Monday, April 1, 2019

Cheerio! Finished!

A few hours past the end of March, but worth it in my humble opinion. This is the March challenge for Island Batik, who provided all the INTENSE, incredible, delicious (I want to sing loudly all of that) fabrics for this project. Aurifil provided some of the threads, some are my own purchases, and Hobbs Batting supplied the batting. We were to reimagine a vintage block or quilt in a modern way.
This is one of the projects on my Q1FAL List which you can find here. I named it "Cheerio!" because it's an English expression of greeting, and this quilt is so warm and bright, I immediately think that; in fact, I can hear it in my head, with an English accent of course! Also the block is sort of a round 'o', and makes me think of the American cereal, Cheerios! So a double entendre, which I love.


I first sketched this idea in my graph paper design book while we were on holiday in Cuba earlier this month. I want to make a round shape without curves, and then I thought of interlocking and overlapping them, Once we got home and the 30 Quilt Designs Challenge started, I pulled out the notebook and coloured this design in, adding length to it and Design 1/30 was born. I hadn't intended it to be my March challenge, but once we got home and the familiar "what should I make?" and "what fabrics should I use?" back and forth/waffling/wondering/overthinking process started. It was when I pulled out the basics fabric bundle, Vino, Sunset, and Copper, that I 'saw' this design and those fabrics come together. I added a couple 5" strips from the Stash Builder strips and was off to the races. The flimsy post is here.

I went through my stash of Aurifil, and these were the ones I was thinking of for the o's, though I wasn't at all sure what motif I'd quilt there. I knew I wanted a variety of colours. Aurifil sent us the small grey spools of 28 wt cotton this year, the yellow is from last year, and the orange variegated is what I bought for Aidan's quilt, Radiance. I ended up ix-naying the yellow, as the orange has gold in it.

I used Aurifil white 50 wt for all the negative space that I had such fun filling. I put this photo on Instagram on Sunday and well, woot! woot! it not only got into the Sunday Showcase, but it's in the collage at the top of the post!

The pebbles within the straight lines are 3/4" and the filler ones range from 1/4" to about 5/8". I used an English paper-piecing 3/4" hexagon to make the chain down the larger half of the negative space.

Here are the threads and the motif I settled on for the o's, a wavy line on the diagonal. I did the orange variegated one down the centre, put a pink one either side of it, and then the purple either side of the pink. I was a bit nervous about the purple quilting up quite dark, but once finished and photographed on the fence or grass, it seems better.

I purposely did not centre the o's chain, and I did completely different quilting on either side of it, lines on the left after the beaded borders, and pebbles and swirls and the hexagon chain on the right. Pulled out as many modern stops as I could think of here!


I knew I'd do the flanged binding from early on in the quilt construction. Don't the purple and orange look fantastic together? I waffled a bit on which to use as the flange, but decided on the wine with the orange as the main.

I tweaked my tweaking a bit on this flanged binding, as I wanted a bit more of the flange to show. I cut the main at 1.25" and the flange at 1 5/8" instead of my original tweaking of 1.5".
Bella supervised all the pressing, patting the strips from time to time very carefully. She also clearly approves of my fabric choices from Bernie's shop, Needle & Foot, for the second version of my Beothuk Star QAL, which officially kicks off on Wednesday, April 3.

Here's the finished binding which I stitched down with a YLI variegated plum that I used on Dayna's graduation quilt, Shoot For the Moon:
You can also see the hexagon chain a bit better here.

Here's another look at the quilting in the right side of the top.
I got the idea to break it up in the first book I bought of Angela Walters'. She had a very large chain of bubbles down the one side of her quilt, and went from all pebbles to swirls, similar to what I did, but without the echoed lines.

Here you can see how the purple isn't as harsh as I'd worried it might be when it was on the frame. You can see the large spirals I quilted in the 'holes' of the o's.
I even managed to squeeze in my signature initials; can you spy them?! Hint: the flange hides them a bit.

Here is the back, some yardage we were given in our box this year, which tones so well with the front.
Sorry it's a bit lumpy lying on the grass, but ah! love the texture. And this is Hobbs Thermore, a super-thin polyester batting that I am so in love with! It has definition, even with heavy pebble quilting, and retains its shape wo well.

The label:

I didn't have to do too much fiddling with tension on Avril for the 28 wt threads, just loosened the bobbin and the top a bit. I still had a few 'pokies' on the back, but it's better to have the thread slightly pulled to the back of the quilt so it for sure doesn't show on the front. That's what I was taught anyhow! Avril, my Avanté is really great with various threads, and I love working with all kinds, have done for, like, ever.

I pegged it onto our fence for a full-on shot, but the sun was glaring, the wind blowing, and the shadow of the bush annoying. At least you can tell it's straight! Ah, the grass is turning so green, DESPITE our freak snowstorm Saturday night; you can see some of the white stuff (ugh) on the north-facing side of the garage.

Quilt Stats:
Pattern: original design (#1/30 for the 30 Quilt Designs Challenge 2019)
Size: pre-quilting 38.5 X44.5; after quilting 37.75 X 44"
Fabric: Island Batik fabrics
Backing: Island Batik: Mini Dot - Hemp Blossom
Batting: Hobbs Thermore
Quilted: on Avril my Avanté:  113 140 stitches
Threads: pieced on Billie, my 1947 Featherweight; quilted with Aurifil, 28 and 50 wt, Aurifil 50 wt in the bobbin. Binding stitched down with YLI Plum variegated 40 wt on my Bernina.

Linking up
Dizzy Quilts for the Q1 FAL
Sew Fresh Quilts
My Quilt Infatuation
TGIFF at Slice of Pi Quilts
Confessions of a Fabric Addict
Busy Hands Quilts

28 comments:

  1. Congratulations on the finish, Sandra. Your quilting gives the quilt such life and additional dimension. I especially am fond of the combination of straight line and free motion quilting!

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  2. those fabrics sing, and the quilting detail is superb. And a smidgeon of snow.

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  3. Georgeous, Sandra! The quilting really sets off the great design and the fabric combinations really sing :-)

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  4. The quilting on 'Cheerios' takes this quilt over the top! Outstandingly beautiful! I love that gorgeous texture! At least this time the snow didn't stick around too long.

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  5. I'll bet you got real comfortable making pebbles by the time you were done, LOL Nice Job Sandra.

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  6. Beautiful finish! Thank you for sharing.

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  7. Well, how cool is this?! Your quilt, from design to finish! It's fantastic -- love, love, love the quilting! Someday, when I grow up, I want to be able to quilt like that! :-) I agree that the purple and orange next to each other is a fabulous duo! Great finish, Sandra!

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  8. This really is so pretty. The quilting is gorgeous. Bella, as usual, looks adorable.

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  9. Outstanding!! The design, the colours and the quilting are gorgeous. 👍

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  10. Just a beautiful quilt!! I love those rich colors on the white and your quilting is lovely nice work hugs, Julierose

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  11. It's beautiful - well worth the wait. Your quilting is awesome as always. I really like the line of hexagons to split the large negative space.

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  12. Beautiful quilt Sandra. The quilting is fantastic.

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  13. LOVE! LOVE! LOVE!! This was well worth the wait. I love those orange, yellow and purples together. It actually makes me want Life Savers for some reason :) All that quilting goodness is like candy. Maybe that's why?

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  14. Fun and Playful. Love the cheerful colors. The spiral squiggle in the middle of the blocks indicates naughtiness :-) Are you revealing your inner child?

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  15. I love that you did wavy organic lines in the "cheerios." It shows up especially well on the back. Such delicious texture! Congrats on a fab finish, friend! :)

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  16. Now, that is one stunning quilt! The design is great, as are the colours, but the quilting...You have created a work of art. Puff out that chest and be proud.

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  17. I love your modern take on quilts! This is a gorgeous quilt and your quilting on it is simply marvelous!!

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  18. Hi Sandra! WOWEE - being in the Sunday Showcase is very, very, VERY cool! Both the hexagon chain and the flanged binding are brilliant, I think. Cheerio is truly a treasure, and I am saying that with a definite British accent. I am intimidated by all of that white negative space to quilt in. I'm not sure I could possibly be that clever to fill it as nicely as you have, but I sure do adore your design. The fabrics really shine in this happy looking quilt. ~smile~ Roseanne

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  19. The colours of this set of fabrics are amazing and you used them beautifully. Your exquisite quilting complements it. It's a picture perfect finish!! Bella looks very serious :)

    -Soma

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  20. Yes, LOVE LOVE this quilt! Awesome work and fabrics. What intricate quilting. The name Cheerio is a great name for this pattern.

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  21. This quilt and the quilting is stunning.

    I purchased an HQ Sweet 16 a year ago. If I only had the imagination maybe I could do something with it.

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  22. I love this pattern. You did an amazing job with the quilting.

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  23. This is gorgeous! The quilting is amazing. You did a great job. :)

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  24. Beautiful finish, Sandra! Your quilting transforms this simple design into something intricate.

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  25. Fabulous! I love everything about Cheerio! The quilting is awesome

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  26. It is a cheery quilt Sandra and i can here that English Accent as I write that. I love the colours and the circles. Well done.

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  27. I LOVE how you quilted this! It's a beautiful quilt.

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