I'm so excited to have finished it, but the quilting didn't go nearly as well as I had hoped. I actually had a mini-meltdown about it before just deciding it was an old quilt anyway, and wasn't going to be perfect. I wanted to put octopuses in the corner blocks in some contrasting thread; I figured they could be flowy and wouldn't look weird if they didn't match each other, but in the end they're a bit busy for the quilt and show lots of mistakes.
In the center medallion, I just put different fillers in every two sections. I used a fairly blendy light pink thread (all the thread for quilting is, Isacord which I love). Some of them look ok, like these two, and some look terrible. Sorry, not going to show close ups of those sections!
I am fairly pleased with the green leafy border pattern; I've put that pattern in every quilt I've quilted on the longarm so I can do it fairly well.
I'm also pleased with the feathers I put in in the dark purple blocks. I put a long swirly curvy line through the blocks and then feathered along that as a stem, filling all the space. Since I used a dark purple thread, you can't see it very well on the front, but on the back it stands out better (second image).
Here's the final quilt, it's too big for my design wall so was very hard to photograph; the whole left side was sort of hanging off into space. It's actually pretty square although in spite of my best efforts the corners are a bit stretched. I'm so pleased to be finished with it and am anxious to cuddle underneath it on the sofa.
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| Purple People Eater c. 2012 Shannon Conley 60" x 78" |
Any of you out there finish looooong-time UFOs lately?
This is ABSOLUTELY BEAUTIFUL!!! I love the octopusses, LOVE the colors and the pattern looks so intricate. You did a fabulous job! I wish I could quilt feathers as well as you can. Give it a little time and distance and you'll see what a great job you did. Thanks for sharing your quilt.
ReplyDeleteI second LoBo333. I looked at the pic before reading the text and thought "wow - those octopusses (octopi?) look amazing and they're so creative!" I really like the overall effect they have on the quilt, too. Between them and the medallion, it makes me think of the kind of art you get on a turn-of-the-century carousel, or in the sistine chapel. Like, every inch has SOMETHING ornate and interesting going on, and the underlying geometry + fantasy of so many elements coming together + the feel of motion that living things can add = a lot of complex layers of visual interest which you can stare at for hours, just admiring everything from overall effect to tiniest detail.
ReplyDeleteI also like your feathering and meandering flowers/butterflies, and the medallion center of the quilt itself is quite stunning. The colors you picked enhance and already neat optical effect.
Wow!!! All of the above!!!!!!!!!11 It is gorgeous
ReplyDeletewell...that is super impressive. love the colors and your piecing and quilting are exquisite!!
ReplyDeleteFirst off, I love the name. You knew I would! I second (third/fourth?) everything that was said above, but i also really like how much dimension and movement the medallion has. It seems to be very three dimensional/moving in a circle to me, and I really love that you were able to capture that.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you've finished it, it really is beautiful!
Purple People Eater is totally awesome! I don't think the octopi in the corners is too much and the quilting looks fantastic. If you really don't care for it though, you are welcome to send it to me! :-)
ReplyDeleteWow! Love that center medallion! The whole thing is just gorgeous!
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