Tuesday, January 22, 2013

It's only been a year in the making....

Quilt tops abound here at Poppyprint, but finished, bound quilts? Hmmm. Not that often. Like so many others obsessed with fabric combinations in quilting, I am easily distracted by the next exciting fabric line/pattern/quiltalong/block and as a result my UFO's linger. And linger.

Over a year ago, Laurie Wisbrun  and Kaufman very kindly shared a LOT of her sweet, graphic holiday line called Brrr! with me. Around the same time, Chelsea started the Made in Cherry quiltalong on her blog. It had been a while since I made a big quilt and I thought this free Lecien pattern by Sarah Fielke would be an ideal one for Laurie's prints. The 5" square sized allowed the polar bears and large polkadots to shine, instead of getting all chopped up and lost in small piecing. The bright aqua, red and green colours are even more fun on the field of medium grey background.  The quilt is bound with Laurie's adorable stripy/dotty print in the Holiday colourway that I cut on the bias: perfect.

Ursus {maritimus} Major
Here's the top getting a good soaking on some white rain that accumulated last year!

I made the top really fast (for me) and showed you last year. Then, I pieced left over large chunks of  Brrr! with some coordinating Kona solids and the back went together lickity split as well.

Then we went on a month-long family trip to France.

Brrr! Made in Cherry by Poppyprint


By the time fall rolled around, I realized that sometimes the best way to complete a large quilt is to get help. I took the top and back down to Seattle for Krista K2 to work her magic. I'd seen her Baptist Fan quilting on Krista's K3 quilt (confused yet? There are three of us!) and asked her to quilt mine with the same design, with an aqua thread.  The pattern is programmed into IQ, a computerized system that Krista can use on her longarm when she's not working her dreamy free-motion quilting magic.

Brrr! Made in Cherry by Poppyprint

I just love how incredible this very traditional quilting pattern looks on this decidedly contemporary quilt! I will definitely have more large quilts done with the Baptist Fan.  It is the first quilt I've made that has Polydown batting inside. I've always been a stickler for cotton blend batting, but Krista convinced me that that the quilting texture would really shine with a slightly poufier batting.  Of course, she was absolutely right! Trust the experts.

Brrr! Made in Cherry by Poppyprint

The polar bears will go to live two blocks away at SIL's house, on her spare bed. She's already said she likes the back better (that's how she rolls) so that's likely the side that will be 'up'. I haven't yet decided what to do about a label, in that case.


40 comments:

Heather D. said...

Krista! This quilt is amazing and so so cute. I have a Brrr! top waiting to be finished too, and I used a similar gray background.

Nicole said...

I too like the back (but not more than the front). Label suggestion - put a super narrow (one line of text wide) strip near a border. Keep the words to a minimum (name/date only) to keep the strip short.

Use one of the fabrics from the back maybe?

Idea 2: make a circle out of the red or aqua you used (make it same size as one of the circles in the prints if possible) and put one on each side of the quilt, each one with half the usual info.

Mrs Flying Blind... said...

It's gorgeous!! Maybe the star side will get it's time over Christmas - it is way too cool to be hidden!

The quilting is awesome too x

Adrianne @ On the Windy Side said...

Lovely! I also love the Baptist Fan quilting - it's one of my favourite designs and I think it looks great on modern quilts. Might be what I choose for the next quilt I get long-armed.

Poppyprint said...

Thanks Nicole! I love your idea of the circle labels (I could not reply to you directly as you are a 'no reply' blogger and there was no email listed in your google connect profile).

Archie The Wonder Dog said...

It's wonderful!!

Michele said...

Wow, just wow. Great design and the quilting is amazing.

dutchcomfort said...

You Krista”s work miracles together!! Such a wonderful quil1 and quilting!

M-R Charbonneau said...

Ooh, I just love what you did with that line. It's gorgeous! The baptist fan complements it beautifully!

Canadian Abroad said...

It looks brilliant. I love the quilting and the quilt!

Lise-Lotte said...

I LOVE it Krista. Your SIL is so lucky both for your generosity and also for your notion of once-something-is-given-they-get-to-decide- which-side-is-"up"
Lise-Lotte
partygreen(dot)ca

Dianne said...

I love this quilt and the quilting that K2 did more and more each time I see it. SIL is one lucky gal!

Katy Cameron said...

I love that line! The quilt looks fab, and the quilting is amazing

myBearpaw said...

That was such a great line, I sold lots of it in my store in Edinburgh (ran out way before Christmas!). I love the way you've fussy cut the polar bear heads and the quilting is sublime!

Tracey Jacobsen said...

yes! definitely love that quilting on there!!
(and a year in the works ain't no thang) ;)

Leanne said...

It really looks so fresh and modern with that quilting and the fun fabrics. Your SIL is very lucky to get it, it is a wonderful present.

**nicke... said...

saw it on ig last night and was drooling! the quilting is beautiful!!!!!! lovely lovely finish krista!!!

Ginette said...

That is a fabulous quilt!! Love the quilting as well! I love what you did with the back, great idea!

PinkGranny said...

I love it!!!! Worth the wait.

Tammy said...

Wow, love it Krista. I don't know what it is about grey, but I'm liking it as the "new white." I have lots of 5" charm packs so This may be a good way to use them.

Carla said...

Lovely lovely finish. I wonder if its too late to start one of my own ; )

roccagal said...

gorgeous both front and back!

Marianne Penner said...

It's fantastic Krista, every bit as gorgeous as you described!

CitricSugar said...

It's really cute! And you shouldn't fret too much about how long it takes - some of the best quilts are ones that took years+ to finish (or so I keep telling myself…) :-)

Elsa said...

Krista ~ it's beautiful and so much bigger than I thought! the back is lovely too! I'm totally inspired!

Joy said...

I love the one block top. I make pieced backs for all my quilts as well and I would like to find a way of labeling that fits in unobtrusively with a reversable quilt. Could you do a blog on this topic as you're deciding what to do with this one? It would help a lot of us.

Brenda said...

Absolutely STUNNING! Gorgeous and modern too. Love it. Hope that many generations will enjoy it.

Barb said...

Krista, congratulations on such a beautiful finish! I can't wait to get some of my ufos done and out of my mind and quilting room!

Sew Create It - Jane said...

WOW - what an amazing finish and the baptist fans are a perfect fit!

Katie B said...

Hooray for an excellent finish! And I think the quilting is just fantastic. Baptist fans all around!

Sarah said...

Quilt is gorgeous Krista! I love the quilting. I find I really like a quilt too and then when it comes back from the quilter I LOVE it! At least you can visit this quilt at your SIL house. I wouldn't want to give it away.

cauchy09 said...

this is a super sweet quilt! and i love your baptist fan quilting. wow!

Corrie said...

The back looks fabulous! Well so does the front. I am thinking that it might not go in the spare room but live on my king bed. Maybe back side for a few months on my bed. Front side for a few months on the spare bed. Look at me just a 'twitter' with quilt ideas.

Thank you Krista's. Can I come and pick it up tonight!

Love your SIL.

Danielle said...

Fabulous in so many ways! I'm a huge fan (ha!) of the baptist fan too, my Swoon is quilted with it and I love it. The poufier batting idea is interesting too! xxx

QuiltNut Creations said...

Love it, love it, love it! Never would have thought of doing a baptist fan on a quilt like this but it is perfect!!

Nina Lise@Mrs Moen said...

It turned out wonderfully, Krista! Waiting a year or two for a finish does not have to be a problem unless you fall out of love with the project AND that special someone's birthday you are making it for was a year and a half ago. Don't ask how i know..

Holly said...

I absolutely love the combo of this oversized and graphic pattern with the Baptist fan quilting. Great job!

pinksuedeshoe said...

I love the baptist fan! I am saving it for my soon to be new bedroom quilt. But good tip on the batting, I'll keep that in mind. It looks lovely!

Brenda said...

What a gorgeous quilt!
I do love the fan quilting done. So hard to decide what is going to set-off a design to the best advantage. I guess if you'd known before hand, that the design didn't matter you could have saved a lot of time, energy and care huh? LOL. Sorry...cant imagine telling ANYONE, I preferred the back of a quilt they had made for me. That astounds me.
Anyhow...You done good! Cheers from Oshawa Ontario.

Archie The Wonder Dog said...

I'm just coming back for another look at your fabulous quilt (I often gaze at it on Flickr!) and wanted to let you know that I adore this quilt!