Tuesday, February 19, 2013

Luminescence Defined

My Lipari Cosmic Star is complete.  Prepare yourselves for this stunning transformation. A couple of weeks ago I shared this photo:

Traceyjay's Cosmic pattern - by Poppyprint

I let you know that my friend Janet of WhatComesNext? was busy working her free-motion feather magic on the quilt.  We spoke briefly about the quilting, but I let Janet know that I trusted her and wanted her to enjoy the process.  I've seen enough of Janet's work to know this quilt was in very capable hands!  I knew it would be amazing. I knew it would be awesome. I'm just not sure I knew it was going to be so ridiculously, perfectly, mindblowing.  Even if feathers are not your cup of tea, you cannot deny that this quilting literally, and figuratively, makes the quilt.  Check this out:

Cosmic Lipari

Other bloggers have written how difficult it is to capture the true luminescence of shot cottons, and especially the Liparis which are shot with black thread. They behave like silk in natural light and bounce a lot of light. I upped the contrast and saturation a bit on that photo above to best highlight the quilting for you.  Here are some close ups of Janet's beautiful work.

Cosmic Lipari

Cosmic Lipari

Cosmic Lipari
The central design was over-stitched with a silver metallic thread.

As you can see, I bound the quilt with the same tone on tone black batik as the background because I didn't want any attention drawn away from that star. Here's a shot of the back so you can have an idea of all the stitching and see how perfectly it is distributed. That is a hanging sleeve you see across the top.

Cosmic Lipari - the back

I feel like my role in this quilt was pretty small actually, so I'm going to take a few lines to shout out my appreciation to everyone involved. Thank you to Lynne and Michael Oakshott for the opportunity to sew with these gorgeous cottons. I did use Mary Ellen's Best Press prior to cutting out those big wedge-shaped pieces and the oakshotts held the bias edge beautifully.  These cottons press crisp and retain their sheen!  Thank you Tracey for your easy-to-piece pattern that I will definitely make again. And thank you Janet, for taking this small quilt to stratospheric heights with your incredible quilting skills.

37 comments:

Dan R said...

Wow. It turned out beautifully.

Heather D. said...

Amazing. Stunning.

paulette said...

OMGosh!! STUNNING!!!!!
P

Amy Friend said...

Wow, it was lovely before but the quilting certainly took it up a notch! She did an amazing job.

Kathy P said...

Perfection. Both in the piecing and the quilting - congrats to everyone involved!

Lesly said...

omg it is spectacular, every single bit of it. Kudos to all involved! I have a F8 bundle of these but I am too afraid to cut into it.

Katy Cameron said...

Oh wow, that is absolutely amazing, great work all round!

bulabean said...

The quilting really is amazing! It looks fabulous!

Patti said...

Fantastic work by both of you!

sandra said...

Wow beautiful stunning quilting, the quilt is gorgeous.

marie said...

Beautiful! I don't know what oakshotts are can you tell me?

Potpourri said...

Absolutely gorgeous, the quilting is outstanding.

Judy Cooper Textile Artist said...

Truly beautiful work!

What Comes Next? said...

Thank you Krista - your pictures are just stunning - they do show the quilting off beautifully. It was a pleasure to be part of this project.

Barbie Mills said...

This is overwhelmingly beautiful, I just love the whole thing.

felicity said...

So incredible. Having seen this beauty in person, I can attest to its magnificence, on all fronts. Piecing AND quilting. Lovely!

Unknown said...

This is truly amazing quilting and as usual the Oakshott fabrics just 'shine' (I really must treat myself to some soon)

Nina Lise@Mrs Moen said...

It is simply perfect, Krista!

Elsa said...

I liked it before the quilting ~ after the quilting? Wow ~ what a transformation ~ that's what you should call it!

carol said...

Wow.......gorgeous! Yahoo to Janet!

Mrs Flying Blind... said...

Woo hoo!

Sandi said...

What a lovely collaboration of two very skilled people. I love your blacken black batik choice for the backgrounds

Well done to both you ladies.

The other Sandi in New Westminster

Elisabeth said...

Wow! What a fantastic collaboration, that quilt is a true work of art. Love it!

Dianne said...

Words fail me. Having seen this in person I can attest to its beauty but your photographs have captured the stunning quality of the quilting and construction. Will be looking forward to seeing this hang in our show! I hope :0)

Brenda said...

Absolutely STUNNING! The block catches you and then the quilting on the block is as the best icing job on a great cake!! Well done Ladies.
What a completely beautiful piece of art.
Cheers from Oshawa.

Sandi said...

Bravo to you both! It is even more stunning when you see it 'in person'. Sandi

Tiffany said...

Wow, what a stunner! Such a transformation.

Terry Aske Art Quilts said...

Fabulous!

Terry Aske Art Quilts said...

Fabulous!

Unknown said...

absolutley gorgeous. Tried to pin it to quilting ideas but no luck. Have you thought about Pinterest?

Live a Colorful Life said...

You were right when you said it was mind blowing!

♥Duff said...

stratospheric heights is right. For maybe the second time in my life, I'm speechless.

Bear Creek Quilting Company said...

Amazing and beautiful!!

Kim P. said...

I can see why you are so happy with it. It is stunning.

Jess @ Elven Garden Quilts said...

Wow! Those feathers are incredible! Perfect on your beautiful quilt :o)

Kayla Yapuncich said...

I honestly come and look at this post every day because of how amazing it turned out! And I make everyone I know look at it too, even the non-quilters, and they even gush over it. The block and the quilting are both stunning!

Lisa said...

Wow! I liked the unquilted version and then scrolled down to see the quilting. Gorgeous!