Friday, January 19, 2018

Fresh off the Frame

Yep that's right, Old Friends is off the frame, I couldn't be more excited!  I haven't trimmed it yet.  I'm still trying to decide if I can live with the invisible thread in the colored borders of the blocks or if I'll rip them out. I did use some of that delicious 60 wt Glide thread in the nine patches and the border squares.  I used a medium grey which blends in wonderfully in the medium colored squares, looks a bit dark in the light squares and a bit light in the darker squares, but I definitely like it better than the invisible thread in the border blocks.  I'm checking the back to see if any stitches need to be redone, you know the usual thing.  When ever I do a custom quilt I ALWAYS forget to quilt one area. I go over the quilt many time before it comes off the frame and just don't see it until I lay the whole thing out.   Still trying to find that spot as well, I know it's there!  I did try to take some pictures in the snow.  How do you take good pics in the snow?  I love them so much, but I always destroy that flawless blanket of white on my lawn with my big booted feet.  This was no exception.  It was a bit windy, sorry about the snow on the quilt, but there was no spot on in the house with an empty space big enough for this beauty.  Maybe I'll try again when there's less wind.
How do people take those wonderful pictures in the snow??? It was a bit windy and challenging to keep this on the ground

sigh, trampled snow

One big quilt

Just love a fresh off the frame quilt
Even harder getting the back outside - this almost ended up in the neighbors yard right after this shot. Big gust of wind go right under this big quilt and I was running after it!  What a sight

Yummy! that Cotton Sateen has a little bit of sheen and is just so soft
Specifics on this quilt -

  • Size - 108x108
  • Pattern Old Friends BOM - this was a free BOM from Calico Girls that started in Nov 2014, yep, that long ago.  But hey almost there now, trim binding, done. Ok I may get stuck on the binding for some time.....
  • Batting - 2 layers, Hobbs 80/20 on bottom (I wish I would have used a black batting, but I used what I had since this was mine) Hobbs Wool on top
  • Thread - In the grey back ground top and bottom - Dark Grey Bottom Line (there may be a shortage of this thread now :) - over 9000 yds of the stuff on this baby.  I used monoply invisible thread in the blocks.  I'm happy with it in the continuous curve of the sample blocks, undecided with the feathers in the borders of the sample blocks.  I also used the Glide 60 wt medium grey on the nine patches and the border colored squares - love that thread so far, can't wait to give it a spin in the bobbin
  • Fabric - Backing is a dark grey cotton sateen, just love it.  The back ground is charcoal grey Kona solid. The colors were from a box of solids and some scraps, robert hoffman maybe, I had a box of 100 fat quarters, oh what fun that was!
  • Lessons learned - when you haven't quilted for over a year and have the itch to quilt something crazy, try a smaller quilt :)
But wait.....that wasn't all, there's another finish, whaaaaat?  Yep two.  As I was trying to take pictures and checking the stitching on the Old Friends quilt, I put my lap size On Ringo Lake on the frame. This one, done in 5 hours! No custom quilting, no running out of thread, smooth sailing and done in a day. 
See how nice it fits with my green and blue living room

extra blocks on the back

Here fishy fishy, aren't these fun?

ahhhh, that's what I wanted

Old favorite couch quilt

New favorite couch quilt, just needs binding and to be broken in

Specifics for On Ringo Lake
  • Size - 60 x 72  - pond size, gold fish pond size.
  • Pattern - Bonnie Hunter On Ringo Lake
  • Batting - Hobbs wool, had just enough left on the roll so I used it up, I feel special!
  • Thread - Glide 40 Wt on top - marigold and Glide 60 wt in the bobble, I believe the name may have been gold fish, or maybe that's just want I wanted it be cuz it would have been perfect for the panto I choose
  • Pantograph - Denise Schillinger - Gold Fish - this quilt is so busy that you'll never see the quilting pattern unless you use some crazy thread, which isn't my style.  So I decide to have a little fun and quilt some fish, seemed appropriate for On Ringo Lake!
  • Backing - extra blocks and fabric and grey minky that was laying around.
Now, here's dear sweet April taking a nice little break that she so well deserves.  < big sigh>, with those two things out of the way, what will I do now? Well I'll get ready to return to work on Monday.  Went to the Dr yesterday and cleared to go back.  Old Friends will always be thought of as my recovery quilt.   Of course there are linky parties to fill that time and inspire us all, check out the side bar and have a great weekend!

50 comments:

  1. Your Old Friends quilt is wonderful! Zoomed in on your photos to see all the great quilting details! And even On Ringo Lake. A great start to a new year of quilting.

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    1. Thanks Debbie. It's so good to have these finished! well close to finished, there's always that pesky binding to be done!

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  2. Your Old Friends is just gorgeous! I love your quilting. And On Ringo Lake is beautiful also! But then all your work is fantastic! I can't think of enough adverbs to describe your work. I could only hope be as proficient as you are.

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    1. Thanks Mary-Kay. It was so fun to quilt the whimsical fish after the dense custom quilting. I'd love to see your work, do you have anything posted?

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  3. Wow! Just Wow! Old Friends is stunning. I’m so glad you are able to blog again because your beautiful quilting needs to be seen and shared.

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    1. Thanks Ramona! That's very kind of you. I'm hoping that I keep this up after I go back to work. It is good not only to be quilting but to blogging and see all the wonderful quilts out there. Good for the soul.

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  4. the quilt looks great - I don't know how people take photos in the snow either. I try on the porch and have to end up putting a rock in each corner to hold it down! Understand about missing a spot of quilting - last year I had a table topper on the table that I had hand quilted about 4 years before hand - I don't know what caught my eye but all of a sudden I notice one square was missing one row of quilting!! 4 years later! I was able to find a thread to closely match and quilt it immediately before I lost track of the spot again but that was weird - it had been on and off the table frequently

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    1. Thanks Karen. Well, if I find a spot a few years from now I think I'll still have a small stock pile! I order 2 extra cones when I got tired of running out of thread. But there's always a spot and I know it's on this quit still!

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  5. You were so brave to put that scrumptious quilt out on the snow. Your quilting is phenomenal front and back!

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    1. It was all good until a big gust of wind went right under that quilt and lifted it up and across the yard, almost ended up in the neighbors yard before I got it. What a site, me running after that big ol quilt in the snow. Needless to say, that was the end of the photo shoot!

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  6. Every time I see this I LOVE IT SO MUCH!!!! The only time I've succeeded in a great "undisturbed" snow shot of a large quilt is when I had a helper and there was a light breeze. We each held a side high, standing so the breeze would help us furl the quilt out away from us and let us lower it down a bit away from us on the slope. A lot of that was good luck! I, too, wonder how others get good snow shots with big quilts! And wow, your Ringo Lake looks fabulous in your livingroom. So did your Orca Bay, but I love the pop of this one there.

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    1. Thanks Lynette. I'll see what I can do to get a little snow helper next time. Our snow is just about now, so I'll have to wait to for the next one. I'm gonna figure out these snow shots one of these days. Yep and I love the orange too. We had orange throw pillows for Halloween and I was all about that little extra add of color.

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  7. The quilting on Old Friends is stunning! You did such a great job with the quilting - I can only imagine the texture is amazing. Beautiful work! And ORL - I love the colors you used. Both quilts are fabulous!

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    1. Thanks Beth! I'm so excited to have Old Friends quilted. I trimmed it today and am just a wee bit afraid to try it on the bed. Oh my what will I do with such a large quilt if it doesn't fit on the bed and most likely will be too big for the guest bed. I sure hope it fits. I measured at it at 108 and think I need at least 110 with those big sides. Guess the hubs side might have some matress peeking through. Oh he won't notice anyway :)

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  8. Wow, the quilting on Old Friends is just gorgeous! And love the fish on Ringo Lake....very appropriate! Thanks for sharing.

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    1. Thanks Sewgirl! I had so much fun with the fish on Ringo Lake. Every time I go by it, I have to take a peek at the back and see those sweet little gold fish and can't help but say to myself "here fishy fishy". Crazy right?

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  9. Your quilting is just stunning. I hope to get there one day with my FMQ.

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    1. Thanks Vasudha, just keep quilting, it's the best way to improve. Just like playing an instrument, if you practice you'll be good and you won't even have to think about it.

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  10. Old friends is amazing Sue!!! your quilting is beautiful...enter her into a show!!!

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    1. Thanks Susan! I was thinking about entering in a show, but why am I so afraid? I was thinking the Chicago show as it's local, would be cool to see my quilt in show.

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  11. She's b a c k ! That must have been exhausting after so long of a quilting break. Your Old Friends quilt is spectacular! It will be hard for you to top yourself each time. Good thing it didn't blow away into the neighbors yard ..... possession is 9 / 10th's . LOL We will be sorry to see you go back to work.

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    1. Thanks Kat! Poor Old Friends, has a whole years worth of bottled up quilting in it. I almost felt bad, almost but not quite. Now I have one more king size quilt that I started back in 2013, now that I've gotten the crazy ridiculous quilting out of the way, the Swoon quilt might be quilted in a somewhat normal way, well normal for me that is....Oh and that gust of wind under that quilt that has two layers of a batting, it was like a heavy parachute taking off, so funny.

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  12. Oh my, breathtaking! Fab quilting!

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  13. WOW!! your quilting is insane!!! Love, Love :))

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    1. LOL yes indeed, it was insane to quilt a king size quilt so densely! Not sure that will ever happen again....I have a king size Swoon quilt just waiting....hmmmmm

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    1. Thanks Carole, that's very sweet. These quilts have a life all their own and they tell you how to quilt them, I was just listening.

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  15. Aren't those gorgeous! Your quilting has so much fun detail in it!

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  16. Whoa! It's just stunning! The bright colors are eye catching, but that quilting!! Stunning! And it's so huge!

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    1. Thanks Jane! Yes it's big, I sure hope it fits on my bed, I still haven't tried it yet, a little afraid

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  17. Wow! Wow! Wow! What else can one say!

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  18. Your quilting is stunning! Thanks for sharing your lovely work with Oh Scrap!

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    1. Thanks Cynthia, I used up quite a few scraps on that Bonnie Hunter quilt :)

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  19. It is a perfect fit for your living room, and an awesome finish. As for that invisible thread, if it were me, I'd just leave it and start on a new project. But I suspect, since it is still bugging you, that maybe you'd better do it the way you think it needs to be done. Then you won't ever have to fret about it - you can just enjoy it!

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    1. Thanks Barb. I've decided to just leave it. I've looked at it a few time, felt it a few times and right now I think I can just live with. If it bugs me later, I'll rip it out, it's in the middle of the quilt so I can put it on the frame and time. Looking for that new project now :)

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  20. That Old Friends quilt is truly a work of Art. Love the On Ringo Lake too!

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    1. Thanks Angie, was great to get that one done. Now for that Swoon quilt.....

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  21. The fish on your Ringo Lake quilt are perfect. Definitely not the time for elaborate hand quilting. Looks great on the green chair!

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    1. I love the fish, you can't even see them, but when I use it, I turn it over see one of those sweet little guys and makes me smile every time!

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  22. You over achiever you!! ha ha =- I love them both!!! That Old friends quilting is Stunning!! and Yay you for finishing the Mystery quilt before the next one starts!!!!

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  23. Hi Sue,
    Oh what a beauty Old Friends is! I love the trampled snow - it makes me giggle, as does the mental picture of you chasing after that quilt. Your neighbors are probably hoping you wouldn't chase it so they could enjoy it themselves! Great job on Ringo as well. You're so quick - the QAL just seemed to end a day or two ago! ~smile~ Roseanne

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  24. Wow, your quilting is gorgeous. Love both quilts.

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  25. Wow, amazing and beautiful--old friends. Your snow photos look great. I think part of the trick of snow photos is to do it when the snow is crusted over. Not always an option, depending on ones location and the weather! Nice take on BH quilt, too. You hopped right to that one!

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