Tuesday, August 21, 2007

Floral 9 Patch....Finished!

Except now it has a new grown-up name for an upcoming show entry, "Summer Mandala".

I documented the whole process of putting on the French Facing edge, but as I'm going to be writing that up for the next issue of CQMagOnline and have described it on my blog before, I won't put all that up here.

I did want to show, though, that before I sandwiched the quilt, quilted it by hand in the ditch (not fun, but actually what the quilt needed), and put on the facing, I did reinforce that top border seam by hand. That is because when the quilt is hung there will be lots of gravity pulling on the seam, and a fine line of silk thread whipstitched wasn't going to be enough to handle the load.

I used beading thread and a small stab stitch, going in and out along the fold where the seam would have been if I had sewn this on the machine.

Here are a few detail shots from the finished quilt.....




And here is the whole thing...

I think the dark green border makes it all a bit more formal looking, a little less chaotic.
I've really enjoyed this project....thanks for coming along with me on it!

23 comments :

Vicki W said...

Allison it's beautiful! The border is the perfect frame.

Rian said...

It's breathtaking, Allie! Summer Mandala is a great title. The photo flowers are amazing. The whole thing is amazing.

Barbara C said...

Another beautiful quilt! The colors are lovely.

Debra Dixon said...

Very pretty! Very!

Micki said...

Another amazing piece. It really is beautiful.

Leonie said...

I've enjoyed seeing your beautiful stitching again Allie. Lovely job on this one. I do agree with your choice of border as it offsets the riot of color that is so pleasing!

Warmest wishes,
LĂ©onie

Granny Fran said...

It has been a very interesting and educational, as well as enjoyable, guided tour. I love your finished quilts even more because of seeing you create them. Summer Mandala is so glorious!

Threadspider said...

You make it look so effortless, but that's a sure sign of mastery of your art. It's beautiful. I love it.

JoWynn Johns said...

Fabulous, Allie. And you achieved exactly what you wanted to with your seam treatments, giving definition. I love the flowing lines they make.

Marty52 said...

What they said..... ****sigh****

Possibilities, Etc. said...

What Marty said ****sigh*****
It's beautiful. The embellishing did calm it down and cause all those flowers to dance around together to a definite tune instead of running around in chaos. What an art!!!!

atet said...

It is absolutely breath taking! Congrats on this one.

Gerry said...

As always...stunning! I look forward to seeing your article in CQMag.

Granny Fran said...

Allie, you need to check out the article on page 48 of the Aug./Sept. issue of "Horticulture" for prints of garden materials made with a flat bed scanner. They remind me of the old Dutch paintings of flowers and fruits and vegetables. Similar to what you do, except you carry it a step further and use the arrangements on fabric in your quilts.

Amy Munson said...

The way you play with color and value makes the quilt just glow.

Cathy said...

Another stunner! I can't wait to see what you do next. Hugs from UT.

Maddie Can Fly said...

Love it! Thanks for letting me come along on the journey with you. Now what's next? (LOL)

Susan said...

It is beautiful, Allie. I agree on the dark solid border being a calming effect. Thanks for the close-ups. I can never get enough of those. =)

I'm an optimist, so I think he did come back - after all they went through! I could see it going the other way, but I don't want it to, even if she has Loren/Enzo back in her life. I want the two men to meet!

Gail said...

Breathtaking Allie, I have loved it from the beginning, even more now. I am in awe.

Deb Hardman said...

Really beautiful Allie! A blue ribbon winner for sure!

Kay said...

Beautiful! Thank you.

Janet Stauffacher said...

It's a beautiful quilt. I saw the pictures when you were first laying it out--so glad to see it finished!

Wendy said...

Simply breathtaking. I dido everyone here.