Saturday, October 30, 2010

Bloggers Quilt Festival - Fall 2010

If you're a first time visitor who has landed here  due to the Quilt Festival - welcome to my crazy piece of Blogland. Feel free to have a look around  and please leave me a comment so I know you've been ! I'm always thrilled  to discover new blogs and I'd love to reciprocate by visiting you.

Amy's Creative Side - Blogger's Quilt Festival

Amy over at Amy's Creative Side  is hosting the Fall 2010 Bloggers Quilt Festival. I missed this last  time, so this time I'm jumping in. A lot  of creative genius liberally sprinkled with profanity goes into every stitch I sew. I might as well share it.

Sometimes you see a quilt idea and you're immediately inspired.  When I saw this quilt at  Cluck Cluck Sew  and  then a similar design at  A Commonplace Life  I had to make it.  

Fabric choice was a no brainer. The moment I saw this quilt I  decided to use the Moda Oz I had in my stash. I'm not afraid of colour.  I like loud and bold. So does Sanae.

So I fused the fabric onto the double sided heat bond, then cut out about 81 circles , and then fused those onto squares. And then I laid it all out to see what it looked like. At this point I got nervous about whether I should cut those 81 individual blocks into quarters and started second guessing my original plan. 


But since the  original idea was for each block to have 4 different quarters I knew I wouldn't be happy unless I gave it a crack  and so I went with my gut and leaped.


I looked at the 324 bits, (which don't look anywhere near as scary neatly stacked  in this box as they did spread out all over my kitchen table ) and when I thought about all the seams I was going to have to match up I almost  vomited on the spot. Wonky seams upset my Virgo-ness.  And then I realised. It's just fabric. Quilting is about trying new things.  Enjoying yourself. Experimenting. Loving the creative process. Getting jiggy with the seam ripper if you have to.  

A journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step, so I started sewing.


And by the time I finished this is what I had...



This quilt isn't perfect. Some of the seams don't quite match. That's OK, I love the way it turned out.  This is my favourite quilt of 2010.  Thanks for stopping by and letting me share it with you.

44 comments:

Linda at Roscoe's Ma said...

Oh my. This quilt is just beautiful. I love the fabrics you chose. The whole quilt just shimmers with color!

Kate said...

What a fun quilt! I like how all the pinks and lights seem to blend and then the red, green and stripes act light highlights and add that shimmer.

On matching seams, I like the rule my first quilting teacher gave us. If you won't notice it when riding past the quilt on a galloping horse, don't worry about it.

{Leila}Where the Orchids Grow said...

You're virgo-ness makes me smile :-) I've got a little virgo boy who doesn't always understands (appreciates) his mummy's pisces-ness disorder ;)
Your quilt is very pretty! I've seen this circle quilt by cluck cluck sew pop up all over the BQF! It's a hit!

Marg said...

I love this quilt, so happy and cheerful. Such beautiful bright colours.
I love Kate's teacher's words of wisdom, I am going to try and remember that next time my seams don't match.
I think I am going to have to make one of these too..

melissa said...

That looks fantastic, i love the fabrics! i laughed at Kates teacher- lots of my seams dont match but its not about perfection for me, im just having fun! Enjoy the BQF!

Baa-Me Kniits said...

I love that quilt and you have left me in awe of your sewing ability....no way I would ever attempt that!! It is brilliant! Well done for doing something new and challenging...its what makes us grow :-)

Coloradolady said...

I love it!! I have to admit, I don't have the courage yet to try something with circles or curves....heck, I'm still working on straight seams and matching those!!!

Your quilt is lovely..you should be so proud!

Michelle said...

That is one awesome quilt, Mrs. P.! So bright and cheery. It just sings.

Shevvy said...

I love this one too. I didn't realise the circles were fused to the squares. I've only tried it on a couple of little things so far.

Alisa said...

My lack of Virgo-ness is most likely the problem! I'm sure Aries are horrible sewers.
Love the quilt. The colors scream happy.

Elizabeth said...

You knocked it out of the part with this one! Beautiful job!

xo -E

Anonymous said...

The first layout would have been great, but you took this quilt to fantastic! Congratulations on an amazing quilt.

Sandie

Shelly said...

It's gorgeous! Aren't you so glad you were brave enough to cut them? It's so much more exciting this way -- good job!

Lynne (Lily's Quilts) said...

What a fabulous splash of beautiful colour this is - I love love love sanae and circles and I love non-perfect quilts although I have to say I can't see any non-perfect bits!

CLV said...

gorgeous! glad you stuck with your gut - it's a far more interesting and exciting quilt to look at all quartered like it is.

i LOL'd at "getting jiggy with the seam ripper" remark :)

Cathi said...

Wonderful beautiful quilt -- I love how it turned out! Your comment about cutting the blocks apart made me laugh -- 'cause I can well imagine how tough I'd find that!

AnnieO said...

It's just as terrific on the second viewing, Shay! Glad you joined in the Festival this time so you can spread the Aussieness that is you ever further!

quiltmom anna said...

I love your circle quilt- I am very keen on circle designs - they are one of my favorite shapes- I have been collecting circle patterns and have acrylic templates for Louisa Smith's patterns.My someday list keeps growing for patterns.
Your color choices are really pretty. Thanks for sharing and participating in the festival. Thanks for stopping by to view the paperweight quilt.
Do come and visit again.
Enjoy the festival.
Regards from Western Canada,
Anna

O'Quilts said...

Very nice blending of colors! Great job.

O'Quilts said...

Very nice blending of colors! Great job.

Larri said...

It's gorgeous! I think you should send it to me. ;o) I mean, hey, it's Summer there, and almost Winter here. And even if I do live in the South, it still dips down to 50F at times. I need a gorgeous quilt to keep warm! LOL Beautiful job well done. I love it almost as much as your stacked coin quilt you use as your header. :o) Happy Quilting, my bloggy friend!

Marie said...

i love it, it's fabulous... .... if you squint it looks like my zinna patch!

i would imagine this one took awhile -- it was worth every minute..

♥Duff said...

All hail getting jiggy with the seam ripper!
Oh mama, what a stunning quilt. Your commentary is an inspiration to fearful quilters around the world!
☼ Thank you for sharing ☼

Anonymous said...

It's stunning!

Denise said...

GORGEOUS!! I too love the Oz collection and I adore how you used it in this quilt. I am afraid of circles (LOL) so am very impressed by your quilt.

Lisa said...

this is so fun and so well executed! The colors are awesome as well!

Mrs A said...

that realy is a beautiful quilt, wonky seams upset my virgo-ness also, but yours looks fabulous! Thanks for your story, and link to the blogger quilt festival,

quiltygal said...

wow thats great ...I was telling someone how to do this method the other day ( even though I've never done one) it looks fantastic

Helsie said...

Oh God that looks hard to me! Circles... and all those pieces .... !!!
A lovely, colourful quilt - very YOU!
Cheers
Helen

Heidi said...

to me it's perfect, what beautiful colours
Greetings from Germany

Anonymous said...

Some of the seams don't match? How can you tell? Given the burped up rainbow effect of all that color (that's a compliment to your ability to put so much color together and have it look good) how can you see the seams don't match? I think it looks amazing!!!!

Claudia said...

Fabulous! It's a riot of color. You must be an absolute expert at piecing curves by now. :)

Miri said...

Gorgeous! A fabulous riot of color!

Btw, I like the first stage circle "quilt" too...looks like you have a pattern idea there! :)

Rachaeldaisy said...

All those seams look perfect to me!! This is a stunning quilt. A riot of colour!!!! I love that you posted photos of the before and after so its like we got to see 2 quilts.

Paulette said...

I love this fun and colorful quilt, and the fact that you took that leap of faith to do it. "It's only fabric" is a fabulous mantra. Your quilt turned out great, despite whatever technical issues, none of which I can see from here!

Barb said...

what a fun and playful quilt. It was worth your journey.
Great colors too

Susan Entwistle said...

I love your quilt, and I love how you picked circles for backing. Looks like it was a lot of fun, and the fabric is to die for.

Sandra said...

You virgos do have to have it all line up, don't you. What a fab quilt, so much movement and interest. Great job.
Come see my 1890 antique schoolhouse quilt and
black/white/pink scrappy miniature

Anonymous said...

Okay...I'm impressed. What were the dimensions of the squares and circles...I know you said you used heat and bond to attach circles...then did you stitch them down...HOW? This is amazing!

Joanne said...

I really like the design of your quilt ..... AND the colors. I am now a follower Hugs to you, Joanne at http//:lavenderfieldsetc.blogspot.com

Anonymous said...

Just loved reading your post....and seeing the end result of your journey...Warm Regards, Lyn

Charity said...

I can see why this is your favorite. Personally it looks as if it just pulls your eye right in. I love all the color. You did a fantastic job!

Judy said...

I love it! The colors are just calling!
This must be on my ever growing "To Do" list.
Thanks for sharing.

Michele said...

Love, love, love!