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Friday, January 25, 2013

Finish Report! - Marissa's Moment of Caprice

Marissa’s Moment of Caprice

There once was a girl who was NOT a pastels and frilly kind of gal. She had more of a Gothic taste. But one day her mother needed to stop in a quilt shop. After some time, the girl wandered to her mother with a very feminine pastel charm pack in her hands and a very odd look on her face, saying, "Mom, I don't know why - I can't understand it, but I LOVE these. This is so weird!" So her mother replied: “Then we'd better buy them!” So they bought 2 packs and some yardage from the line, having no clue what they would be used for. The mother thought and thought and thought. And several months later she got an idea when she saw a nifty gadget for making yo-yo’s. The idea evolved and sewing ensued, interrupted by obligations of other quilts and by schooling, until one day it was a pretty pastel flimsy with a gorgeous pieced backing. This fledgling quilt waited once again while the mother gained some skills in free-motion quilting, the family moved across the country, storage mix-ups kept it locked behind many, many boxes. . . until at last, one winter, the mother finished the quilting on a pretty deviation for her daughter, chock full of a mother’s love for her wonderful young lady.


This is the tale of a long journey that started in 2010 and culminated today when I finished this label with the above story. (With the stats underneath)




What I love about this quilt:

It's *nothing* like Marissa's normal tastes, but it's special. It's almost entirely constructed from the Three Sisters "Aviary" line. From my stash I added white-on-white  for the pinwheels and a stronger green for the stems/leaves of the flowers and the center's flanges.




It's my very own design, made to spotlight the center on a twin-sized bed (which we no longer have). Post-wash size: 62 x 87 inches.  Pre-wash 65 x 93 inches. That's how much shrinkage you get between moderately heavy quilting and Hobbs Tuscany washable wool shrinkage. (washed on the delicate cycle with warm/cold water settings, dried at medium heat about 3/4 of the way, then laid out to finish drying)




The back - made from the rest of the pinwheels and what yardages we could still find for the line of fabric.




The pinwheel field with scrappy opalescent buttons.




How much the heart flowers pop. These were stitched on at the hospital when Scott had his stroke. (With a full recovery, thank goodness!)




The "eyelet" I sneaked in. I wasn't allowed to put any lace or eyelet on, so I quilted some in around each transition point.




The outer border quilting.




The messages quilted into each side. Like this one: "You make the world. . . a happier place."  You can also hunt out "Mom loves you always. . . and forever";  "Smile  . . . Sunshine"; and "Marissa is. . . Awesome".






That I did all the quilting myself - and that was a feat on a domestic!  I counted it up, and there are no less than 96 hours of quilting in this. Probably quite a bit more.





Challenges I overcame:

Getting the diagonals to match during the construction. I needed 8 panels, cut from two different orientations on the yardage, to meet around the center. I couldn't let go of getting the lines to match up properly at the seams, so I agonized over the math, almost forgetting the seam allowances, and got everything worked out somehow. If you look carefully, you can see the seam running straight down the center of this photo from the corner of the green flange.



In the center of each of the four sides, the diagonals meet in a V. That was a compromise since there wasn't enough yardage to cut the panels in a way to keep the diagonals running the same way on the entire field, as I'd originally wanted. But I really like it this way now.




Learning to Free-Motion Quilt. This round was particularly challenging to me, working with persnickety threads, 3-D flowers, and tons - TONS - of thread tales to knot and tuck.




Braving contrasting thread. I was worried that the blue and pink I chose for the bugs and petals contrasted too much on this pastel quilt. Once it crinkled up after washing, though, that factor was greatly reduced, so I'm really glad the threads stood out as much as they did.




Putting on scalloped binding, which was addressed earlier in this tutorial post.  (And check out how much the Tuscany washable wool batting crinkled up with the wash! You can see the contrast in the before-washing shot below. It's got a nice, soft feel now and doesn't smell sheep-y, if you're wondering about wool batting.)




Quilting the diagonal field. For some reason I was really freaked about quilting this, worried I was going to ruin the whole thing. I wasn't particularly happy with this element of the design to start with. I finally talked myself into understanding that an "unruined" quilt was no good at all so long as it was unfinished, and I finally got myself into gear for this last stretch. I fretted about a quilting motif that would blend with the rest of the quilt - and with all the crinkling combined with a print to begin with - you can see I didn't need to fret at all!  Those messages I quilted in on each side - you really have to search to find them. Major "where's Waldo?" effect going there. . .  And while I wish the quilt hadn't crinkled up quite so much, it did pull the feel of the diagonal field completely into harmony with the rest of the quilt. 






We still have smatterings of snow despite several days in the upper 50s. Love this view of the common-property meadow from the top of our back hill. . . 




. . . which is a great place for sledding!





It's all good.  :)




TGIFF
*
Link A Finish Friday at Richard's
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Whoop! Whoop!
*
UFO Sundays

31 comments:

  1. Lynn it is an absolutely wonderful quilt and equally lovely story. I bet your daughter is thrilled to bits with her quilt too.

    Would love you to link this up at my New to Me in 2013 linky party, it is so inspiring!

    http://celticthistlestitches.blogspot.co.uk/2013/01/new-to-me-in-2013-link-up.html

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  2. Wow Lynn! That is a wonderful quilt and such a great story! You should also share it at the Quilt Story blog linky party :*) You did such a fantastic job on this - it is an heirloom treasure that you daughter will love forever!

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  3. Wow, this is so pretty! Not my colors/style either but I really love it (makes me want to make something soft and pretty and pink)! And a nice story to go with it:)

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  4. Oh super congratulations on having it finished!! It's so beautiful. I think my favorite part is those diagonal stripes and when I see how you had to line them up it's amazing. Great job!

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  5. Very lovely...what an accomplishment! And a beautiful young lady to enjoy it!

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  6. It's a beautiful treasure, well worth all the time and effort!

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  7. Wow Lynn, I knew this quilt was going to be a beauty it's fantastic... I love the way you always add those special sentiments into your FMQ. You always have a wonderful story to tell with each quilt. Well done.

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  8. Oh Lynn... this is so sweet and beautiful! Love your entire post!!

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  9. Love the story on your label and what a great quilt! Gorgeous. I bet you're glad to finally have to done!

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  10. that is so awesome! I love that quilt and your scalloped edge is so great. I really enjoyed the story behind the quilt too. Congrats on a fabulous finish.

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  11. Marvelous -- every single detail of it!! The story - the colors - the whole amazing quilt . . . LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE!!

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  12. The flowers... the diagonals... the scallops... the quilting... the low volume colors... OH MY. This quilt is gorgeous!!! Love the pictures too. Great job; great finish!!! I'm now a new follower!

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  13. You must be so delighted with the outcome of this quilt. It is absolutely stunning.
    Cath @ Bits 'n Bobs

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  14. There is something really special about this quilt. Beyond all the love and learning, it just seems to hold a special kind of warmth. Not colors I would ever pick either, and yet I find it so beautiful. I'm jealous.

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  15. WOW!!! I'm not a pastels person, but I'd LOVE to own that amazing quilt!!! How very special that you've added the messages. I've never seen a quilt with a scalloped edge until yours.... It looks fabulous. I'd love you to share this at our Ongoing link party, that's just for Quilting and Patchwork

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  16. A goth... really! With Nadia only 7, we've got a few years up our sleeve before everything turns black :0) It is an absolutely amazing quilt, which you have just added to with the totally amazing quilting. I'm sure that with use, the over crinkling will ease itself out a bit, and reveal all those little secrets you have quilted into it (and next time be a little bit more gentle with its laundering!). I agree, it will become an heirloom... much loved by your daughter and future generations.

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  17. It is incredible! I am not us I will ever make anything like this, I don't have it in me, you must be so happy to have finished it!

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  18. Wowee! That's a great story, and really good insights into making this special quilt. I love how being short on yardage forced you into a compromise, because I firmly believe that being "backed into a corner," so to speak, pushes creativity. In your case, and in most cases, the compromise makes the quilt that much better. It's great to see how you've grown in your free motion quilting expertise. Interesting about the wool shrinking. I understand that you intentionally washed the quilt after finishing it. Do you always do that? I rarely do. And now, it's nearly impossible because I have a High Efficiency washing machine that doesn't allow me to fill the tub with water and then immerse the quilt. If I wash a quilt, I'll likely have to do it in the laundry basin, and I wonder if that will be sufficient to make it shrink. This is a very nice post, thoughtfully written, and helpful for all of us. Thank you for sharing!

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  19. It's so gorgeous! And a wonderful story behind it. I love that you quilt words into it!

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  20. And I had to do two comments because I don't know how to use an iPad, apparently. ;) and the scallops! So perfect for this very pastel and girls quilt!

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  21. What a beautiful, gorgeous quilt for your beautiful, gorgeous daughter. So much love in it, how could she do anything but love it...

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  22. What a stunning quilt. I love the soft colors and you did a beautiful job quilting it yourself. Your daughter is beautiful too!

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  23. What a lovely, detailed quilt, an amazing story of a mother's love and such a beautiful daughter. All this and such pretty pictures lend for such a Happy Ending!
    It's what all Quilts should be made of!

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  24. Lyn, that is an absolutely amazing quilt!!! And I'm so glad you shared the story and so much of your process! Whoop whoop!!

    PS Lucky daughter... ;-)

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  25. What a beautiful quilt and you did such a great job quilting it. Are you going to write a pattern?

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  26. Wonderful story and an amazing quilt! Love all those details and how you've challenged yourself. What an heirloom.

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  27. Oh my goodness! That is beautiful! You have a lucky daughter, and it looks like she loves it. Gorgeous!

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  28. Absolutely gorgeous, Lynn, I LOVE it and I am not a pastels kind of person either -usually.

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  29. Oh my gosh, it is absolutely gorgeous!! What an amazing labor of love. And your daughter is quite the beauty herself. It may not be her usual style, but it suits her. Well done, Mom!

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  30. Absolutely gorgeous!!!! I, too, do not go directly toward pastels....your quilt I would head first to!

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