Red and White Quilt Finally a Finish

 

It is with a rather large feeling of relief that I tell you that my red and white quilt is finally a finish.  The blocks started out as a Christmas sew along sponsored by Lisa Bongean of Primitive Gatherings.  The sew along was just a jumping off point for me, as I made a lot of additions that made the quilt my own.  I would say that about half the blocks in my quilt are from the sew along, and the rest are from various quilting books I had on hand.  I had the idea that I wanted to add in some basket blocks as well.

The blocks sat in a drawer for about a year, as I could not decide upon a setting.  Ultimately, I saw a photo of a quilt setting designed by Carrie Nelson for a completely different sew along.  Her setting involved surrounding groups of four blocks with lattices of flying geese. Hundreds of flying geese.

When I finally pulled the quilt blocks out of hiding from in the dresser, I was dismayed to see that quite a few of them just were not up to my present standards of excellence.  You see, at the time I had made them, I had not yet discovered the joys of starching.  Now that I starch my fabrics before cutting and sewing, my piecing is so much better.  With so many blocks not measuring up to the correct block size, or unsatisfactory due to other inaccuracies, I ended up remaking over a dozen of them.

Once the process of getting all 48 blocks up to snuff was completed, I started in on the over 300 flying geese.  I have to say, I definitely stalled out on this project.  I found myself avoiding even going into my sewing room, as the sight of that unfinished red and white quilt on the design wall just sucked the joy out of my mood.  I am glad I persevered however, as I know this quilt represents a ton of work and will be a great addition to my collection.  During the holidays we will all enjoy it hanging from our upstairs balcony where it can be seen so well from below.

I am quite ready to move on to some new project, and have a couple of things in mind.  There is some fabric starching to do, and I am waiting for some background fabric to arrive.

Thanks to everyone who participated in my pattern giveaway earlier in the week.  I hope the three winners will enjoy the patterns and perhaps pass some on to others.

Comments

[Ramona]

Your finish is beautiful... well worth the effort! The flying geese sashing really puts this quilt over the top. Congrats!

[Margaret]

Congratulations on a beautiful finish! I am looking forward to seeing your next project.

[Mary]

Gorgeous. I hope you'll show a picture of it hanging from the balcony.

[piecrust]

Most impressive,pure envy.

[T Holzer]

My question to you is do you have your binding ready, Nicole?!? LOL. Have a great day!

[Mary Kastner]

THe blocks are just beautiful. great job!

Mary

[SusanfromKentucky]

What a beautiful quilt! I love the flying geese borders. Flying geese don't love me, though. I have a hard time with them.

[Dee]

The quilt is gorgeous and the setting is perfect for the blocks! I remember seeing Carrie's Blockhead quilt and loving that setting. I think I might borrow it as well for a future quilt because it really does frame blocks so beautifully!

[carolyn]

Stunning...love the setting that you borrowed, love that you persevered through the doldrums of making so many flying geese and love the finished top. This is defintely an heirloom quilt!

[shelley]

Sometimes the process has to evolve. Your quilt is beautiful, love the addition of all the basket blocks! A treasure.

[Nancy Watkins]

Glad you persevered Nicole Because it is stunning!

[Helen]

Looks fantastic, glad you stuck at it can’t wait to see it decorating your house at Xmas

[Jody Randall]

Beautiful quilt and so worth all the hard work.

[sally]

Oh what a gorgeous quilt you have created. Loved hearing about your process. We quilters can all waver along the road to completion but you persevered and now have a showpiece quilt. Good inspiration for the rest of us ;)

[Debbie R.]

Perseverance pays off. What a beautiful quilt! Hopefully it will bring you only joy from this point on :-)

[Norine]

Beautiful!!!

[Jan]

Your finish is perfect! It's hard to get excited about a quilt's blocks when you're just not happy with the results. I'm so glad you figured it out & remedied the 'issues'!

[Julie]

Beautiful quilt! Will definitely be an heirloom

[Jayne]

Oh, I'll bet you are so proud of this quilt! What a stunning beauty! I know the various quilt-alongs you refer to; I have several of these same blocks in-progress. I just love your red and white! The addition of the baskets is inspired.

[Barbara Anne]

Oh, lookee what you did - and did so very well! This quilt as the wonderful creativity it represends - along with determination - will please you and bring a smile to your face forevermore. How sweet it is!

Hugs!

[Laura]

Bravo! Absolutely beautiful quilt and great story.

[Patty Fowl]

Oh Nicole!! It is so beautiful... you must be so happy, not only to have it completed but also because it turned out so amazing!

Some time ago, I had asked you about this quilt setting as I could no longer find the link and I thought it was going to be perfect for the Triangle Gatherings blockathon from Primitive Gatherings that I did about 18 months ago. Phew... it was a lot of half square triangles but worked perfectly with my blocks also. (I would send you a picture but that quilt is at my quilters)

[ina]

So gorgeous! I understand how you feel about putting a project away and then pulling it back out a year later only to find problems. I have found that my sewing accuracy continues to improve so when I pull out an old UFO I'm often disappointed in my own work.

I guess that is why I should just finish my projects b4 starting a new one? ;p

[Karrin Hurd]

Beautiful quilt!

[Cynthia Brunz]

I have really enjoyed reading about this quilt as you worked on it. It is stunning!