Saturday, January 29, 2011

Circles Quilt

I thought about titling this post I Did It! But that sounds a bit self congratulatory. I am pleased, though, that I was able to tackle such a large quilt on my own and with free motion quilting no less. You saw how it dwarfed my little machine. And here you can see the silly things we do to get a photo of such a big quilt. See my feet at the top of the ladder, oh and in the front yard?
It ended up about 68" x 83" after washing and drying it.

I bound the quilt in an American Jane rulers print.
I made an extra bit of matching bunting for fun. Here's the quilt on big brother's bed (still a crib for the guy who will get this quilt eventually).
Improvised log cabins were the perfect use for scraps. The red alphabet print on the back is from American Jane's Punctuation line.Here is a closeup of my swirly quilting. I almost quit after my first attempt because the free motion was wonky, and maneuvering the quilt under the needle on a quilt this size is exhausting. I'm glad I stuck it out. All the wobbles sort of disappear in a quilt this big and busy, and I definitely got better by the end. I'm really happy with the results, and this can be an example, in the future, of my "before" quilting! All that to say don't let big quilts intimidate you. Give it a go.
Although I enlarged the blocks, the original tutorial can be found here.

21 comments:

Marg said...

I would have definitely titled it "I did it".
It's stunning, and I love love the quilting, you have inspired me to try. The raw edge circle quilt is on my to do list and now I know how to quilt it, thank you!
I love the back too, this quilt is absolutely gorgeous.

Shea said...

Alex, that is so amazing. I love everything about it- the colors, the quilting- impressive spirals!, the binding choice, the back.

I am very much looking forward to seeing this at a future Show and Tell!!

Anita said...

I would have gone with "I did it" it turned out amazing!

Julie said...

my goodness you are so beyond talented! so so lovely, awesome!

Amy Friend said...

You did it! I think "I did it!" would have been appropriate. It's terrific.

Carla said...

Beautiful! What a fun way to photograph the quilt...love the footprints in the snow! I've made a pattern similar to this but in drab colors....Love yours and it's so cute for a little boy. Great quilting, btw>I had mine quilted by a professional and she chose the same type of pattern!

Bailey said...

It's absolutely fabulous and I think a little bit of self congratulating in the title is perfectly fine. You definitely have bragging rights with such a beautiful accomplishment!

Marilyn said...

You did it alright and it's amazing, Alex!!! What and inspiration--love the photos!!

Mary Anne said...

Wow! You did a great job! I love the fabric selection, and the quilting is amazing. Doesn't it feel great to push your boundaries?

I'm with Shea - I hope you'll bring this to Show & Tell!

Mary Anne said...

Wow! You did a great job! I love the fabric selection, and the quilting is amazing. Doesn't it feel great to push your boundaries?

I'm with Shea - I hope you'll bring this to Show & Tell!

punkin said...

I am in love!!! It is perfect and ranks up there as one as my all time fags. Can't wait to see it in person.

Vicki said...

Beautiful! That's a big quilt, and you did a fabulous job!!

Unknown said...

Congrats! It looks great & is one of my favorites!

Bellgirl said...

Wow, it's wonderful! The back looks terrific too. I'm inspired to try to squeeze a king-size through my entry-level Janome!

Rafael's Mum said...

It's beautiful! and well done quilting it all, what an achievement!

Alisa said...

That's one great quilt! Congratulations on getting it finished.

Shirley said...

WOW! I was away from my computer for the weekend at my daughter's swim meet and look at what you did! Huge congrats, Alex. This is amazing. I really love how you swirl quilted the circles!

Anonymous said...

Absolutely stunning!

Allison said...

Its lovely! And good for you for tackling this big quilt...mine was only a crib size and I was complaining! -Allison

jil said...

Superb, way to go!!! great look on the bed and I love the panel and blocks on the back, very nice touch and great finish.

Lindsay Conner said...

Hello! I'm featuring a round-up of simple quilt designs on the Craftsy blog, and I wondered if I could picture your quilt, with a link back to your blog. Please let me know!