Friday, April 5, 2013

Last Hurrah for High Five for Brenna

Now that Brenna's High Five is completely finished, I wanted to post details about it.

The quilt took 7 months from start to finish.  (Am I slow or what?!!)  I began making blocks in September, 2012, and bound, washed, and dried it on April 1, 2013.

The blocks are cut at 5" and are 4 1/2" finished.  There are 16 x 20 rows equaling 320 blocks.  Each block has 5 pieces of fabric and four seams.  All fabric was pre-washed.

The backing is a tone-on-tone natural/creamy print.  (Brenna said she liked plain backs best.)


The batting is a Mountain Mist Cream Rose 100% cotton bat.  Shrinkage was about 9%.  It was hand quilted with an all-over arching pattern that, if it had been more orderly, might have been a clamshell or Baptist Fan pattern.  The arches are about 1" - 1 1/4" apart.    I used Connecting Threads all cotton "Cream" and a size 7 needle.  The stitches are 4-6/inch.  (I'm still a beginner but improving.)

Measurements:
before quilting:  72" x 90"
after quilting:  71" x 88 7/8"
after binding:  71" x 88 7/8"
after washing and drying:  68 3/4" x 85"

Reminders to self:
  • When choosing quilt size, make the quilt larger to account for shrinkage, especially if using a cotton bat.
  • Everything takes longer than you think it will.
  • If you haven't quilted recently, it will take a while to build up quilting callouses.

I don't think any photo will show the richness of this quilt (at least not any photo I take!).  I love it.  I love looking at individual blocks and seeing what fabrics worked together to make an aqua or a tan or a red or a blue block.  It's such fun.  Some of the fabrics were scraps that were left over from someone else's project and I have no more of them.  Some, I wonder where they came from because when I look at them they I can't remember ever seeing them before.  Part of me wants to keep this quilt for reference. . .  but I suppose I should give it to my daughter, huh?  Especially considering that I made it for her.


I'm linking this post to the April 5 edition of Finish It Up Friday at Crazy Mom Quilts, hosted by Amanda Jean.  Thanks so much, Amanda Jean.

--Nancy.
.

11 comments:

  1. What a beautiful quilt! Your daughter will love it and since it's staying in the family perhaps you can "visit" the quilt once in a while, too.

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  2. Your quilt is stunning. I'm not fond of scrappy and I'm not sure why but when I look at what you have created I am reconsidering my position! I can't stop looking at it. Perhaps it is because it is made with a lot of saturated color but whatever it is I am inspired to start something similar. Well done!

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    1. Thank you, Sue. If you make a scrappy quilt I hope you'll let me know so I can see it. (In fact, if you have a blog, I'd love to look at your quilts. When I click on your name blogger tells me that your profile is not available so I can't see whether you have a blog). Thanks for visiting and leaving a comment. I appreciate your kind words.

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  3. Congratulations on finishing this quilt. It's stunning!

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  4. What a lovely gift for your daughter. I'm sure she will cherish it!

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  5. Thank you on your fabulous quilt. It is enormous! I ams till working on a big monster myself... for over 5 months now. Hope it wont't take me 7 to finish! ;-)
    Esther

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    1. Thank you, Esther. I hope it won't take you 7, either, but I was not working as energetically and diligently at the beginning as at the end. I was really motivated to finish the quilt because I participated in the Finish-A-Long. I'd like to see your big monster!

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  6. Lovely. I find hand quilted projects always take longer. I'm sure your daughter will treasure it!

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  7. Congratulations! The quilt is beautiful!

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I appreciate your comments and look forward to reading what you have to say. Thanks for stopping by.

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