2/9/12

A Finish and a Start

Hooray!  The Sunshine on My Shoulders quilt is finished!  I've been working on this quilt for close to two years.  I'm so happy to have it finished.  Our weather is typical Oregon gloom today, but this quilt would brighten anyone's day.

I like how the binding contrasts with the orange in the border.  I used this same fabric in other areas of the quilt.  Binding this quilt was my goal for the One Thing One Week Challenge over at Amy's Creative Side.


I turned off the flash so that you could see the quilting.  It's all Aztec suns and geometric shapes done in orange, red, and yellow variegated thread.

And here's the back, which was designed to look like a giant block from the front.


So that's that.  It always feels so anti-climactic to finish up a long-term project.  Now I'll just fold it up and put it somewhere.  This one doesn't have any particular person or purpose in mind.  I just liked the design.  This is Judy Laquidara's Peaches & Dreams pattern.  Mine looks quite different from hers.  That's one of the things I love about quilting . . . how different fabrics can so completely change the look of a pattern.

With that finished, I can continue on with my February NewFO quilt.  I have half the blocks made.  Today I'll finish sewing these together and then I'll probably set it aside for a few weeks.  I like lots of variety in my projects so that I don't get supremely sick of working on any one thing.  (I've learned this strategy the hard way.  Does the Home is Where the Heart is quilt come to mind?)


This one is going together so fast.  I can highly recommend this pattern if you need a quilt in a hurry.  I'm aiming to have it finished in September, and so I'm in no rush.  But if you need a good sized quilt for a special occasion and don't have a lot of time to work on it, I could see finishing this quilt easily--from cutting to binding--in a week or less.  It's an interesting pattern.  I'm sticking with this pattern for the blocks, but I could see turning and rearranging them for other interesting shapes.

I'm also hoping to get the next embroidery motif traced out for the Promises quilt, and if I don't run out of time, I might do the next set of blocks for the Plain and Simple Amish sampler quilt.  A busy day of sewing ahead, no?  It's the only good thing about crummy weather.  I have an excuse to stay inside and sew.

16 comments:

Irina said...

This one is amazing! I love the warm colours, oranges, reds and yellows... Amazing work and the quilting is really nice too! I'm nearly finishing a quilt that I started more than a year ago!

Mrs.Pickles said...

wow what a lovely finish! The colours are so pretty and the quilting is just amazing!

Teresa in Music City said...

Wonderful Barbara! I love the colors and the quilting is so appropriate to the quilt. Great job getting that one "off your shoulders" (pun intended)!!!

I understand totally about putting one down and working on several others for a while. I love variety in what I work on as well, and that is probably why I have so many UFO's. But taking part in some of the blog challenges is really helping me finish some of them up. Of course, the NewFO Challenge is helping me start more! But I love that too =^..^=

Lynda Halliger Otvos (Lynda M O) said...

The quilting is so beautiful; I just love it. Very nice finish too with the binding. Another positive project completion; Yay !~!

PJ said...

Although orange is not my favorite color (I was told in a Color Class to force myself to use just a little as an accent and it would add that extra pizzaz to my projects. It does add that extra something and I find I'm using it more often and liking it better.) I just love your Sunshine on My Shoulders Quilt. Beautiful. Your fabric go together beautiful.

Terry@ a quilting blog said...

Sunshine on My Shoulders is beautiful Barbara!!! The quilting is great...love the designs...so perfect for this!!!
~Terry~

Diane Wild said...

Hooray on your finish and the quilt is beautiful. I still don't have my sewing machine back from the shop so I'm only cutting stuff. That's a start. I'm tired of cutting, I want to sew.

JoAnn SweetPepperRose said...

This is a combined congrats on finishing and a WOW on the pattern and great color combo. It looks like it feels Sunny and Warm!
JoAnn

Denise :) said...

Barbara, it's beautiful!! Congrats on a terrific finish. I think this is one of my top ten favorite quilts of bloggers!! :)

Kate said...

Congrats on the finish. Sunshine is a beattiful quilt. I love the bright, warm colors you used.

corina said...

Congrats! Love your quilt. The quilting design you picked is perfect!

~Niki~ said...

love this!
i have a giveaway going on at my butternut street blog.
i don't have many entries if you wanna come check it out. fabric! lol. have a great friday.

Brita said...

Orange, yummm. I keep threatening to make an orange quilt, but still haven't. I know if I start pulling out my orange fabrics, I'll be creating another UFO (the project on the wall)!

quiltzyx said...

Congrats on another finish! "Sunshine on my Shoulders" is stunning...where's my sunscreen?

Linda said...

I love your Sunshine on my shoulders quilt! I've never been a big fan of yellow and orange, but this has made me change my mind. I picked up some orange batik fat quarters this week while shopping for blues and greens for another quilt.

I like to have a lot of different projects going too, just to avoid boredom. I've been thinking of joining your NewFO project, but I already have about 10 different quilts started!

Cheryl's Teapots2Quilting said...

Query, what University is that fabric from on the NewFO? I tried to voom in, but I still couldn't read it.