! is FINISHED :D

Welcome to this week's landing spot for TGIFF!

It was a clever idea that Laura and M-R had to develop a weekly link-up where the hosting responsibilities are divvied up to lighten the load. And this week it's my turn! If you want to explore  further, here is its mother page: TGIFF.  

(Today's link-up is below my own finish report.)


This finish absolutely thrills me!  Let me present "Run, Kitty, Run!":





The quilting on it represents a huge move forward for me with my Free-Motion skills, and the overall effect came out EXACTLY as I had pictured and hoped. Not so often for that to actually happen!




I wanted a nice marriage of classic with meaningful whimsy, and that's what came through. You see, this quilt is all about my friend, Christi, back in Florida.  I was so impressed with her gargantuan accomplishment of losing something like 180 pounds through sheer determination. She did it ALL by changing her diet and donning the running shoes every single day for a year. Well, she changed herself completely in that year (she's less than half the woman she used to be!), but she's done running or walking (when injuries or sickness demanded a slow-down) every day without fail ever since then. I think it's around 2.5 years now. An amazing feat in my book. She was NOT an exercise gal before whatever launched her into her crusade entered the picture. And she did all that weight loss without any surgery. A M A Z I N G ! ! !




It was phenomenal, and her daily reports on Facebook to us were so compelling, that her example led me to finally get off my duff, grit my teeth, and start power walking daily. (I DETEST running/related effort!!)  Christi's example gave me the impetus to do what I could do - truly pathetic in the beginning, when I could barely wheeze out 15 minutes on the treadmill at 2.0 mph.  My cardio system was in astonishingly bad shape.  I kept at it, bumping up the speed and the time a wee tiny bit every day, until now I normally put in 50 minutes a day, in running/power-walking intervals to net myself just under 4 miles in that time.  Several months ago it was determined I have Lupus, which explains a lot of how badly off I was and why it took so long to get into decent shape. And what a blessing for me that Christi made her journey public and prodded me when she did to work on my cardio health!




The best thing about Christi's example is that even though she ran or walked significantly every day without missing a single one, she was mighty encouraging for anyone who did any amount of effort. Put in a half hour every day all week, you'd get an enthusiastic "YOU ROCK!"  Only did 10 minutes strolling on the 'mill?  You'd get a "Go, Lynette!  Every Step Counts!!"  How can you not join in with that kind of cheering? And every single time I fell off the train and skipped several days or a week, her positive encouragement got me stepping right back on before I backslid too far. 




I will always be immensely grateful for what Christi did for me. The only way I could communicate to her just how much she has impacted my life was to pour myself into a quilt just for her. So I used her favorite color combo of blue and white, pulled in whimsy spots of Hello, Kitty fabric (Christi is nuts for all things Hello, Kitty or Marilyn Monroe), and confused her mightily, I think, when I messaged her that I need a print from her favorite running shoes. 



I love that I was able to quilt those in with just a modicum of simplification of the treads. I did need to downsize them just a bit to fit aesthetically in the white bands. 



This is my first quilt where I successfully rendered feathers. I'm very happy with them - particularly with how the center worked out. I only chalked in the spine lines for all of them. 



I wasn't sure what to do around the shoeprints, but was super happy with the effect of what I finally came up with after doodling on my acrylic sheet over the quilt. 



Quilting pebbles in with a tabletop machine when you have a minky back is a huge workout in itself!  And the thread tends to break, so you really have to go Zen on it and get in your patient zone. But I'm so glad I did them!

And that luscious minky back!! Just look at how rich the quilting looks in it!



With all the fancy quilting I did and hours of tail-tying and tucking (rayon thread on all those prints with 28 different start/stop points each), I couldn't cut corners when it came time to bind this baby. I got it in my head that I really wanted to match the outer edges of the bands, so I alternated the white and blue as I sewed binding on around the quilt. It took much, much longer to hand stitch it down to the back between messing with the minky and slip-stitching all the new color edges closed. But I'm super duper happy with the end result. :D


This quilt's turn-out has made my heart happier than any other quilt I've done myself, and it's soooooo very hard to let go of it. But I can't wait for Christi to get it. She certainly deserves a fantastic warm fuzzy with all the difficulties life has thrown them lately and the enduring positive attitude she's put forward through it all. THANK YOU, CHRISTI!  


And I'm linking this up at Leah Day's Free-Motion Quilting Fridays :D

~*~*~

So now it's your turn to link up and share your latest finish! Thanks for visiting, and take a moment to stop by some of the other eye candy being shared in the links. It's so nice to cheer each other on in our finishes. :D


48 comments:

  1. It's beautiful, Lyn!! Your friend will love it and what a great story to go along with it. I love the foot print quilting.

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  2. Oh my goodness! The quilting is amazing, really shows so much effort. I love the binding!!!

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    1. And temperamental iPad, I was trying to add...

      And Christi herself! What a great inspiration! I know we runners are great at encouraging others to just get out there. ;)

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  3. Gorgeous quilt! The colors! and the quilting is amazingness. And what a great story to go with it. Three cheers for you and Christi.

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  4. That is just beautiful Lynette! Love the pictures and the story and I always like a traditional log cabin! The quilting is stunning too...

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  5. It is o beautiful Lynette! I love the colour scheme and the quilting is amazing!

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  6. Now that quilting and binding is super personalised and well deserved after such a change of lifestyle. You are both inspirational. Love the words and the shoe print and they just shine on the back!

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  7. Great job on the quilting! And I need a friend like Christi in my life to get me moving! I hate exercise and know that will catch up with me one day.

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  8. Great piecing & quilting! Love it!

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  9. What a great quilt story to match the fabulous finished beauty! Quilting inspiration is everywhere!

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  10. Hi Lynette,
    Great story and great quilt. You should be proud of both the quilt and your friendships.
    xo jan

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  11. Amazing story, amazing quilt, amazing quilitng! You rule, girls!

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  12. What a fabulous quilt and story! The quilting is amazing!!

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  13. I'm amazed by your quilting! Well done.

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  14. What a geoutgous quilt! Lovely colors. Looking at it make me happy!

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  15. Good job... the log cabin is so versatile and as you've shown here as surprising results!

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  16. It's gorgeous! You did a great job on the quilting too, I wish I could do that half as well :-((.
    Thanks for sharing the story, and my compliments to Christi. She sounds awsome!
    Dutch greetings
    Dea

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  17. An absolutely beautiful gift for what sounds like an amazing friend. Congrats to you both!

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  18. Wow! That's really something else. I love it. What a strong and determined friend you have and how lucky is she to have inspired such an amazing piece. So glad I came across it!

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  19. I love the feet! I never thought of matching the binding to the colors like that. I may have to try that if I'm feeling masochistic.

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  20. OMG! Lyn, this is a wonderful quilt! Of course your story along with it makes it even more special, but the workmanship on it is simply great! Your quilting is just gorgeous, and I really appreciate the thoughtfulness you put into the designs. We all know how difficult it is to come up with just the right designs that suit the quilt's personality, as well as the spaces that need filling. You've done a magnificent job! I'm terribly impressed that you quilted with Minky, which I think is dreadful to work with. I cannot imagine how it is to quilt. And your binding... well, all I can say is you're a glutton for punishment! I've been contemplating binding options for my current quilt, and wondered about doing a matching thing, as you have done, but I'm just not keen on making about 30 color changes in just the right places. Now you have me rethinking that! Thanks! (NOT!) I can appreciate how difficult it is for you to give away this quilt. You should encourage Christi to enter it in several quilt shows. It needs to be shared!

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  21. Wow, it's amazing! Every little bit is so well thought out and perfect, I know she'll love it. Congrats on the feathers, maybe that's how we all need to learn, do it for someone we respect.

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  22. This is amazing! And the story behind it is even more amazing. Great work :)

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  23. What a stunning quilt and a beautiful story. I started reading because log cabins are my favorite and blue/white quilts are my very favorite...but the story is incredible. What an inspiration! I love how you quilted her track marks and the words that mean so much to her.

    I can't even wrap my head around how you did the binding like that. I know she will be overwhelmed by this and, hopefully, realize what her dedication has done for more people than just herself. Give her a big WTG from me!

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  24. Your quilting is amazing! And the story of your friend makes me want to go to the gym today.

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  25. I love seeing the quilt--it is so pretty-- and knowing the story behind it. That's what it is all about for me. Beautiful stitching to finish it off. I love all the thoughtfulness you put into it. A real winner.

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  26. Your feathers are great! I just tried them last week..it's a pattern to practice a lot for me! Just admiring!

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  27. Stunning finish Lyn! I agree with Flourishingpalms, it would be great to enter in a show or two; viewers would love to admire all your custom quilting, and read a bit of the story behind it. Congrats!

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  28. Everything about this quilt is phenomenal Lynette, I especially love the sole print quilting, what a brilliant idea :)

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  29. What an amazing gift! Your love shines in the stiches. Thank you for sharing the astonishing story and beautiful quilt.

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  30. What a wonderful quilt for a wonderful person! I just love the shoe prints and the words in your quilting... what an amazing journey for you both.

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  31. This is just phenomenal, the quilting especially is so meaningful and wonderfully done. I'm so happy you finished it and so glad you shared the backstory!

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  32. All of your custom quilting really makes that quilt! Nice job. And I know Christi will love and treasure her gift.

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  33. What a fabulous quilt and a fabulous story to share with us!!!
    I love the care and attention you have given each other. That is true friendship!
    Esther
    esthersipatchandquilt at yahoo dot com

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  34. I love your quilting on that quilt! I love log cabins the most and this one is a stunner for sure!

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  35. That quilting is amazing. I am glad it came out as planned. I can see where there could be hiccups, but WOW, it is perfect.Love it.

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  36. Wow! That is incredible! And the quilting is so lovely. What a fantastic gift. I will say, I absolutely love the binding. So posh, and I can't imagine how long it took to line up everything perfect! :)

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  37. I am totally impressed! Great effort. I love how it all worked together.

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  38. Wow. Two amazing stories, Christie and yours! This is such a special quilt - every stitch counts, too, right? Thanks for sharing this. It's absolutely inspiring.

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  39. Kudos to you and Christi...such an inspiring story!! And your quilt....the quilting is amazing!!

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  40. I love all the details that really personalize this quilt. You've taken little things and made them into major players in the quilt and that really makes it special. The colors, the fabrics and especially the quilting all come together to make this quilt amazing. Thank you for sharing your story and the quilt.

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  41. utterly beautiful and inspirational quilting! love it : )

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  42. Lynette, this quilt is just incredible! This is truly a quilt where each part - the top, the quilting, the binding, even the backing - contribute to make something already beautiful into so much more. The meaning behind the quilt puts it over the top for me. I'm sure your friend adores it!

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  43. I loved reading everything about this quilt and the person who inspired it. Running shoes soles as a quilting motif? I LOVE it! I know that your friend will appreciate all the effort, time, creativity and love you put into this quilt.

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  44. Your quilting is is beautiful and so perfect! Thanks for the comments on my blog. I just found yours and am looking forward to following it.

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  45. What an awesome quilt!! I love how your personalized it and she is one lucky person to receive such a gift. She sounds like a neat, upbeat person. Congrats on your exercise program, it's tough, I know. I lost 35 pounds this past year and it's an amazing feeling to be lighter. I like your comment about how you just press on after a bit of backsliding. That's so important and yet so tough at times. It was great reading this post as it was so motivational. I'm off to cycle ;-)

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  46. What a wonderful story, and an amazing quilt! I am sure Christi will think so too.

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  47. Oh wow! What a stunning log cabin quilt! Amazing!

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