Friday, August 26, 2022

Buckeye Beauty, A Small Finish

The red Buckeye Beauty quilt is finished, finally.  (I made the first blocks in spring, 2016.)  It's nothing to shout about but I hope it will keep some child warm and cozy on a winter day.
The arrangement of fabrics in this quilt requires a good sense of light, medium, and dark fabrics, all well-placed to maintain a connecting flow.  I think if I had been more attentive to how the individual blocks would work with all the others, the result would have been more successful.  Some of the blocks have a drastic contrast, others a subtle contrast, and some almost none.  But, it is what it is and I'll pay more attention the next time.

The batting in this quilt is strips of Mountain Mist 80 cotton/20 poly, leftover from a previous quilt, stitched together by machine to create a whole bat.  The backing is Judie Rothermel's Vining Flowers (0889) in her Journey to America collection.  The colors in real life is somewhat muted compared to those at right.  For the binding I used fabric from a shirt in a slightly darker shade than the border and back.

The blocks finish at 6" and I added a 5" border all around.
Before quilting it measured 45 3/4" x 51 3/4".
After washing and drying it measures 43" x 48 3/4".

I quilted with DMC Perle Cotton size 12 and used almost a whole, small spool.  I loved quilting with this (as compared to the larger size perle cotton).  I don't necessarily like big stitches on a quilt (I think they somehow cheapen a quilt or make it look mass produced) but I might be tempted to use them again on a quilt I want to finish quickly.  (Click the photo to enlarge for detail.)

It was a windy day today.  (Autumn is coming!)
It's been wonderful that we've been able to have the windows open all week instead of needing the air conditioning.  I love how the breeze blows into and through the house.

I'm linking this post to
> Finished (OR Not) Friday at Alycia Quilts
> Peacock Party at Wendy's Quilts and More
> Oh Scrap! at Quilting is more fun than Housework
> Thank Goodness It's Finished Friday at Kathleen McMusing
> Design Wall Monday at Small Quilts and Doll Quilts
Thanks for hosting, ladies.

Thank you for visiting, reading, and leaving a comment (if you do).  I wish you a great weekend!

--Nancy.

28 comments:

  1. I love this quilt, it's delightful. Classic yet updated, wonderfully warm colors. Can you get a close up of your quilting so I can see what that thread looks like when used.

    love

    lizzy

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    1. Thank you, Lizzy. I appreciate your kind words about this quilt.

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  2. Wonderful quilt, Nancy. I was moved by your comment that some child will be kept warm and cozy by it. Lovely that you are gifting this beautiful quilt to some unknown child. Thank you!

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  3. Nancy this quilt is absolutely beautiful. I love the way the colors and fabrics are playing so nicely together. Thank you so much for sharing the measurements. I wish you a blessed and wonderful weekend. Happy quilting.

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    1. Thank you, Melisa. I'm still trying to see the beauty that so many readers commented on, but I'll take your word for it and accept the compliment for now! You're welcome for the measurements.

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  4. A delightful quilt Nancy. I love the differences in value/contrast, keeps my eye dancing all over the quilt!

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    1. Thank you so much, Linda.  I appreciate your observations about this quilt and how it's values/contrast work.

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  5. This is definitely a warm and cozy inviting quilt and will make some little heart very pleased. I haven't tried the DMC 12 wt thread but most of my quilts are hand quilted with Aurifil 12 wt which I love. It makes chunkier hand stitches than traditional quilting thread, but still small enough to not catch toes.

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    1. Thank you, Pat. I'll have to take a look at Aurifil 12 wt. if I can find it. I wonder how it compares to the DMC 12. I've often wondered if really fine crochet cotton would work for hand quilting, if it's close in size to the DMC 12 (or Aurifil 12).

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  6. This turned out so sweet. I'm glad you've been able to finish it up. I love using bigger thread so I can speed the quilting process along. It's less strenuous for my hand and fingers too. It feels like I can quilt longer at a time and the quilt gets done even faster. I wish we had some of your cooler temperatures. This summer has been hot-hot-hot. We had another 100 degree day this week and the humidity has been high all month. It's supposed to be up to 100 next Thursday. I've been quilting with my hand held hoop so I have the whole quilt on my lap while I stitch. That's been a new experience. I've got fans blowing all around me.

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    1. Thank  you, Robin.  It probably just takes my getting used to the bigger thread.  I did like that the quilting went more quickly.  You've given me some things to notice and think about when comparing regular quilting thread to the bigger size.
      I wish you had cooler temperatures, too!  Our summer has been hot, but not as hot as yours.  But then we often have higher humidity (I'm assuming, from what I hear about humidity in the western states) when makes it feel even hotter.  It was in the mid-80s today but felt like 97 because of the humidity and dew point. 
      Ooh, it does get hot when the quilt has to lay in your lap!  I've had that experience before.  I love it in the winter but not in the summer.

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  7. I think quilts with varying contrast are the most interesting. Lovely UFO finish!!

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    1. Thank you, Joyful. This quilt definitely has varying contrast!

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  8. I think your quilt came out really well! To my eye, your mix of values is just right and there’s no reason to feel you need to do better next time. I do agree with you that “big stitch” is not always the right choice for quilting - tough choices to make when time is so limited!

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    1. Thank you for your observations about this quilt, Gladi. I appreciate them.
      I suppose big stitches with larger thread can be just as strong as finer stitches, so maybe that's a good way to go for a quilt that will be used a lot, such a quilts for a baby, toddler, or child. And time.... There's just never enough.

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  9. Pretty in pink, I really like this one. And congrats on finishing a UFO!

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    1. Thank you so much, Vicki.  I'm please to have one less quilt top waiting.

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  10. I love the way the lights and darks move across the quilt. Congratulations on finishing a UFO. Thanks, too, for linking up with TGIFF.

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    1. Thank you for your sweet comments, Kathleen. I'm thrilled to have one less quilt top!
      Thank you, too, for hosting TGIFF. My finishes are few and far between so I don't get to link up often but am so pleased that TGIFF is available when I do finish a quilt.

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  11. I love your quilt just as it is and wouldn't change a thing. I love that it is hand quilted. How very sweet of you to donate. I am sure it will be cherished.

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    1. Thank you, Prairie Patchwork Quilts. I've only ever hand quilted--wouldn't have a clue how to begin with machine quilting (and not really interested, anyway). I hope someone will love this quilt!

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  12. Very nice quilt. I like the darker binding a lot. (Hum, do I have any shirts I'm willing to sacrifice to a quilt?) I enjoyed looking at your blocks through your eyes and commentary. I thought it had a lot of motion overall so wasn't even looking at the contrast. It's a beauty.

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    1. Thank you for your kind words and thoughts about this quilt, Bonnie. With so many reds it was hard to decide which red to use for the binding. I think the dark one works. The shirt was a thrift store find. My husband guards his shirts, especially if I've commented about the fabric. Haha.

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  13. I really like it - the variety of reds just makes is a soothing quilt!!!

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    1. Thank you, Alycia. Most people don't think of red as soothing but it's my favorite color so I agree that for this quilt, the variety of reds looks soothing to me, too.

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  14. I love this one, very cozy, cute and inviting.

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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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