Friday, April 17, 2009

Online Quilt Festival!

What a fun idea, and I had a horrible time trying to decide which of my quilts to post! But in the end this one won:



I have the good fortune of working in a quilt shop and getting to make shop samples. 2 years ago my boss told me we were getting in a Judy Neimeyer sample made from Hoffman batiks and I was expected to make it. When I got home I looked it up online, and my jaw dropped! I remember showing it to my husband and saying with awe - I get to make this quilt!

Finally the fabrics and patterns arrived, I set to work cutting out the kits, and took the one that arrived prepackaged home. The pattern came in a box, so I got out the box, read the instructions and got to work pre-cutting pieces. This step was tedious and took some time, but all the while I was thinking about how lovely the fabrics were and how should I quilt this? I know right away what I was going to do in the border, but the rest of the quilt? I pondered as I cut, then started to sew.

The piecing was so much fun. For this quilt you have many different units, but you only have to make 8 of each one. So you never feel like you are making a bazillion blocks, like some quilts. And the fact that all your pieces are pre-cut make it amazingly easy to put together. As each section was added to the quilt, I was more and more inspired by the design to really put some nice quilting into it. I quilt on my Juki TL98E at home, and for this quilt it was the only way I could have tackled it because I ended up working from the center out. Each section was quilted with different threads to match the colors and I did a ton of free motion wiggly lines to fill in the different spikes and blades of the design

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The border was a fern and frond type of design inspired by a long arm quilter who lives in my area. I was so excited when I finally got to quilt that part, and then, just like that it was done! I won a blue Ribbon for this quilt in the county fair, then entered it in the local show and got a best of show ribbon for it there. I love this quilt, and would love to make another one of Judy Neimeyer's designs, I think they are marvelous!

36 comments:

Bunny said...

truly marvelous! I love the mandala feel with the mariners compass elements.

rachel griffith said...

stunning!!!

Pam said...

Beautiful quilt. I am in awe of all the piecing, and the quilting is awesome.

Giovanna said...

ABSOLUTELY BEAUTIFUL !!

Quilt+Bitch said...

Magnificent! Priceless! Breath taking! WOW!

Kerri said...

what a great quilt!!

Carol said...

Truly a work of art. I think this is my favorite one so far :)

Zonnah said...

Oh wow! What a privilege that was for you.

Jocelyn said...

Oh my! This is one incredible quilt! You are one talented lady.

Mary-Kay said...

Judy certainly has great patterns and you did a beautiful job! Stunning colour choices.

Sandra said...

Judy's designs and good workmanship seem to be a recipe for show ribbons.
Congrats.

Come see my quilt. #216 on the list
And if you like antique quilts, see my 2nd blog
http://utahquiltappraiser.blogspot.com

Stephanie D said...

No wonder it's your favorite--it's stunning! The colors are gorgeous and those sharp points look deadly! lol

Abby and Stephanie said...

Stunning!!!

Scrappy quilter said...

Absolutely stunning!!!

Amy said...

Wow. It sounds like the shop sample was a great incentive to try an awesomely challenging quilt. I am impressed.

Anonymous said...

Incredible! You do wonderful work.

stitchinpenny said...

A wonderful quilt. Did you get it back after it had served its purpose as a shop sample? If I had made that I would want it close by so I could just touch it occasionally to convince myself it was real.

Cindy's Stitching said...

Amazing color- striking design

Unknown said...

It's stunning! What a feat on so many levels - I love your quilting and the colors are beautiful :) Thank you for sharing!

Pamela said...

Thank you all, I do have my quilt back, and it is for sale in my Etsy shop! If I ever sell it I think I might have to make another - my dad likes this quilt a lot, but it's a bit small for their bed.

Aunt Spicy said...

Stunning! Just stunning!

Unknown said...

This quilt is wonderful! I am a big Judy Niemeyer fan and have taken several classes with her. The most recent was last weekend. She is a phenomenal teacher. I currently have 2 of her quilts going. One on the design wall and one at the sewing machine. The Hawaiian Star quilt that you made, I also had a hand in making when I was at my local quilt shop. There were 6 of us making the quilt and kitting it up to be sold. The quilt was eventually donated to the local guild as the raffle quilt. All who worked on it were members of the guild. I will be posting in a few days the quilts that I am working on so be sure to check it out.

Quilt Rat said...

Outstanding! love this one
enjoy the festival

quiltmom anna said...

I love Judy Niemeyer patterns and have a couple of them - the sunflower pattern and the Wedding Star is the other.
You did a fabulous job of the quilt and have every reason to be proud of the results- it is stunning.
Thanks for sharing..
Regards,
Anna

Coloradolady said...

Gosh, this is beautiful. It looks like this must have taken forever to complete. The colors are wonderful. Such talent.

Cathy said...

This is one stunning quilt! An amazing piece of art!

Cathy ♥

Ariane said...

Wow!!! That's an amazing quilt. Beautiful work!!!!!

Linda Zimmerman said...

wow! this quilt is beautiful.

Janet Hartje said...

Simply gorgeous! Thanks for sharing this quilt.

Miri said...

Stunning! This is a beautiful quilt, and beautifully made and quilted! Ribbon winner for sure!

Lisa D. said...

What an exciting quilt! I love the way the quilting really enhances the design, too.

Mary on Lake Pulaski said...

Incredible quilt and the quilting added so much to Judy Niemeyer's awesome design. Thank you for sharing and also for stopping by my blog and the nice comment.

Millie said...

Wow! Knock me out and slap me silly! Wow, wow, wow. This is just spectacular.

connie said...

WOW!!!! There are no words for this

imquilternity said...

Absolutely GORGEOUS quilt and stunning quilting! I have this pattern and know just how much work it is. You did a fabulous job! You get a blue ribbon from me too!!

Natalie said...

Amazing! I will add this to my must try list...as you are the first person who made it sound even remotely achievable! Thanks! It is SO Gorgeous!