Now on to the fun bits. And by fun bits, I mean pictures. Well, that and my internal monologue.
Finally Finished
I love this quilt and it was a labor of love to bring it to fruition. I was so excited when I finally got the top done, but then things didn't really continue to click along like I hoped. As usual, I changed my mind and second guessed myself...
The Backing
The Backing
If you can remember back, oh so long ago, I shared this plan for backing it binding.
BUT, the backing just wasn't doing it for me. I REALLY wanted to back it with a Chicopee fabric, but it had been so long since the line came out, I wasn't sure that was going to happen. I searched around on Etsy and there was some Chicopee fabric out there, but I just couldn't commit to anything. I eventually went to one of the smaller quilt shops in Portland, knowing that they rarely order full lines of anything, but since they do less business, often have things from older lines. I was in luck! I got a good piece of the blue and yellow paisley. I was going to need to stretch it though and opted for some solid shot cottons to compliment the other colors in the quilt. I tinkered quite a bit before landing on my design. It would look something like this:
The Quilting
Even more than the backing, I was stuck on what I was going to do with the quilting. So I did something that I often do when I have a quilting dilemma, I Googled it. Looking at pictures of other completed quilts in the same pattern helps me see what different options will look like since I don't have any fancy software skills to mock things up. However, in this case, even though the pattern has been out for a long time, there are not a ton of photos out there of completed Fireworks quilts. Also, most of them that are out there feature free-motion quilting. I knew I wasn't up for tackling that on something I couldn't bear to "ruin" with sub-par quilting. However, I also knew that I wanted something with a little bit of movement without being too busy. There was already enough going on e with the fabric and the pattern. When I was bemoaning to myself that lack of finished Fireworks quilting options to peruse, I had a flash of an idea. I could look at Swoon quilts instead. Now if you a quilter you know that this pattern had a tight grip on the quilting community for several years so there are a lot of completed Swoon quilts out there. Swoon is by the same designer as Fireworks and is a similar large surround pattern. During my search, I stumbled on to a photo with a pattern like this and knew that was the direction I wanted to go.
And I was off!
Finishing
I actually used the binding the I originally picked out. I was nervous about the bright color but I think it turned out perfect with the grey background. Did I mention that I love this quilt? Cue gratuitous number of photos.
And there you have it, a finished quilt. All documented and everything :)
BUT, the backing just wasn't doing it for me. I REALLY wanted to back it with a Chicopee fabric, but it had been so long since the line came out, I wasn't sure that was going to happen. I searched around on Etsy and there was some Chicopee fabric out there, but I just couldn't commit to anything. I eventually went to one of the smaller quilt shops in Portland, knowing that they rarely order full lines of anything, but since they do less business, often have things from older lines. I was in luck! I got a good piece of the blue and yellow paisley. I was going to need to stretch it though and opted for some solid shot cottons to compliment the other colors in the quilt. I tinkered quite a bit before landing on my design. It would look something like this:
 |
| The little quarter squares would be made from Chicopee scraps. |
The Quilting
Even more than the backing, I was stuck on what I was going to do with the quilting. So I did something that I often do when I have a quilting dilemma, I Googled it. Looking at pictures of other completed quilts in the same pattern helps me see what different options will look like since I don't have any fancy software skills to mock things up. However, in this case, even though the pattern has been out for a long time, there are not a ton of photos out there of completed Fireworks quilts. Also, most of them that are out there feature free-motion quilting. I knew I wasn't up for tackling that on something I couldn't bear to "ruin" with sub-par quilting. However, I also knew that I wanted something with a little bit of movement without being too busy. There was already enough going on e with the fabric and the pattern. When I was bemoaning to myself that lack of finished Fireworks quilting options to peruse, I had a flash of an idea. I could look at Swoon quilts instead. Now if you a quilter you know that this pattern had a tight grip on the quilting community for several years so there are a lot of completed Swoon quilts out there. Swoon is by the same designer as Fireworks and is a similar large surround pattern. During my search, I stumbled on to a photo with a pattern like this and knew that was the direction I wanted to go.
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| A poor drawing, but enough to see the idea. |
And I was off!
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| One of the few projects that I completed in the upstairs craft room. |
Finishing
I actually used the binding the I originally picked out. I was nervous about the bright color but I think it turned out perfect with the grey background. Did I mention that I love this quilt? Cue gratuitous number of photos.
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| Of course Fractal had to make an appearance at the edge of the quilt. I like how much the quilting stands out in this photo. |
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| I am so pleased with how the back came out. Totally worth the fabric hunt. |
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| You can see some tiny puckers in the quilting here, but you what? I have never noticed in the year since I took this photo. |
And there you have it, a finished quilt. All documented and everything :)
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