Friday, August 5, 2016

A Paper-Piecing Finish

I’ve been doing a lot of paper piecing lately, with successes and seam ripping along the way. My latest finish? This Dutch Windmill quilt, designed by Red Delicious Life, blocks sewn by NHMQG members, and pieced, quilted, and bound by me. All it needs is an afternoon at the spa, and I’ll send it off to an appreciated employee of Boston Children’s Hospital who serves the Down syndrome community.

My designated quilt holder is out of town, so an old stone wall did the job.

I’m thrilled with how this project turned out. I provided guild members with the navy and white fabric, and they could use whatever solid scraps they had on hand to finish off their blocks. The bold, graphic design and the anything-goes color scheme create a quilt suited, I think, for anyone with a modern aesthetic.

It was fun to see different colors juxtaposed in the quilt.
I love the combination of dusty blue, sage green, pale aqua, and coral-y carrot here.
Could it be the palette for a future quilt?

I’m a straight-line quilter, and settling on an approach to the quilting was difficult. There’s quite a bit of bulk at the ends of the navy diamonds, and I wasn’t sure my machine could work through it neatly. I chose to avoid those intersections and sew with my regular foot along the seam lines in the white/striped sections. I had lots of threads to bury when it was all said and done, but this plan was worth the extra work.

Two lines of quilting along these seams did the trick.

I thought of the back as a foil to all of the solids in the top. I chose a color that appears in the top—green—and found fabric in my stash to create a mostly monochromatic back. I like it. This quilt needed something with personality on the flip side.

I used my usual approach to piecing the back.

It’s not just me who has the paper-piecing bug these days. I spotted a paper-piecing finish over at Anja Quilts recently, and Never Just Jennifer has made good progress on her version of Icy Waters. How about you? Have you been sewing through fabric and paper at your machine lately?

Linking up to Show Off Saturday, Let’s Bee Social, Needle and Thread Thursday, and Scraptastic Tuesday ...

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38 comments:

  1. Seriously beautiful! I love all-solid quilts. And as another straight-line quilter I love how you've done the quilting on it.

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  2. I am doing more and more paper piecing as time goes on. This turned out so beautifully, and I love how the cohesive navy and blue let the other colors shimmer in the quilt top.

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  3. This is so beautiful! I LOVE the dark background. Your quilting really makes the whole thing pop. Agreed, sometimes the extra thread burying is worth it! Pop in a movie and before you know it, it's done. ;)

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  4. Looks beautiful and yes very modern with all that white and navy pulling it together. a lovely idea for a group project - congrats on a gorgeous finish!

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  5. This quilt is stunning. I think the quilting you chose is perfect for this quilt.

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  6. I think your quilting complemented the pattern perfectly. Thanks for taking the risk on my pattern. It turned out beautifully!

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  7. Quilt is awesome, adding it to my must make list!

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  8. This is wonderful, love the graphic pattern! I love the results of paper piecing but the fabric waste is tough on my controlling nature....lol. I'm going to work on a new paper piecing project for a present for my mom, but it will be small. Amazing work!

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  9. What a beauty. I love navy but have not acquired a passion for paper piecing yet. There is still time.

    tushay3 (at) yahoo (dot) com

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  10. This is beautiful Michelle! I haven't been doing too much paper piecing lately. My focus has been on getting some current WIPs finished. But this quilt is certainly inspiring me.

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  11. Oh that is seriously gorgeous! I've not really been bitten by the paper piecing bug, I'm still finding it very slow going but I'm trying to embrace the slow!

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  12. What a gorgeous quilt! I love the colour palette, it works perfectly with this design. I do enjoy paper piecing, i've got some rabbit patterns that i need to sew up.

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  13. I love it! What an awesome project. The quilting was just right.

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  14. Its gorgeous! I love the block, and your colors are perfect for it!

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  15. Definitely a bolt to beauty! Love the colors!

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  16. Beautiful!! And I love that it is a gift for a kind-hearted person :-) I'm sure it will be appreciated and treasured!
    Tracy, the one who is not a fan of paper piecing ;-)

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  17. I love the kaleidoscope look of the quilt. What a lovely gift to give to someone special. So many people put their heart into it.

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  18. I do believe I have caught the paper-piecing bug, but not nearly to this extent. :) I tried it for the first time only weeks ago and have done a couple of little minis for pincushions since. I may tackle a larger project one of these days.

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  19. Something must be in the air, I've been paper piecing this week too! Your quilt turned out absolutely beautiful! I love how bold it is with the solids, I'm sure it will be treasured! :)

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  20. It's a fantastic quilt! I love how the different scrappy additions give the quilt such a happy feel.

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  21. Wow! Beautifully done! Love the dynamic design of this one.

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  22. Truly stunning quilt and love that the navy seems to float on top! Thanks for linking up to #scraptastictuesday

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  23. Beautiful! Everyone's scraps played nice together, the navy was the perfect foil. This quilt us sure to bring a lot if joy!

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  24. Hahahaha, I haven't sewn through anything. I love how this finished, has so much personality.

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  25. lovely finish! Our family has been cared for by Children's Hospital in Boston. Nursing is amazing. Thank you for sharing.....

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  26. a wonderful quilt. Very graphic.

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  27. I love this! I've never done an all-solids quilt, and yours is inspiring me :)

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  28. Lovely! That navy blue is very striking!

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  29. Absolutely stunning! I love the navy and your quilting is just perfect.

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  30. Wow so beautiful! My first finished quilt was a very similar pattern to this one, also in navy. Great job :)

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  31. Great quilt! I really like how it is scrappy, but so cohesive because of the blue and white.

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  32. Oh my goodness! This is such a gorgeous group effort! Your quilting plan worked out perfectly. This quilt will be so appreciated!

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  33. It's gorgeous! I love the bold navy with the abundance of other colours.

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  34. Gorgeous. Great job. I 'get it'. I've buried many a thread. Thanks for sharing your gorgeous work!

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  35. I love those colors! Having others help and giving them some freedom in color choices really worked for this beauty! It really is gorgeous!

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  36. This quilt is gorgeous!!! I just love it!

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