Quilt in a Day Forums

This is the quilt I did NOT plan to do this summer... I had four other projects in mind, and they were partly cut out and partly pieced, when I realized I needed a gift for a friend's summer house, which is located on the very seafront on a lovely island just outside the Swedish west coast... So, I decided to make a quick change of plans, and start on yet another quilt, and here's the result... It is not so "wobbly" in itself, it was very windy today when I took the pictures so it wouldn't hang still.




It is my third quilt ever, but actually involves a number of firsts for me, among which are: first time making the whole design/pattern myself (although I know I've seen similar sailboat blocks somewhere before), first time free motion maching quilting (as opposed to stitching in the ditch), first time using real quilt batting, and first time using flannel - and a slightly pieced - backing, and first quilt bigger than baby size. So, I'm very happy because I've learned a lot along the way, not least with the help of all your tips and advice on this forum!!! In particular, I've got no blue marks on the red areas thanks to qltsbme!!!

I'm afraid I got completely carried away with the free motion quilting, as I was so happy to see it work at all (well, as you can see, the stitches are quite uneven still, but they are getting better!), so I did several different "seams" in different areas. Here's some of them...

Meandering with variegated blue thread in the sky:




Darker variegated blue thread for waves in the ocean (and, no, what you see is not the bobbin thread coming up on the front side - it is the rayon thread shining in the sun, making the waves glitter and shine...:




Brown variegated thread in wobbly lines on the ships:




Red anchors (marked with template I drew up myself):




The biggest mistake, however, was thinking I was ready to do free hand "figure-eights", which I clearly wasn't....:




And, when I reached the outer border I chickened out and selected a pre-set decorative stitch and my walking foot (and, here, yes, the bobbin thread does show a bit...):




So sorry for this very lengthy "show-and-tell-post", but I'm so happy to be finished, and couldn't resist sharing with you ladies (and gentlemen). You know, I don't really have a lot of people here to share this with, as quilting is sort of my secret hobby...

Perfrect quilt for your friends. The quilting is beautiful.

I love it. You should be very, very proud of yourself. What a great job.

Ruthie

I can't think of a better gift for a summer house and your quilting is really impressive.

I really like the different quilting designs and believe me its better than what I can do. I definitely need more practice with the freemotion quilting.

Can I be a friend? What a beautiful job and the quilting is fantastic. All I can say is WOW! Don't keep your quilting a secret, I probably would be showing it to anyone who came around.

Rita

Wow you do beautiful work. Your quilt it self is beautiful, but your stitches are also out of this world.
great job, wanta do mine

busyhands125

Oh Mary it is spectacular!

I love the different patterns you chose to do in the various motifs. I especially like the stipple in the light blue.


I think you should enter it in a fair. Do you have places where you can enter things?

Keep sharing with us, we love seeing them and you are very talented.

OOOHHHHH MY!!! That is a gorgeous quilt! I am so proud of you getting past so many firsts. Isn't it a wonderful feeling? And you have done it all so well too. You really do very very nice work!

I'm sure your friend will love it...I know I do. You did a great job on the quilting. I've tried it on small items like placemats but I'm a little intimidated to attempt a larger quilt, even lapsize. I've taken a class in machine quilting but I didn't get a whole lot out of it. Again great job!!

Sandy