Friday 25 October 2013

Full Moon Lagoon Quilt {Blogger's Quilt Festival}

A couple of days ago I finally got around to binding and washing my Full Moon Lagoon quilt, just in time for this round of the Blogger's Quilt Festival. 


AmysCreativeSide

We took it out to the beach today for a bit of a photo shoot. Unfortunately, it happened to be a typical Tasmanian spring day (snow on the mountain, 13 degrees Celcius, gale force winds), so most of the photos looked something like this:


and this:

Not quite the idyllic calm blue sea I'd imagined as a backdrop for this quilt ;o) We did manage to find a relatively sheltered spot a bit further back on the dunes though - so you can see a teeny peek of the sea behind. This is the quilt front


and back.



Finishing this quilt has been very much a proud mama moment for me. The piecing itself was a lot of fun and made me realise how much I enjoy improv piecing. This quilt is basically a whole lot of improv pieced log cabins, pieced together like a puzzle using extra strips of fabric as needed. The fabric I used is the gorgeous Full Moon Lagoon by Mo Bedell for Andover fabrics - plus a whole bunch of other coordinating fabrics from my stash (lots of Lizzy House, Tula Pink, Anna Maria Horner and a few others). 

I really pushed myself with the quilting - I wanted to add loads of texture to the quilt top, using motifs reminiscent of being underwater (ripples, bubbles, swirls etc) without detracting from the quilt top. For the quilting, I chose a range of 50wt Aurifil thread to blend into the fabric as much as possible, so it didn't dominate the fabric but would add an abundance of texture. My quilting is not at all perfect - it's the not-quite-circular swirls etc that jump out at me when I look at it - but I am really pleased with what I achieved on my little domestic machine. And my little girl absolutely adores it, which is what really matters :o)

Most of the following photos I took in the relative (non windy) safety of our house.


Washing this quilt has made a massive difference to all the texture, and it has made it surprisingly soft and drapey considering the density of the quilting. I've gone a bit overboard with the photos here - these are some of my favorite parts of the quilt.


I didn't notice until I was looking through the photos that I actually missed the bottom corner of this seahorse block. Whoops! My camera had a really hard time photographing the pink accurately - the photo above is the closest to the actual colours.


I left many of the larger images (seahorses, flowers etc) un-quilted - and as a result they pop up from the background really nicely.


I also left some random strips entirely un-quilted, just to add a bit more variety to the quilt.





I was avoiding these feet in photos during the entire photo shoot - so I had to add just one in here. My three year old daughter is completely smitten with her newest quilt which makes all the (many, many) hours that went into to it completely worth it :o)



For the binding, I decided to piece a bunch of the left over strips together, vaguely following the colours around the edge of the quilt. It doesn't quite match each section completely - but it does well enough for an improv quilt, I think!



I've decided to enter this quilt into the Home Machine quilted category in the Blogger's Quilt Festival. It is entirely quilted on my Bernina QE440 (the same machine I use to piece and quilt all my quilts). A few people have commented during the making of this quilt that they didn't think this kind of quilting was possible on a domestic machine. It absolutely is - it just takes a really long time and a lot of quilt wrangling. I think the quilting on this one took around 30 hours, done a few hours at a time.

Quilt Stats:

* Fabric - Full Moon Lagoon by Mo Bedell, plus a range of coordinating fabric from my stash. 
* Quilt design - improvisationally pieced using log cabins.
* Size - finished size is about 70" square.
* Quilting - done by me on my domestic Bernina.

I hope you enjoy the rest of the festival! Huge thanks to Amy for organising this event again - it's definitely one of my favorite blogging events of the year. 

xx Jess 

57 comments:

Ella said...

This quilt is so dreamy. I think it's one of my all time favorites. *blissful sigh at all the pics*

Katy Cameron said...

It is absolutely gorgeous, love every little inch of it, and the quilting is amazing! When do nominations open?!

Anonymous said...

There are so many cool things about this but I think my favorite is the way the colors fade up. So well done!

BillieBee (billiemick) said...

It's definitely a winner. I'm totally in love the with quilt and the quilting!

Molli Sparkles said...

I'm all about this. The ombré, the seahorses (unicorns of the sea!), the detailed quilting, for your daughter, and those saturated colours. Ding ding ding, winner!!

CitricSugar said...

Well, you already know how much I love this one but the texture you got in the quilting is incredible! The way the creatures stand up off that dense background...

I can't believe you did all that on a home machine. Well, I can, but wow. Must have been a back-breaker!

And because I can't help myself... "Explore. Rescue. Protect. Octonauts!!" :-)

Marjorie's Busy Corner said...

What a gorgeous, unique quilt!! I love the blocks...the quilting,everything about it.

Patti said...

Love it Jess, and your quilting is inspiring!

Anonymous said...

Stunning. That's a family heirloom that you have there. Have you labeled it?

Caroline said...

I am at a loss for words to express how truly gorgeous your quilt, quilting, improve piecing is. Completely gobsmacked!

Jessica said...

I can't even. Every time you just blow me away. Seriously! Well done!!

Shanley said...

Absolutely love how this turned out. I've been thinking of using this line for my ocean nieces. You've sold me on it for sure now!

Renee said...

You did a gorgeous job on this quilt! I love the whole thing, start to finish.

CapitolaQuilter said...

You must be so proud of this quilt. It is unique and beautifully quilted to highlight the fabric. Fun photo shoot also.

sarah elizabeth :: {no} hats said...

1) There really are no words for this
2) But I might as well try to find them -- blissfully vibrant, energetic, and spunky.
3) I am so-but-also-not surprised to hear about the texture change -- my shooting star oakshott quilt felt as crisp as cardboard with the tightly stitched straight lines, but once I built up the courage to wash it it turned into the most wonderful, drapey thing!

Mary on Lake Pulaski said...

Just one of your many fabulous creations - one of my favorites.

Leanne said...

This quilt is stunning. Your quilting is wonderful, and I am so pleased to see that washing it only made it more beautiful. Very inspiring, thank you for sharing it.

Unknown said...

Jess - What a beautiful job you did on these quilts. Congratulations!!

Anne
www.hudsonvalleyquilts.com

Carla said...

This is so amazing! I still can't believe the quilting . It is amazing

Leila said...

Wow! I love all of your pictures. Your quilt is a work of art!

Vicki said...

Oh my, I am at a loss for words. It is breathtaking for sure! Your work is just outstanding.

Live a Colorful Life said...

This is a gorgeous quilt! The quilting, the layout, everything about it.

DeborahGun said...

such an amazing quilt. I think you should do a craftsy class on FMQ on your home machine :-)

Hilary said...

I love this quilt!! You did a fantastic job with the quilting. Want to make me one? ;)

Susan said...

This is such a fabulous quilt- your quilting is amazing!

Little Island Quilting said...

Wow, wow and wow. It is amazing what level of quilting can be achieved on a domestic sewing machine. Love it.

Sandra said...

This is an amazing quilt and a fantastic quilting! I love it! Quilted on a Bernina QE440? That's the one I have here too. Wow, I can imagine all the wrangling...

Rachaeldaisy said...

What an awesome slice of a fanstasy ocean. I love how you have added a whole new dimension to the fabulous piecing with your quilting.

Charlotte said...

yup - still amazing!

Karin said...

Love the colours of your quilt and the quilting is gorgeous.

Canadian Abroad said...

The quilt is beautiful but the quilting is truly amazing. Cannot believe teh amount of work that has gone into it.

Beth said...

Seriously amazing! I am in awe! Oh, and I don't think I have gotten any further on my full moon lagoon quilt than I was last time we talked.

Yvonne Campbell said...

This is amazing! You are an amazing quilter. I love all of your work, but this is absolutely beautiful!!!

Kelly said...

You and this quilt rock - nough said!

Pat Merkle said...

Fabulous quilting and quilt Jess!

Kristy @ Quiet Play said...

Absolutely beautiful quilt Jess! The quilting is stunning! No wonder your Miss 3 is smitten!

Heather D. said...

Ahhh, the full reveal finally. GORGEOUS!

Jess @ Scrappy n Happy said...

Wow Jess, this quilt is an absolute stunner! Fantastic everything - improv, which is not my thing, is fabulous and the quilting is out of this world!

Jennifer said...

What a gorgeous quilt you've made for your daughter! And the quilting is fantastic! Great job!!

Debbie said...

This is just stunningly beautiful! And the quilting. Just wow. Lovely in every way.

SIMPLESEW said...

beautifl

marsha said...

beautiful! love all the quilting motifs

nicole said...

Ahh crap... i just drooled all over my laptop...

Farm Quilter said...

Fabulous quilt - both piecing and quilting!! Love the quilting you were able to do on your DSM - quite impressive!! Totally drool-worthy!!!

Rachaeldaisy said...

The mermaids sing songs about how beautiful this quilt is.

Di said...

Fabulous! Love your design and piecing but I'm blown away by your quilting. I'm just starting my FMQ career, mainly inspired by Leah Day, although I've been piecing for years. The improv style suits me and my temperament and it obviously suits yours too. Good luck in the votes!

Amira@littlemushroomcap said...

Gorgeous quilting! And all those various quilting designs definitely adds the wow in this already "wowwed" quilt layout!

Becky said...

Everything about this quilt is beautiful and amazing! Incredible!

Jessamie said...

This is truly spectacular i love it!!

Mama Spark said...

I love this quilt. Your quilting is spectacular and I love that you did it on your Bernina! Gives me something to aspire to!

Aoife said...

This is stunning! Just wow. There's so much work in that quilt! You're very talented, and have a lot of patience! Love works wonders :) I'm glad your daughter loves her quilt!

Samantha said...

Wow this is amazing! I love everything about it!

Unknown said...

Holy wow. You have my vote!

Lucy | Charm About You said...

work of art!! Your fmq skills are just unbelievable!! I love all the patterns and how those seahorses pop, just so cute! The windy pictures made me laugh :)
You've got my vote of course!

Cille said...

It is a gorgeous, beautiful quilt. Your FMQ is beyond amazing :)

Sarah @ mila+cuatro said...

What amazing quilting, I love that you left the seahorses unquilted to make them stand out.

Jeanne said...

I just found your lovely quilt. It's beautiful. I just posted a quilt related post...

http://jeanneselep.blogspot.com/2013/11/quilt-eye-candy.html