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Sunday, February 12, 2012

Sew Day in the Basement!

We had a great time loading on Laura’s beautiful sampler quilt, choosing a design to go on it, picking out a thread color to quilt it with, and seeing this flimsy top turn into a real quilted quilt!

Sometimes picking thread colors can be the HARDEST choice of all. How do you choose?

I pretty much live by the “unwind several different choices of thread over the quilt top, being sure to cross light and dark areas and pick the one that is the LEAST obtrusive.”

I want something that isn’t going to look too light in the dark areas, nor something that doesn’t shout out too dark in the light areas. Most of the times this means we go for something medium.

In Laura’s case we chose a medium toned lilac pink.

The label actually reads as “Wild Rose” – I had to walk over to the machine and pick up the cone and check it to satisfy my own curiousity as I was writing this post!

There isn’t an overabundance of pink in the quilt itself –there is “SOME” pink, but the pink thread just traveled so well from area to area and blended in with all the batiks--- be they brown, green, red, purple, blue, aqua, turquoise, yellow or cream. The pink was a happy mixer!

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As a piecer, my focus is usually on the piecing first, and the quilting comes secondary. I want texture, LOTS of texture, but I don't want it to look like thread is just laying there on top. I want the thread to sink in and just leave me texture.

I love this swirly feather that Laura chose from the patterns I had available. And see? That pink thread adds to the colors in the quilt, but doesn’t stand out so much that it overpowers what is going on with the piecing. This swirly feathery design is called “Feather Meander #1" and is designed by Jessica Schick. Isn't it beautiful?

Here’s the whole quilt as it came off the machine:

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Isn’t it fabulous?! One thing I’d love to point out…don’t just think because the blocks are already large….((The blocks before the borders are 12” finished)) that you can’t add MORE to them, making them even bigger, but at the same time adding more intricacy to the over all design. The simple framing inner border around each block brought more color to play within each block. The “Lady of the Lake” style triangle second border around each block is another place to add some dynamic motion. The final narrow sashings around the outside of the triangles bring another place for your eyes to rest a bit…and make it so you don’t have to worry about matching triangle seam to triangle seam if you were to join this quilt block to block to block as this one is.

And I love the final border that is just a “Use up whatever is left until it is gone” kind of happy parade.

It’s a winner, Laura, it really is!

PS…I write my posts in Windows Live Writer, and spell check does NOT like certain words. It always wants to say that piecer is not a word, and nor is sashings. I got tired of it and clicked “ADD TO DICTIONARY”. HA! Maybe now it will believe that I know what I’m talking about and not just making up words to be words. It also drives me nuts that any time I type SEW in a message on my iphone that it automatically ”corrects” it to SEE or SEEING instead of SEWING. I need to have a talk with Apple about that. They too need an “ADD TO DICTIONARY” feature!

Enjoy your Sunday, Everyone!

Love from the Basement ---

22 comments:

  1. Beautiful quilt, and beautiful quilting! I would have never thought of pink thread as a good color. I'm going to investigate that more. Thanks for the tip. I also like your large clear pictures this posting. Lovely, lovely quilt!

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  2. I agree with Angie--a truly beautiful quilt, and the quilting adds so very much to the already great blocks.

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  3. Ooooooh! This is quilt is wonderful! Yay Laura!

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  4. Congratulations Laura on a wonderful quilt! It just sings!!! And I love the pattern you both picked for the quilting.... have to go look that up. I have some Buck-a-blocks that one of our LQS did several years ago that only make up to 8-1/2 inches and I need to make them bigger to even get a decent lap quilt....thanks for giving me ideas!!!

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  5. The quilting design is fabulous! I love all the borders on the blocks. It makes this a truly wonderful sampler quilt. I think I have one like this in the near future. ;)

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  6. beautiful quilt! I too add words to the dictionary.
    Karen

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  7. How breath-takingly beautiful! (spell check doesn't like that description!) Thanks for telling us your thought process in picking the color of thread. I am finishing my first Hexagon quilt soon and am wondering how to quilt it as I will not be doing it by hand.... Any suggestions... or is by hand the best?
    Thanks so much for just being YOU bonnie!
    Hadassah

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  8. The use of the extra sashings is great. I may borrow this for a quilt I am making.

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  9. I second what Carolyn wrote...really like the hst sashings! I have a stack of 12 inch blocks from various drawings, classes, BOM's that could use a bit this "upgrade!"

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  10. Beautiful quilt and quilting. Word use to auto correct quilter to quiter. Maybe that's why I have so many UFOs :o)

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  11. Laura's quilt is awesome and that feathered pattern is perfect. It's the same one you used on Orca Bay and after seeing it there I ordered and received that panto recently and am going to give it a try this week on a charity quilt for practice! If....when I ever get my OB done I'll use it on that too!

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  12. Gorgeous Quilt! Yes I do think an add to dictionary should be an option for auto correct!

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  13. I wish Blogger had an "add to dictionary" feature -- it doesn't like quilting terms, either!

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  14. Anonymous12:59 PM EST

    What a beautiful quilt Laura. Thanks Bonnie for sharing once again.
    Maryella

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  15. That is a lovely batik quilt and that quilting design works well with it. I like the framing of the blocks--very nice touch. The little extra details like that can make such a big difference. Well, okay, maybe framing a bunch of blocks with small HSTs isn't a "little" detail, but I think you know what I mean. : )

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  16. The quilt blocks are beautiful! I love the quilting motif too, but who would ever have thought about pink being the perfect color. It is a good reminder not to limit quilting thread color to only what is in the quilt.

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  17. Oh, Bonnie! Imagine my surprise when I logged onto your blog. I've been pieceing those Carpenter Stars and stopped for a quick sandwich. It looks gorgeous - I cannot wait until tomorrow night. Thanks for the Sew Day In the Basement. Thanks for quilting the Dogwood Lady!
    Laura

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  18. Hi Bonnie,
    I just bought the Quiltmotion software so my Crown Jewel is now a robot. I love it. I am currently buying digital pantographs and I love the fact that you tell us what pantograph you used. The quilt (and the quilting) in this post is absolutely exquisite. Would you mind telling me what type of batting you use? I have always used Warm and Natural and I really like the way it quilts, but your quilting seems to stand out even more....
    Thanks in advance,
    Pat, in St-Jacques, New Brunswick, Canada
    patri@nbnet.nb.ca

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  19. Lovely quilt. With that dense quilting, is it still soft?

    As for 'Spell Checker' -- I continually 'add to dictionary' to put in the Canadian spellings. :-)

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  20. LOVE the quilting!!! Beautiful sampler quilt.

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  21. I choose the threads the same way as you do - and usually have a quilt full before I make my choice. Love the design of the quilting and it is a very pretty quilt.

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