Friday, February 13, 2015

Quilty Kisses: Another Feathered Finish

First off, Happy Valentine's Day!  These beautiful roses are from all my boys.


My sweet mother-in-law gave me a gift card to a quilt shop I do not normally go to for Christmas.  When I went to look at the fabrics they had, I found myself very overwhelmed.  I had money in my pocket to spend, but didn't know what to get.  (I have found that I really like to buy for a specific project lately.)  Then I remembered Cynthia's suggestion:  look at their solids.  I was amazed by how many Kona cottons they had.

When I saw all their pinks, I remembered the XO quilt tutorial at Canoe Ridge Creations.  It had been on my bucket list since I saw it the first time.  I went home with a plan, then had to go back to the store to get the right fabrics.  I was able to find five of the pinks suggested and just replaced the darkest with Kona Ruby.  I really like my substitution.  :)

If you check out the original tutorial, you will notice there is an X and and O.  I really like quilt kisses, so I decided to use two X's.  To emphasize the X's I added a 1.5 inch cut strip between them.  Totally love it!  Just look at all these Quilty Kisses.



The backing fabric from "Kiss & Tell"  really makes me happy.  The funny thing is that I have never been drawn to fabric with lips before.  However, I think this is my. most. favorite. quilt. ever.  It is just so me:  simple design, fun quilting, quick finish (3 days), and quilty kisses.


Is anyone still wondering why I love it so much?  I was able to put my feather practice to use in the nine inch finished strips.  And it's ombre.  Enough said?


Maybe not.  ;)  Maybe you want to see some in process pictures.


Don't Kona Ruby, Pomegranate, Bright Pink, Candy Pink, Carnation, Medium Pink, and White look so pretty together?

On to the process... I made a template with long paper and 4.5 inch circles to mark the vines with a Hera Marker.


I also had fun picking out threads.


Note:  these are DMC 50 weight cotton embroidery thread.  I wanted to use them for the colors, but there was some fights between the thread, the machine, and me during quilting.  The thread liked to give up and break.  But it was totally worth it!

Then I planned the quilting.  I wanted to do spirals in the X's and feathers in the stripes.  I used clear vinyl and washable dry erase markers to see if I could make the feathers go behind the X's.  Luckily I was able to free-hand it and didn't have to mark anything more than the vine.


I used long arm quilting rulers to quilt the X's.


And it turned out exactly how I pictured it.


To simplify things, I used two different pink threads in the bobbin.  The middle of the three darks, and the middle of the three lights.  (Plus some white for the X's).


That way I only had to wind two bobbins and the bobbin threads each blended nicely with three of the top threads.

Another thing I did was cut the top and bottom strips a half inch extra wide.  Then I quilted the feathers to the marked line at 9 inches.


Then I cut off the extra making sure to leave enough to not cut off any of the feather tips.


After quilting I zig-zagged the edge.


And added the same binding from the "I Love You" line as my Rainbow in Motion quilt.  This time I decided to sew it to the back by hand.


I love the way it looks.


I love the corner label.


I love the back.


I love the front.


And I love how it brightens my kitchen.


Quilt Stats #128
Quilt Name:  Quilty Kisses
Pattern:  Altered XO quilt
Fabric Used:  Kona solids (see above for the list of colors)
Backing:  Kiss & Tell
Binding:  Henry Glass I Love You
Amount Used: 4 yards
Batting:  Hobbs 80/20
Size:  About 42 x 54 inches
Date Finished:  February 2015
What I learned:

  • I really love feathers, ombre, and pink!
  • Quilting spirals a quarter inch apart takes a long time.  (30 minutes for each X.)

What  great use of my Christmas gift card, right?  Kinda reminds me of the book, If You Give a Mouse a Cookie.  Except it's if you give Jasmine a gift card to a quilt shop...  But that doesn't sound as fun for kids as for Jasmine.  ;)  Unless you are Jasmine's boys and have a love for anything pink or purple.  Panda was even wondering why Daddy picked out the red roses.  He thought pink and purple flowers would have been so much nicer.


Daddy knows that red roses are my favorite.  (As is this quilt!)  Good thing my hubby doesn't mind decorations left up a little past the holiday.  I finished this with just one day to spare.

Now I need to go make my pink loving boys some Sugar Cookie Bars with pink frosting and cherry hearts.  They are the true loves in my life.

XX,
Jasmine

P.S.  I will be linking up with some of the fun parties listed on my sidebar.  Click on the buttons to see what other quilters are up to.

23 comments:

  1. Kiss-worthy feathers, Jasmine!
    Fabulous and timeless quilt!
    Esther

    Ipatchandquilt dot wordpress dot com
    esthersipatchandquilt at yahoo dot com

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  2. Very pretty! Your feathers are fabulous!

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  3. Wow! No really, WOW WOW!! That is spectacular! Every.Last.Detail! Your quilting is awesome! Love that binding! And your swapping Ruby is perfection! Did I mention your quilting is awesome?? :D

    I keep wondering if ruler work will get quicker the longer you do it. . . I'm guessing not LOL But, it is SO worth it!! Congrats on getting it done with a day to spare and this beauty deserves to be hung for a very long time!

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  4. You are on such a roll and your feathers are amazing! Great quilt.

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  5. What a perfect pattern alteration to make this quilt so uniquely yours, Jasmine! The ombre color gradient is spot on, and your quilting is awesome. You have been on a streak this year; how many finishes have you already completed?

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  6. Love that ombre look and your feathers are gorgeous! Smart MIL you have there!

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  7. You are growing as a quilter by leaps and bounds Jasmine! It is so great to see you master new things and create such beautiful quilts!

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  8. Your quilt is beautiful! Please leave it up as long as you want!

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  9. I think Valentines can last all year! Great quilt. Great quilting.

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  10. I know I already told you via email how much I love it, but getting to see more of it up close-priceless!! And just think each year you will be all ready for decorating for Valentines day early now! Perfect quilting all around!

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  11. This is my favorite Valentine's Day quilt I've seen yet!! I absolutely love the colors and especially the quilting. That binding fabric is fab too - great job!!

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  12. So cute! I love the feather quilting, and the binding and backing complement the design perfectly!

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  13. Fab, FAB, FABULOUS!!! Wow, your feathers are absolutely gorgeous! I don't think this is holiday-specific. It is Jasmine-specific, so should stay up as long as you like!!!! :-)

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  14. great write up! The dmc thread is 50 weight but 2 ply not 3 ply. It's more delicate, I use it to hand applique and in the bobbin. Love it for the delicacy when piecing tiny paper piecing and really disappears in applique. LeeAnna

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  15. I LOVE that wall hanging, too! The feathers are beautiful and the ombre really shows them off nicely. You are so blessed. With talent and those wonderful guys in your life! Happy Valentine's Day, Jasmine!

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  16. You are true to your name! Wonderful quilt. Love that you took the time to document your process. I always find that part interesting.

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  17. Oh, wow, this is so perfectly wonderful and so perfectly you! Love the pattern. Of course, but your feathers! Okay, if I become that good at feathers overnight like you, sitting down to do that course will totally be worth it.

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  18. Fabulous! Your feathers are gorgeous and gotta love the ombre effect. It looks great on your wall.

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  19. What a great quilt Jasmine! The quilting is great as always :)

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  20. Delightful quilt! Totally amazed at how quickly you get through all the stages and your feathers finish it off fantastically. Well done, you!

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  21. What a lovely quilt. Everything about it is so modern and fresh. The feathers are gorgeous and I am drooling over the straight line quilting in the Xs. Sending Quilty Kisses to you on a fabulous finish!!!

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  22. Great tip on the extra 1/2" at either end of the quilt!! I have cut off some feathers here and there while squaring a quilt top prior to binding, so I will definitely keep this in mind. How do you manage a ruler at a sit-down machine? I see it has velcro, so do you place your hand on the ruler and the velcro grips the fabric and then your right hand on the fabric on the other side of the needle so you are still gripping with two hands, one is just on top of the ruler? I still don't see how I could manage all that! If that is the way to do it...do you turn the quilt? I just put on my walking foot when I'm quilting on my DSM. It's a PITA to constantly have to turn the quilt though. You are so creative and this is just perfect for you; in fact, it should be your signature quilt. Feathers, colours, and the kisses!! Your dining room looks so festive. :-)

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