9/19/16

Blogger's Quilt Festival, Fall, 2016: Seating for Two


AmysCreativeSide

Good morning and welcome to the Fall 2016 edition of the Blogger's Quilt Festival. This event kind of snuck up on me since we're been traveling, but I'm ready to go. For this festival, I wanted to share my quilt, "Seating for Two".


This was the end result of a class I took earlier this spring from Ann Shaw to learn to make quilts using the Ruth McDowell method of piecing. The class was quite challenging, nearly bringing me to tears on the first day. You can read my blog post about the process starting here; and then, if you want to read more, just click through the newer posts for the next few days following.

Seating for Two is a commemorative quilt. It was created from a photograph taken on the beach at Rockaway, Oregon, when we celebrated our 40th wedding anniversary. Here's the original photo:


For purposes of the class, it was cropped to just the two chairs on the right.


Then began the tedious process of drawing in lines and creating the piecing pattern.


As an aside, let me tell you that 40 years of marriage will make your hair blow back.


The class taught me so much, and I ended up with a great commemorative quilt from this special weekend at the beach. Although the class was challenging, I'm ready to go back and give it another try in March of 2017.

Here's how the quilt looks on the back:


It was free motion quilted on my Baby Lock Tiara II mid-arm machine. The chairs and their "slats" are outlined and then I quilted some wavy lines for the "sand".


In the blue sky and "water", I used a sort of hooked swirl motif,


and then some rising and setting suns in the shell border. 


Here's the label I added to it (phone number blocked out).


Seating for Two will be on exhibit at the Northwest Quilting Expo this week (Sept. 22, 23, and 24) at the Portland Expo Center in Portland, Oregon. If you're attending the show, please stop by and see it in person.


Here are the stats for Seating for Two:

Finished quilt measures: 38 x 47 inches
Quilted by: Me! Free motion quilted on my Baby Lock Tiara II mid-arm machine
Best Categories: Original Design, Art Quilt, Small Quilt

This is my 6th year participating in the Blogger's Quilt Festival. You can see previous entries right here:

Fall, 2010
Spring, 2011

15 comments:

Ariane said...

This is a wonderful quilt! Thanks for sharing it with us!!

gpc said...

Very cool. I love the idea of a special-memory quilt and you did such a great job with a daunting technique. Wish I could see it in person! :)

TheEclecticAbuela said...

Wow! You did a beautiful job on this.

Quilting Babcia said...

I think this one's a winner. You did a fabulous job making this.

Quilting Babcia said...

I think this one's a winner. You did a fabulous job making this.

Kate said...

This quilt is one of my favorites. You did such a great job of capturing the photograph without duplicating it. It's a gorgeous quilt. What are your plans for it once the show it's in is over?

Brown Family said...

Good luck at the quilt show!

Mary said...

I wish I could go and see this one in person. Maybe even Meet YOU! I celebrate 40 Years in November. I doubt the weather at the beach would be so nice. It was windy in July when we were in Lincoln City. Better for the kiddos to fly those Kites!

Lara B. said...

It may have been a difficult class but you certainly excelled Barbara! I'm a fan of Ruth McDowell and love her quilts. Yours is wonderful and all the better because of commemorating your anniversary!
Congratulations on taking part in the Blogger's Quilt Festival for 6 years!

Vroomans' Quilts said...

I loved watching this one progress as well as your talents grow. Good luck in the show.

JanineMarie said...

Oh wow, I am a huge fan of Ruth McDowell, and when I saw your thumbnail, my mind went to her immediately. You nailed it! What a joyful quilt! And thanks for sharing your drawing. I'm really glad you're going back for more. I predict you'll be hooked on this style for life.

PaulaB quilts said...

What a striking quilt, in the colors, the design itself and the quilting. I love beaches and can just picture the breeze blowing and the sound of the waves.

Juliana said...

Congratulations on 40 years of marriage, on creating this beautiful quilt in celebration, and on succeeding in a difficult quilting class!

canuckquilter said...

This is an impressive quilt! went back and read your posts about the class you took. I'm so glad you pushed through to make this. Thanks for sharing the quilt and the process!

quiltzyx said...

It's a wonderful remembrance! You did a terrific job on it Barbara!