Wednesday, May 7, 2014

Serenity: A Finished Quilt



It is one week into May, and I have my first finish!  I am so excited because this quilt is my May goal for A Lovely Year of Finishes (Link #58), and a Mother's Day gift for my mother-in-law.  I am so happy that I have both goals (one project) done early. 

I have decided to name this quilt "Serenity," because all of the fabrics are so sweet and peaceful.  I hope my mother-in-law likes it and will use it in her blue bedroom.  I finished it this afternoon and was able to take some pictures outside between the rain showers when the sun peeked out just a little. 


I always think that I add a little bit of myself to every quilt I make, but this time I know I did.  Check out this selvage. 


It was so much fun to see my name!!!  Just ignore the date of 1999, please.  ;)


I cut the squares out at 8 inches, which is such an awesome size.  You can get ten squares out of a half yard, and four out of a fat quarter.  It was a great use for the sweet blue and yellow florals in my stash.  I cut out the sashings at 2.5 inches and the border at 6.5 inches. 

I quilted a flower on each floral block by dividing the square into quarters with my Hera marker.  I quilted a quarter inch in on the sashings, and learned that the longarm rulers help a lot! 


I decided to work on my feathers again and quilted them in the border. 


There is a lot of room for improvement in my feathers.  I made my vine curvier, and did a more modern feather which took up the space.  I am not sure I like such a big difference in feather length, but I really like the overall look. 

I used a soft cream print for the backing. 


It looks really cool with the light shining through.  And I can't wait to see how the backing looks after the quilt is washed.  



I bound the quilt by machine in a solid blue.  It is a little darker and gives it a nice frame while still blending with the border. 


Quilt Stats #103
Name: Serenity
Pattern:  Floral blocks with sashing and borders
Quilting design: flowers and feathers
Fabric: from my stash
Amount Used: 7.5 yards
Batting: Warm and White
Size: About 58 x 75 inches
Date finished: May 2014
What I learned:
  • Rulers help a lot when quilting with my midarm, Princess. 
  • Quilting with the border on the left helped when using my stitch regulator. 
  • I need to keep working on feathers.  Practice, practice, practice! 
I hope you all have a wonderful Mother's Day! 

XX,
Jasmine

P.S.  I will be linking up at some of my favorite places this week including Let's Bee Social, Needle and Thread Thursday,and Can I Get a Whoop Whoop.  You can see what others are doing by clicking on the buttons on my sidebar.  Plus, I will also link up with Finish it up Friday at Crazy Mom Quilts.

P.P.S.  I am linking up with Amy's Free Motion Mondays for feathered quilting.  I want to improve my feathers.  :)

24 comments:

  1. The back is just as beautiful as the front!!! Awesome finish Jasmine!

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  2. I have that same backing fabric in my stash! And look at you getting all fancy in the blocks-LOVE that!! Such a pretty quilt I am sure your MIL will love it too.

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  3. Beautiful, Jasmine! ps- I liked 1999! ;)

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  4. I'm sure your MIL will love the quilt. Good for you, working on your feathers. I'm too chicken to try :) ps - I liked 1999 too!

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  5. This turned out so pretty. What a great way to show the fabrics and the quilting! I love quilting feathers too. They are fun and fill up a space nicely.

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  6. It's delightful, Jasmine. How satisfying to have a finish so early in the month ... are you putting a label on it?!
    Love your quilting - feathers especially ... not sure I could tackle them on my domestic but think that should be my goal this year :)

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  7. I love this quilt, Jasmine!!! Your quilting looks great, especially the flowers and the dark sashing against the paler fabric looks stunning.

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  8. How cool that your name is one of the prints! Your mil is sure to love this beautiful quilt. The feathers are awesome! What a great frame to such a sweet setting!

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  9. That's really cool that you have a fabric. I'm sure your mother in law will love it. Great job finishing your May goal so early in the month!

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  10. Another beautiful quilt, Jasmine! Your MIL is sure to love it :)

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  11. That is beautiful! I can't imagine how I would feel if someone actually made me a quilt for Mother's day. I'm certain you MIL will be thrilled. And if she's not I'll send you my address, I would be thrilled ;)

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  12. What a great quilt! The quilting is the best part, did you quilt it on your domestic machine? I like the design in each square, did you just wing it? or mark it? Your mil will love it. byw, I believe too!

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  13. oh, she'll love it! your quilting looks amazing!

    Thanks so much for sharing at Needle and Thread Thursday!

    :) Kelly @ My Quilt Infatuation

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  14. You did such a nice job quilting. Both styles add a lot to your quilt. Rulers are your friend when straight line quilting but can be a lot of work too.

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  15. I am so impressed with how much you get done. This is beautiful and inspiring. your machine quilting is just wonderful. Really nice!

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  16. Beautiful! And my goodness your quilting is gorgeous! That new machine must be working out well for you!!

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  17. What a lovely quilt, and your quilting is beautiful too. I'm sure your mother in law will love it because it is peaceful. I'm visiting from the Plum and June blog hop.

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  18. Simple layout but the addition of quilting makes it special. Well done.

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  19. You picked the perfect name for this quilt. Again, your quilting has elevated your work to the next level. It's so nice to see you and Princess, working so well together.

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  20. Hi Jasmine! I came to visit your blog after receiving your email through the 2014 The New quilt blog hop! I enjoyed reading your post about this quilt! I already did learn something new with you, specialty giving all the info about the quilt... It's something I need to improve in my blog. I really think this is a great quilt in terms of colors... Oh, your quilting is also great! I'm also curious to now more about your midarm Princess. Do you have a post talking only about it?!

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    1. I thought I would respond here in case anyone else wondered about my midarm. I wrote this post right after I bought the machine. http://www.quiltkisses.blogspot.com/2014/03/my-new-baby-lock-tiara.html

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  21. Great quilt!
    Have you kept any of that 1999 fabric selvedge? You could make yourself a name tag or a personalised pincushion with it! A friend has a pincushion with her name and I am so very envious (and carefully reading all selvedges from now on.)
    And there is no need to apologise for using old fabric! I think I have only just used up the last of my 1980s fabric. Actually, there might still be some lurking at the bottom of my stash.

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  22. lovely quilt! I hadn't realised selvedges had dates on them, I must investigate! I think your feathers look great, the quilting is gorgeous

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  23. Hey, that's a great finish! Congrats on achieving your goal. The quilting is coming along fabulously. I love a blue and white quilt. Thankd for linking up.

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