Tuesday 20 August 2013

Forest Quilt {Finished}

You might be sick of seeing this one, considering it's had quite a few blog post over the last week - but this is the last one. It's done! 


My Forest Quilt (sorry, that's the best I can do for the name!) finished up at about 36" x 50" - I ended up trimming a lot off to square it up once it was quilted. I think part of that was the fact that the edges warped a bit during the quilting because of all the long bias edges (it doesn't sit particularly flat - it might be my first quilt I block I think?) - and also I'm not sure how square it was to start with ;o) 

The idea for the layout for this quilt was to make it look like three pages of a sketchbook sitting on a table. 


 This was SO much fun to quilt - I had a lot of fun using different FMQ motifs in the different blocks. Pebbles in the background of the Aspen Grove.


Feathers around the feathers.


 Swirls (air currents?) around the Woodpecker - and tiny woodgrain in the woodpecker's tree (a bit hard to see here - I used a 40wt Aurifil that matched the woodgrain print almost exactly.) This is my favorite block in the quilt I think.


The brown background was a no-brainer quilting wise - I did a woodgrain motif, using a variegated Signature pinkish/brownish thread. I'm pretty sure no wood ever has had that many knots in it - but I got a bit sick of doing wavy lines, and it adds a bit more interest to the background. The woodgrain is very organic (in other words not evenly spaced. At all.) - which was a conscious decision, believe it or not. I did try to keep my curves smooth, but varied the spacing quite a bit in an attempt to mimic actual woodgrain. I actually found this really hard - I've spent so long trying to keep spacing etc consistent, it was against all my instincts to quilt it like this. But, I'm really happy with how it turned out :o)


 Linking up with the Forest QAL linky part at Shapemoth.

Also linking up with Kristy's Paper Piecing Party, and Free Motion Quilting Friday.

I'm off to finish off my July bee blocks - and then make a few bits and pieces for the impending third birthday next week!

xx Jess

38 comments:

Jessica said...

Congrats on another beautiful finish :) The woodgrain quilting is absolutely perfect. What are you planning to do with it now that you are finished??

Carla said...

Oh how fabulous! LOOK at the quilting!

Heather D. said...

Super cool and very unique Jess! I love the wood knot quilting in the brown background. Fabulous!

Vicki said...

Yeah....it turned out wonderful! How happy you must be with the results. Congrats!!

Little Island Quilting said...

Fabulous with a capital F quilting.

Amy's Crafty Shenanigans said...

Lovely lovely lovely! So lovely! Oh and the woodgrain quilting is brilliant!

Leanne said...

Your quilt is beautiful! The blocks are fantastic and the quilting just makes it even better. I am glad you showed it off all finished.

Susan said...

This is such a great quilt Jess! I love the variety of quilting you have used to bring the quilt alive! Well done!

Charlotte said...

ooooh, it's so lovely!!!!!!

Sarah said...

love it! quilting is lovely as always :-)

Nancy@owensolivia said...

How fun! It's great!!

Jess @ Scrappy n Happy said...

Cool quilting! I love the tree texture!

Beth said...

That looks fantastic Jess! I like all quilting choices you made and the overall layout is great!

Amy Friend said...

Fantastic quilting. I particularly love the woodgrain. Beautiful!

nicole said...

Just gorgeous!! I love all the knots in the wood quilting! Fantastic work Jess!

Sue Daurio said...

Wow now that is a work of art!

DeborahGun said...

a really unique, amazing quilt :-)

AmandaK@whatthebobbin said...

Love the different FMQ. Great finish!

knottygnome said...

wow it's gorgeous! i love your quilting.

Katy Cameron said...

Yay, well finished, love the quilting!

Quilting In The Cold said...

Wow! That quilting is stunning!

barcord said...

My first response when I saw the photo was like someone else wow. It makes such an impact. I like it.

BillieBee (billiemick) said...

This is just breathtaking!

Rachaeldaisy said...

What a fabulous quilt!! I love that you have the 3 blocks floating. Your quilting is so perfect and really adds to the mood of the quilt.

Patti said...

I love the three blocks you chose for this quilt, and your quilting is just awesome!

Susan at TheBoredZombie.com said...

Really fantastic! It came together beautifully and I love the FMQ too. :)

Ella said...

It's gorgeous! How are you going to block it?

Kathy said...

Love your Quilt finish and the FMQ is beautiful! Congrats

Unknown said...

Love love love it - really well done - and I particularly love the woodgrain quilting - good choice!

Lisa said...

This is so beautiful! Such talent in you!

Anonymous said...

What a great looking quilt. I love the layout concept of pages on a table.

Claudia said...

I love everything about this quilt. The layout is so interesting and really wonderful quilting.

Kristy @ Quiet Play said...

Absolutely beautiful! I think it's such a creative way to display the paper pieced blocks, and as always, your quilting is perfection!

Gina said...

Beautiful blocks!! I love the quilting and your arrangement of blocks in the quilt!! Very fun!!

ipatchandquilt said...

That is so pretty? I love your FMQ on each of the blocks. The bird is my favorite. It looks like the swirls are remnants of the sound he is making, like echos!
Esther
esthersipatchandquilt at yahoo dot com
Ipatchandquilt dot wordpress dot com

Janine @ Rainbow Hare said...

This is wonderful!

CitricSugar said...

Oh, wow! This turned out so great - it really does look like pages on a coffee table. Or snapshots. That woodgrain quilting was really successful. Beauty!

Adrianne @ On the Windy Side said...

Sooo lovely. I really like all the different quilting motifs in this quilt - it's really clever to link them to the blocks and the fabric.