Thursday, May 19, 2022

La Mer

I have finished the second of my hopefully twelve UFOs for the year. I bought the pattern, 'Sea Glass' off Craftsy several years ago (details below), collected a few turquoise, aqua, sea-green, and lime fabrics for options, got started on it within a year or so of purchase, and then it sat for a few more years. I cannot tell you how satisfying it is to have it finished, and how much in love with it I am.


These are MY COLOURS! And yes I sort of yelled/sang that. Oh, they speak to my soul. So does the fuchsia of the crabapple tree. Makes me want to make a quilt in pink and turquoise, mmm.
It's not that big, just 40.5" square, but it was a lot of work.

I used a combination of Crafted Appliqué, Steam-a-Seam, and (I think) a fusible web by Pellon, maybe Wonder Under. I would have preferred to use all Mod Podge, but I ran out, and I was not going to wait a couple days or more to get more, so it was whatever I had at home. Crafted Appliqué is by far my favourite. No frayed edges at all. I had the flimsy done February 27.
This is really a good shot of the colours.

I like the before and after quilting shots!
Ensuring the fabrics flow together and have the beach glass look to them I was aiming for.


Once I had my four fabrics all ready with their adhesive backing applied, I cut out all the petals, and started fiddling with them to get the arrangement to my satisfaction. Then it was time to iron them down.

Next I layered the quilt with a fusible Hobbs 80/20 batting. It had been part of one of the Island Batik ambassador boxes when I was sewing for them but I hadn't had any occasion to use it since I usually do my quilts on my longarm. This one I knew I was going to appliqué using my Bernina, so I gave it a go. One thing I will say is that I think I needed to hold the iron on longer because it didn't adhere as well as I would have liked. One thing I loved is that there were no pins!
March 1, appliqué started using a walking foot

The designer has you appliqué the petals using a blanket or zigzag stitch right through the three layers. Lots of maneuvering the quilt through the harp space ensued.


She then hand-quilted around each of the gajillion petals as well as hand-quilted the rest of the quilt with 'ghost' petals. Hand-quilting is just not for me these days, never really was. I do have another UFO that is going to be hand-quilted (big stitch style with coton perlé) but we won't talk about that... So I put on my free-motion foot and started quilting the ghost petals on my Bernina.

This is probably the most open-quilted piece I've ever done. I plan to take this to yoga when I teach, as I always sit on a folded quilt and recommend my students do too, either one they bring, or rolling up the end of their mat a few times to make a little cushion. It's easier on your low back and helps out with tight hips and hamstrings, just in case you are thinking hmm, gotta try that (maybe next time you're watching a TV show?! I recommend that 'homework' to my students too.😉

True to form, Bella had to sit upon the quilt as soon as I put the last quilting stitch into it and laid it on the sewing studio floor. I'd planned to do the quilting around each petal on my longarm, but I used a few petals to travel to another ghost petal, and it was all going really well, and I do love quilting on my Bernina despite the small harp (7.5"), so I just kept going.

I used Isacord and Exquisite polyester threads for the appliqué and for all of the quilting and sewing on the binding, which was all done by machine. I know I have just stated my plan to take this to yoga, but I could also see it hanging on the wall in my sewing studio, so it may serve double duty!


Being just 40.5" square meant I could use the width of any one of my multiple pieces of aqua fabrics. I just love this Violet Craft cats with antlers print, and have waited a long time to find the perfect quilt for it. I did use it on a cushion cover for my good friend Liz, but I'd bought a couple of yards so I had plenty left.


This is the first quilt I believe, where I used an off-white binding. It's the same as the background, Kona Snow. I love the effect. Sadly, hanging it off the steel deck rail and then clipping it to branches in the crabapple tree means it's going to need a wash, so I didn't do the closeup shot of the four corners of the binding, but I may go add a photo after it's been washed. Besides, I need to wash it to remove the adhesive in the batting, and I'm curious to see how it launders. I have a feeling this is going to be a very soft quilt!


The photo doesn't really do the tree justice as to its size, but it is well above the roof peak of the garage, and the spread is at least 40 feet. When we first moved here, a little over five years ago, it was a hurting tree. My husband treated it with a pesticide to rid it of the bug infestation, and it's thrived, each year getting more glorious than the last. It's a fairly old tree too, planted by the builders of the house, probably not long after they built which was in 1947. Sadly the blossoms don't last very long, but it's a lovely pink southern 'wall'. Ancient lilacs line the north side of the double lot, so in spring it truly is a slice of heaven.

I named the quilt 'La Mer' (French for 'the sea') because it has a tropical vibe with the beach colours, and the design is originally named Sea Glass. It takes me back to two trips to the Mediterranean, where bright turquoise colours abound, both in the sea herself as well as in the beautiful tiles in many of the ancient buildings in all of the cities I visited along its coast.

Quilt Stats:
Pattern: Sea Glass by Talk of the Town
Size: 40.5" square
Fabric: Kona Snow, (from centre out): Kings Road Thread Fusion by Laura Heine, 'Dowry' by Anna Maria Horner for Free Spirit Fabrics, Unknown, and 'Forever Bubbles' by R.E.D. Original Designs
Backing: "The Highlands" by Violet Craft for Michael Miller Fabrics
Batting: Hobbs fusible 80/20 cotton/polyester
Quilted: on my Bernina
Threads: appliquéd and quilted with Isacord and Exquisite polyester




29 comments:

  1. That is one gorgeous quilt Sandra.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Very nice. My yoga blanket is a California "Beach blanket" that a friend brought me from San Diego. Not as pretty yours, but it works well as a prop.

    ReplyDelete
  3. It's lovely Sandra and a lot of work, but both colours and quilting really make it a standout. Talking of sea glass, blog friend Cherie has also been posting about sea glass on beach in North East England in her 2 latest posts. Strange coincidence as hers was the same as your colours. Take care & hugs.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Wow, this is another stunner!!! And a size where one width fits with the backing, that is beautiful too. CAT scan approval is necessary, and ensures that the quilt passes her eyes with 100% !!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Oh, lovely - this is a beautiful quilt, well done on the push to get it finished. I love the colours you picked and also the fun backing! Such an effective design, highlighted by the great quilting :-)

    ReplyDelete
  6. Sandra, this is gorgeous, I love your choice of fabrics! I don't like quilting on my sewing machine even that size, let alone with all the moves you had to make. I like the simplicity of your outlining the petals though. And, of course Bella has to approve! Your crabapple is gorgeous, what color! My lilacs just bloomed the past 2 days, no crabapples here, but there is a lovely hawthorn tree in bloom between the deck and the creek.

    ReplyDelete
  7. And, I forgot to mention how adorable that Violet Craft cats with antler fabric is on the back, perfect color, and so cute!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Sandra it's wonderful, looking at it i can almost taste the salt

    ReplyDelete
  9. Simply stunning! Oh how I love the colours! I'm with you on the hand quilting thing. Love the ghost petals.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Well, if ever therre was a quilt that was you, this is it. The colors, the design, the name. It's just perfect, Sandra! A true beauty!

    ReplyDelete
  11. Stunning quilt, Sandra!!! Swooning over here!!! And yes, that tree is a beauty now!

    ReplyDelete
  12. I knew I had to see this one on your blog because of the beautiful enlargements I can get of the photos. Did NOT disappoint!! Also, a nice closeup of the beautiful Bella. No wonder she claims this quilt with that backing! lol

    ReplyDelete
  13. Absolutely beautiful! Enjoy the long weekend!

    ReplyDelete
  14. I love all those turquoises and the beautiful design. The quilting compliments it perfectly. So you said you used "Mod Podge" Is that something that can be used in quilting? I've only heard of it in gluing completed puzzles together and things like that. I'm a literal so perhaps you meant something else. LOL. Bella's seal of approval is a must with all quilts. Congrats on getting another UFO completed. Love the photo of the tree and am entranced by the large green leaves in the foreground. Wondering what those plants are.

    ReplyDelete
  15. What a beautiful quilt! The colors you chose to use are "my colors" too, so I totally approve of your choices. It's interesting that it's called a Seaglass Quilt, because I too have been making Seaglass quilts that don't look like yours. Seems that more than one designer is using the same name. It's great that you quilt on a domestic Bernina. I do too, and can't imagine quilting any other way. Keep up the lovely work! And it's great that your hubs was able to save that gorgeous tree. I totally admire it, the color, and that you have lilacs! Gosh, living in Florida as I do now (ten years come June), lilacs are what I miss most about living in the Midwest.

    ReplyDelete
  16. It's lovely, especially when paired with your blooming crabapple tree. Congratulations on turning a long term UFO into a stunning finish. I'd love to know how the wash goes with that adhesive batting

    ReplyDelete
  17. A beautiful choice of fabrics, which made a great quilt.

    ReplyDelete
  18. So beautiful, love the colours and the design.

    ReplyDelete
  19. Sandra! I almost ask why, oh why, did this take so long to finish. But, you finished it in the perfect time. Perhaps you would have made different choices if you had rushed through it, and seeing it finished in all of its fabulousness it was meant to be now. Sea glass - oh yes. The ghost petal quilting is just brilliant. I absolutely LOVE this. Even the cute antler fabric matches so nicely. It will be a joy to use it for yoga, I think. Take care and {{hugs}} a bunch! ~smile~ Roseanne

    ReplyDelete
  20. Love the quilted ghost petals and the quilting from the back. I'm sure stitching around each petal was a pain but worth it. Fabulous.

    ReplyDelete
  21. Absolutely stunning Sandra...love the colours and the pattern is beautiful...love and hugs Sue xx

    ReplyDelete
  22. I so love this quilt! It is in one of my favorite colorways and then to see it beside the crab apple - well that is too much. We had a crab apple tree at our old house, and I loved it in bloom and loved what I called pink snow...the day most of the petals came down. You did a fabulous job quilting it and it is perfect for yoga....oh to be on the mat again....I did seated yoga this week...not the same at all.

    ReplyDelete
  23. MichelleinScotlandMay 22, 2022 at 3:19 PM

    That quilt is beautiful, worth the effort. I'm like you that sometimes once you start you just have to finish and will find away. Love your crab apple tree too.

    ReplyDelete
  24. Hi Sandra, it really is a gorgeous quilt. I thought that I had bought it but it seems not. I did find it on Etsy, so maybe one day. It is awesome. Thanks for linking up to Free Motion Mavericks.

    ReplyDelete
  25. I am so glad you finished this one too!! it is wonderful!! I really love where you took the quilting!!! it just makes that whole quilt!!!

    ReplyDelete
  26. It is so pretty, Sandra, I love the fabrics. I have done a wall hanging with the applique sewn to the whole sandwich, and it is kind of neat - yours looks so great, even on the back, it is such a striking pattern. Wonderful - well done! Thanks for sharing, and take care.

    ReplyDelete
  27. What an absolutely gorgeous quilt, Sandra! I think the quilting you did on it really makes those petals shine! And the colors speak to me as well! Well done!

    ReplyDelete