Thursday, December 9, 2021

Bullseye Medallion is Finished Up!

Loving this latest finish! When the last stitches went into the binding I thought to put it immediately on our bed. Alas, too many blue markings that needed washing out.

Love how the center turned out!
Thankfully it washed up very well and though there was a bit of dye in the Color Catchers, nothing seemed to make its way into the lighter colored fabrics. 

The colors seem so intense, it's hard to see it in the pictures
I'm obviously very drawn to the look of circles in my quilts. This center motif was such a simple look to pull off, though you'll probably notice the circle is not exactly perfect. What is around here? That red and white print has been in the stash totes for years. Not even sure now where it came from {or from whom?} but I love the impact it makes on this particular quilt.

Enjoying the look of the hand quilting
I saved the circle template and will try something else with it some day in the future. Mostly, I wanted to experiment with a wide, stripped down piecing look for the borders on this quilt and thought an applique center would help give the quilt some pizazz. Focus. A place to establish the overall vibe. Plus I wanted to play with an element I saw in an antique quilt years ago. You know how it is!

A different pieced or applique element for each border
The border width exact repeats was an interesting challenge. Having the colors change so dramatically each border helped give the quilt energy for sure. I really enjoyed trying to achieve a bit of a 'blend' from one border to the next in that area where the basket handles landed. Things like that always make me smile!

A couple pieces of vintage fabric!
As always, I started with a stack of fabrics that had been simmering and ready to go forever. These were pretty much chomping at the bit for their place in line! As each border developed, I tried to figure out ways to incorporate the most interesting fabrics into each border. It didn't take long before I realized that some fabrics needed a solid break between them as they didn't transition as smoothly as others. Simple to insert a rectangle of a completely different fabric and try to make that rough transition seem more 'purposeful'.

So fun to use up difficult fabrics....
The entire quilt is hand quilted with Perle Cotton #8 and #12 as per usual around here. When I ran out of the first variegated red Perle Cotton ball, I switched to the other similar red that I had available. Same brand, number etc., but this ball of thread went from red fading to white, instead of red fading into light pink. At first I was dismayed, but then quickly started preferring the more dramatic escalation of color and then lack of. So lovely to see it helping to 'pop' the texture on the black background! I can only assume the dye lots were different or perhaps I bought them at separate times?

The variegated threads are the best!
Obviously this isn't a super complex top, but I feel that I learned a lot making this quilt. It's always a bit of a thrill when a personal challenge project ends up working out so well. This was started in the month of January 2019 and took most of a year to plow through all the details, often involving a pep talk or two on the merits of keeping to the stated boundaries. There were definitely times that I wasn't at all in the mood to put the time in, push myself, or think outside my comfort zone. But that fabric!!! It just kept demanding that it needed to be used!

Finally got the last border on Crazy Daisy this week too. After cutting the strips out, there was just over an inch wide x 42" of fabric plus another small piece leftover from the border width. So close! This was one border fabric that clearly didn't need another fabric involved to spoil the look.

The floral fabric was a one yard piece that I had picked up on a clearance sale where you had to buy the minimum to get the 'deal'. So fascinating to see it finish off this Crazy Daisy quilt in the best possible way.

I love how the extra bit of pink saturation at the border helps make the blue background fabrics shine, which of course, is what I always intended from the start, sort of fallen short of the goal along the way, and then wallah! found my way once again.*sigh  Some quilts just wanna take the hard road! This is a busy, loud, bossy sort of quilt and I can't wait to see what the quilting texture will do for it later on.

Right when I was sewing on the final 12" or so of the last border, I found a frayed hole in the border fabric. Just a little smaller than the size of an eraser on a pencil, nevertheless, it was a  big problem. After a moment of contemplation, I admitted utter defeat and just spliced in the little tiny chunk of border fabric that had been leftover from the yardage. I hate, hate, hate doing that! So tacky looking! The fabric is so busy that it's not immediately obvious, but it does annoy me that it was necessary. So thankful that I caught it NOW and not while I was attempting to quilt it! One of the good things about pre-washing fabric!

A corner fix. Don't worry, everything lays
nice and flat after it's ironed properly...
There is a couple more projects that I'm trying to bring to 'completed quilt top stage' by the end of the year and hopefully one more true blue quilt finish as well. Since we had most of our Christmas with the immediate family at Thanksgiving, there should be a bit more time available for quilting during this holiday than what I normally end up with. Still have one more Christmas shopping trip to work into the schedule, but the husband is self employed and it seems that we're always waiting on the next check. Also, we gave in and bought a fake Christmas tree this year and then ended up with one with a cracked base. Had to send it back and now we're waiting on the replacement. Hmm... That's a little scary with all the supply chain issues these days but what do you do? Hope the new one arrives next week like it's supposed to!!

20 comments:

  1. Another fabulous finish - your hand quilting adds SO much to your quilts. Just lovely!!

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  2. hope your tree comes too bad about the cracked base. I think your thread looks great and who really notices the color gradient mixed in the piecing. I like all of your work like usual!

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  3. How wonderful to have another quilt finish ticked off your To Do list! The border fabric was meant to be for the Crazy Daisy - looking so good.

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  5. Another wow finish! I think that red and white print design is on the header of some note paper I was gifted a few years back. This was a perfect place to feature it.

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  6. I loved this quilt when it was just a top but I must say your quilting really adds another sensational dimension. Just gorgeous! I love the Crazy Daisy too. Fun!

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  7. The quilting on the medallion quilt is great! Each new design adds so much. Adding that piece of border to the Crazy Daisy quilt top to fix the problem was the right thing to do. And the fabric is so busy it isn't noticeable at all. It doesn't detract from the quilt and it adds to the quilt's story. I love reading your blog.

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  8. I love this quilt!! The quilting adds the perfect finish!! I always enjoy reading about the process, and seeing the finish! Looking forward to seeing Crazy Daisy quilted!!

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  9. Another wonderful finish! Love all your hand quilting, the variegated thread is super!

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  10. Beautiful as always. I’m going to try hand stitching with Perle cotton. Please share they meddle type/size that you use?

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  11. Lovely folksy, scrappy fabrics! Good finish on your quilt and top.
    CrazyDaisy is cheerful and bright.:)
    And a bit of Christmas tree drama, life happens, right?

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  12. Great finishes! Daisies is delightful, so bright and happy.

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  13. You can't ask more from a finish than that you want to put it straight on your own bed. I'd be delighted to find it on mine, that's for sure. I love those tiny, tiny bits of shine that come from the places where the thread fades to white.

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  14. As usual I am impressed with the quantity and quality of your quilts. Sew vibrant and unique, truly YOU.

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  15. I love everything about the Bullseye Medallion!!! I'm swooning at the bold colors, the varied color pearl cotton, the vintage fabric, ect... I could go on and on! Sighhhhhhh.....

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  16. Your quilts are so interesting. I wish I could live in your sewing space and just watch you think.

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  17. Another fabulous finish! I love how you can articulate your design process. I would think, I like or I don’t like it. You definitely have a clear understanding of design. And I am crazy about your Crazy Daisy top!

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  18. Nunca dejan de sorprenderne sus trabajos ¡maravillosos!

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