Saturday, November 16, 2019

La Vie En Rose

I am pleased to have yet another item finished, a large one, and checked off the Q4FAL List, which is here. I've had it done for a couple of days, but the sun did not cooperate for photos until today. This quilt is for my daughter, Brianne, the one who doesn't like quilts, same daughter who got me started in quilting when she, at the age of 8, basically forced me to make a quilt block to enter in a draw for all the blocks turned in, and yeah, I won. So I had to learn how to make a quilt. That first quilt went to her. Since then I've made her one other, again in pinks with oranges, and now a third, again pinks. Yes, she's a pink-loving girl, always has been.
I collected the fabrics over the course of about a year. That was oh, three years ago... thinking it would be for her then new home. Now she's in her new house (for over a year, oops) so this is like a happy new forever home quilt.
Yeah we got snow...set a record for amount, earliest, and coldest overnight temperature that fateful day. And it's been cold all week.

Last weekend when I was driving home from yoga in the Walkerville area of Windsor, I spied this white brick wall of the building where the vegan restaurant, an excellent one, Carrots 'n Dates, is, and with that black bench outside of it, I knew right there and then this is where I'd take a photo of Brianne's finished quilt.


The quilt is another one out of The Simple Simon Guide to Patchwork Quilting by Liz Evans and Elizabeth Evans. I made another one, which I called Twinkle Sprinkles, out of this book. That quilt I ended up sending to my cousin in England as a quilty hug after the tragic death of her husband in September. I had no idea, but the turquoises, pinks and mauves in that quilt are her favourite colours, so it was fitting. Anyhow, I've had this book out a few times now from our library. It's a great book, and there is at least one more I'd like to make from it!

It's a slick construction method that is a surprise, as when the quilt is quilted, your eye is fooled. The in-progress shot below spills the beans.
Cool, right? Simple 9-patches and patches, all squares, thank you, the end.

Here's the flimsy:
Getting it to this stage was not cool. There are errors in the pattern. This is now the third major error I've found since July in two books, as well as in McCall's Quilting magazine, where there are errors, in my own pattern, that are not mine, (another post, coming soon). The other was the quilt I made for the August hop, Ripples, from the book The Quilter's Negative Space Handbook by Sylvia Schaefer. I emailed her to tell her of a rather grave error, that, thank god, I had enough fabric to correct. I see from a quick check of her blog that she hasn't made an errata page for her book, so if you bought it and plan to make this quilt, email me for the correct cutting instructions. I can't find Liz or Elizabeth on Instagram or through Amazon, so I can't advise them of their rather grave error in measurements of the final borders, so again, email me if you have this book and plan to make this quilt! I fixed it in the library book and confessed to the librarian that I wrote in their book, lol. No worries; she's also a quilter, and was happy to know it has been fixed.

I set it on another bench outside the adjacent building which is appropriate as it's the Walkerville Brewery! (our last name is Walker)

There's an Etsy Christmas show going on here this weekend. First one. Maybe I'll be in it next year...

I loved how their quilt is quilted, so I followed the plan. Mostly.
People ask when I do diagonal lines on a longarm, if I do them in one pass, rolling and unrolling the quilt on the rollers. Nope, unless they're shorter lines where I don't have to roll too much. I find a spot where I can stop that is easy to blend back into. I will roll and unroll a little bit to get to that optimal spot.

Their quilt had all the centre large patches quilted with echoed wavy lines. I did random ones in most of the patches, (isn't that the best fabric? So Brianne.)

and straight lines in the city girls black fabric, which is 'It Girls' by Greta Lynn for Kanvas Studio by Benartex.

I followed the girls' hair and faces, in the 'Belles Parisiennes' Art Gallery Fabrics patches, and the outer dots in Kate Spain's pink Paradiso fabric by Moda. I hadn't intended for there to be so many French-themed fabrics, but it is à propos since both girls were in French immersion for all 13 (counting kindergarten) years of their education, Brady is also in French immersion, and I taught French as well as English in every one of my 30 years of teaching! You may have read that I was in love with all things France from being a preschool child; and in all seriousness I know I lived in France in one or more of my previous lives. For the stripe fabric, another by Greta Lynn, not bought at the same time as 'It Girls', I did straight lines following every couple of stripes.

Continuous curves, just freehanded, went in the 9-patch coloured squares, and diagonal lines across the white ones.

There are three solid grey patches, so even though Brianne didn't want a quilty quilt, I had to go to town a little on them...
A monogram

Angela Walters' signature design
In the photo below you can see the third design, Twisted Square from The Quilt Journal on YouTube. For the grey border, they quilted a large overlapping ribbon candy, but I elected to do a similar one to what I did in Nancy's quilt. I switched from the So Fine to Aurifil for the grey areas so it would blend in better. It amazes me the lint that comes off cotton threads after using polyester for the bulk of the quilt.

I bound it by machine, top-stitching it onto the front of the quilt. This is when I thought nope, I need to echo that straight line on either side of the ribbon candy.

Ahh, much better!
I love that hangers fabric! She loves clothes. And the drinks one is cute, too, girlie drinks like fancy Bellinis. Brianne isn't much for alcohol, but I have known her to enjoy a Bellini or a peach-flavoured vodka!
I'll update this post with the label and the backing photos once she receives the quilt in person. Since she reads my blog, I am saving that little surprise for when she has the quilt in her hands. Yay, the sun finally peeked out here in Kingsville; so weird that in Windsor, just 40 minutes away it was sunny hours ago, but not so here, maybe due to fog off the lake, who knows.
It really is square; just needs blocking once I wash it.

Quilt Stats:
Pattern: Nine Patch by Liz Evans and Elizabeth Evans
Size: 59.5 X 59.5"; after quilting 58.25 X 59"
Fabric: various
Backing:
Batting: 100% cotton (do not know the brand as I bought it off someone)
Quilted: on Avril; 87 815 stitches
Threads: pieced on my Bernina with Mettler and Gütermann cotton; quilted with So Fine #402, and Aurifil 2600, The Bottom Line in the bobbin

Linking up
Confessions of a Fabric Addict
The Madd Quilter
Quilt Fabrication
Alycia Quilts-Quilty Girl
TGIFF at Chris Knits Sews
Clever Chameleon
My Quilt Infatuation
Dizzy Quilts for the Q4FAL
Meadow Mist Designs for Favourite Finish


28 comments:

  1. This is a (IMO) a super-cool quilt. If Brianne doesn't want it, I'll take it. lol

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  2. What a great quilt. The colours are wonderful. I'm sure she'll love it.

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  3. Fabulous! Loved seeing each and every photo!

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  4. Great quilt for your fashion-forward daughter, Sandra!!

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  5. Great pattern, wonderful fabrics and gorgeous quilting. Lovely

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  6. I mist say, I love the stories you tell in your posts, the oopsies as well as the successes to make a unique and loving quilt.

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  7. A very pretty quilt for the pink loving daughter!

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  8. It is gorgeous Sandra. I would never have guessed the construction since the quilting hides it.

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  9. I like the addition of the monogram, love the quilting. And ohh the fabrics give this quilt personality.

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  10. Beautiful fabrics, and (as always) great quilting! Thanks for sharing- she will love it.

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  11. Thank you for sharing your beautiful quilt and story!!

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  12. Love the quilt design, the pink, the quilting, the "B", the photography! Love this quilt!!!

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  13. Wow - the pattern is awesome - a nine patch next to a square - who'd a thought?? It is girly, pretty and very French. So nice! I like the quilting choices as well. Some simple and a few ornate sections. What a beautiful gift and well worth waiting for. But the pattern - that is a great one - so nice for showcasing a large scale fabric.

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  14. The pattern is fab! And you did spill the beans, but in a good way. I love the twisted block quilting. Gotta get that one down. I am missing quilting as I have nothing at that stage, but should have one soon. The personal touches are always so much fun, like that monogram. Great job.

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  15. Such a beautiful quilt. I love all the pinks, grays and blacks. The quilting is wonderful. So frustrating when the pattern is not printed correctly, whether the error is with the designer or the editor. I'm always happy to have someone make those correction notes in the books I check out of the library!

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  16. Beautiful quilt, love the fabrics, super girly. Are you delivering it in person?

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  17. The two from the Simple Simon book can be found on Instagram. I'll send you the link. I'll email you about the Ripples pattern, I want to be able to mark that in my book. Love the pink quilt, and I'm sure it will find a cozy spot in her new(ish) home!

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  18. I think this design must be a French Chain. Like an Irish chain, but fancier and more sophisticated! I love the fresh, modern feel of these fabrics and colors and I'm sure Brianne will love it. So glad you're finally getting some sunshine, too :)

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  19. Hi Sandra! What a fun quilt that even your non-quilt daughter will enjoy. I sure love all the different fabrics you chose and it's wonderful to know that they exemplify Briaanne for the most part. Of course, I really enjoy all the different photos of your quilting. How interesting that you've found so many errors in patterns lately. I never in a million years would have thought this was a 9-patch with a matching patch. Very cool! Love your settings for photos as well although the snow arrival is way to early. Here, too. ~smile~ Roseanne

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  20. This is a great quilt, full of fun and meaning and colour. Brianne will have to love the pink and fancy fabrics, even if she isn't into quilts. Love your quilting choices. I'm about to start quilting a Christmas present quilt myself, and I think I'll put an initial in the bottom corner, now that I've seen your B.

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  21. Fun all the way! I love the simplicity of the pattern, but sorry you had troubles with an error in the pattern. I've had that happen, and it's just not fun. I love the selection of fabrics for this, and your special touch with the 'B'. I noticed it right away in the first pic. Oh - I should tell you 'thanks'. My morning ritual includes blog reading, and I always save yours for last. I refill my coffee cup, make sure it's nice and hot, sit back, open up your post, and read away. It's always like having coffee with a good friend! So, thank you! Hope you warm up this week. Enjoy!!!

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  22. Love the colors and prints. I love the way you've worked in grey and cream with pink. As always, the quilting is lovely and just right for this quilt.

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  23. That is a wonderful quilt!! and I love that you found the perfect place to photograph it- it looks perfect for it!!

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  24. Another great pattern for showcasing those large prints you hate to cut up! It came out beautifully, Sandra, and I’m sure she will be over the moon upon receipt! Thanks for sharing so many photos and giving us a good look!

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  25. All I can say is pretty in pink - love it! And thanks for the heads up on the errors in the patterns, especially those in the books. I, too, just returned the Negative Space book to the library. I would have written the correct instructions in there too!

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  26. It is a beauty. I am sure your mom would beam with pride and pleasure :-)

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  27. Love the colours in this quilt.Pity about the errors & it is most annoying if you've not got enough fabric to remedy it. Well done on finishing it after the hiccups. Take care.

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