Thursday 11 April 2013

Super Mario Quilt {Finish}

Thanks so much for all your words of encouragement yesterday. It must have worked, because I'm happy to say that today's marathon quilting effort (complete with extremely sore arms) paid off. Mario is done - a day early! Which means I can make some attempt to get the house sorted tomorrow before the chaos of ten small children arriving on Sunday :o)

I am so relieved he's finished - I had visions of finishing up the binding in the early hours of Saturday morning (thanks Susan!). But it went fairly smoothly today, so it's all good.

For the design of the quilt, I used the block Angela designed for her Mario QAL - but scaled it up to 3.5" squares. I actually strip pieced it in the end rather than using squares, so it came together pretty quickly, without too many seams to match. With the borders added, he's finished up at about 65" square - perfect snuggling size for my soon to be 6 year old little boy!


Please excuse the black seeds I accidentally knocked onto the quilt - didn't notice until I was looking through the photos tonight!

I'm really pleased with how Mario has turned out. He's fairly extensively quilted (aside from the borders) with various FMQ designs. Straight lines and pebbles for the most part, although I decided to try a maze-ish kind of design in the background, which I think looks pretty cool. It's not perfect (and I nearly stopped a short way into it) but overall I think it's effective if you don't look too closely at some bits. Normally I quilt myself into corners and have to stop and start - but surprisingly with this design I only did it once. My little boy has been asking for a maze quilt for a while, so I think he'll enjoy tracing his way through this one :o)

I worked entirely from stash on this one (aside from the backing). The solids are all Kona cotton, apart from the brown for the shoes, which is a shot cotton (I think?). I ran out of the background fabric part way through (I thought the yard I had would be enough - whoops!), so I've used two different kona aqua fabrics (Ice Frappe and another - not completely sure which one!) If I'd had more time I probably would have ordered a bit more of the Ice Frappe, but I think it looks okay anyway :o)


The quilting is all Aurifil 50wt, matched as closely as possible to the fabric. My recent win came very much in handy for the red, dark blue (Kona Ocean) and yellow buttons. I'm beginning to acquire a stash of Aurifil that challenges my fabric. Ok, maybe not quite, but I have thread in just about every colour I'll ever need ;o)

I think my favorite part is his ear :o)


And the back is perfection - confirmed by master 8 (who incidentally thinks it is a very cool quilt, and has asked for Luigi for his bed. So I think I've done well!) I would have liked to use the same red as the border for the binding, but I ran out. I ended up using a print from Tufted Tweets by Laurie Wisbrun, which works quite well and is in keeping with the white/red spotty mushroom theme on the back.



Needs to be washed still, but I can't wait to pop this on the birthday boy's bed while he's asleep tomorrow night - I really hope it's all he dreamed it would be.

xx Jess

Linking up to Le Challenge

Le Challenge

A Lovely Year of Finishes


and the Finish Along 2013

she can quilt

41 comments:

Jess @ Scrappy n Happy said...

It is awesome Jess! Well done!

Charlotte said...

it's brilliant! Was it a surprise? If so, I am even more impressed! Also, if you hadn't mentioned the two different aquas I wouldn't have noticed.

Kelly said...

It looks brilliant Jess!

Susan said...

Oh you have done a sterling job Jess!! I'm so glad you have it finished and didn't have to sit up half the night finishing the binding (I have done that, so I know how hard it is! LOL!) I love the maze quilting design- its the perfect finish! This quilt will bring much joy, not just on Saturday, but for man years! Congratulations!

Waverlee said...

This is so awesome Jess. I'm sure he is going to LOVE it :)

AmandaK@whatthebobbin said...

Really cool quilt. The backing fabric choice is perfect.

Amy Friend said...

Your quilting is just terrific. I didn't notice the aqua till you mentioned it either. I think that the character draws your attention away from the background.

Jennifer said...

The Maze quilting in the back ground is PERFECT!

Annabella said...

Your quilting is beautiful and it just amazes me how Mario is as iconic now as he was 20 odd years ago!

Tiffany said...

You did it! I LOVE how it turned out! Especially the maze quilting. If you ever find yourself without anything to do sometime in the future, you could write a tutorial for it. *wink *wink.
But seriously, this quilt is awesome and I'm impressed you finished it so quickly!

moira said...

it's fab and the quilting is spot on as usual x

Heather D. said...

Very fun! I love the varied quilting, and very smart of you to do strip piecing vs. square piecing. Your guy will love this!

Becky said...

Awesome!! Love it!

Karen said...

Great job on the quilting, the maze is great! And I love the mushroom fabric too. He's going to love it! :o)

Di said...

Awesome quilt. You are a good Mum. Di x

grapes and hearts said...

Oh, please do tell us how he likes it after all! I hope he'll wake up all happy and comfy! Love that quilt and your maze design! Great job, supermom!

Kirsten said...

Such an amazing quilt Jess - your FMQ looks fabulous! I am sure the birthday boy will just love it.

Alyce @ Blossom Heart Quilts said...

Wow Jess!! That's fantastic!! Congrats on only boxing yourself in once - very impressive. The quilting is just perfect to highlight Mario! Did you use all squares, or did you use strips where you could???

Katy Cameron said...

Woohoo, glad the chair dancing worked, I think I pulled a muscle... ;o)

Loving how you quilted this, and I have to say I didn't even notice the 2 different aquas til you pointed it out!

Jenelle said...

Yay! This is fantastic! The quilting is really amazing. :) I hope your little boy loves this.

Ella said...

Gah. But's it so pretty! I wish I could take a few FMQ lessons from you!

cat and vee xoxo said...

it's so awesome Jess!! I love his ear, buckles and gloves, the quilting really stands out and looks so good! I really like that you've used slightly different colours in the background, I think it gives it a nice bit of movement. It's just such a fabulous quilt, your little boy will just be so happy. The mushrooms on the back are very cute. Nice work!! Now - on to the party preparation ...

Kathie said...

What a fantastic finish, congrats! Your son is a lucky boy.

Nicky said...

Perfection! Love the texture from the quilting! I'm sure it will be difficult to separate your son from his marvellous quilt!

They'll all be wanting one! Good luck with the party and be sure to show Mario off to the mums!

Benta AtSLIKstitches said...

That's fab! I hope he's delighted with it!

Mina said...

this looks great! love your quilting

Dree said...

Love the quilting! That must have been slow going, but it looks fantastic.

Made by Mrs Jones x said...

What a brilliant quilt and the quilting is absolutely amazing!

Nat at Made in Home said...

It is amazing Jess! The quilting is just awesome!

Henry's Shed said...

Wow! that quilting is fantastic!

Lucy | Charm About You said...

This is utterly brilliant!! The quilting is superb and the maze pattern is just beyond perfect! Amazing and no wonder he loves it! The backing really made me smile too!

CitricSugar said...

It looks absolutely fabulous! Your quilting!! And that print you picked for the back could not be more perfect… :-)

Janine @ Rainbow Hare said...

You've aced this challenge! What a great quilt for your son :)

Janine @ Rainbow Hare said...

You've aced this challenge! What a great quilt for your son :)

Janine @ Rainbow Hare said...

You've aced this challenge! What a great quilt for your son :)

Lisa said...

This is an awesome boy quilt and the maze quilting is so perfect! I could see a little boy of my own wanting one. I hope the party went well! As my 7 yrs old would say "It is the coolest"!

Kelli said...

Oh wow! This is so great! I really love it! That maze quilting is pretty cool and the backing totally makes the whole thing. Great job!

Erin @ Once Upon a Donkey said...

Fantastic quilt Jess. The quilting is amazing. Did little man love it? I bet!

I think I need to make this for hubby-to-be as he even has the Mario jumping noise as his sms tone. Funny! :)

Melia Mae Quilting said...

Absolutely beautiful! The quilting is just gorgeous and your son is going to totally love it!!!!

Melissa said...

He is just amazing! Congratulations!

Jo said...

Fabulous! Sure he'll love it! I am in the process of making one, but I am doing 18" blocks of different characters for my 7 year old son!