Friday, May 28, 2010

Blogger's Quilt Festival - Spring 2010!

Update: I was finally able to get a picture of the full quilt while it hung in a local quilt show:




 
This is my entry for the Blogger's Quilt Festival - Spring 2010, hosted by Amy's Creative Side http://www.amyscreativeside.com/2010/05/bloggers-quilt-festival-spring-2010.html.

I designed, pieced and quilted it myself!


The idea for this quilt was born on my first shop hop, back in '05 or '06, I think. The first shop we visited had the most beautiful collection of batik fabrics and I found myself drawn to them. 10 little bags of fabric later I had this group of fabrics. I originally had planned them for a bargello, but after hours of starring at them another idea formed.
The fabrics just kept making me think of stained glass and I've always loved Frank Lloyd Wright's stained glass windows. I don't yet own any fancy quilt programs, but was able to sort of get a general idea of what I wanted to do using the columns of a spreadsheet (probably sounds crazy, but it wasn't so bad). Calculating and double checking all of the individual measurements was the trickiest part.
I completed the top some time in '09, put the layers together and then it sat in my closet for a year. I had started hand quilting it and realized that if I finished it in another 10 years I'd be lucky. I really wanted to quilt it myself and originally thought the only way I could manage it was to hand quilt it because I don't own a long arm. Then this spring I decided to just take it in and get it quilted. I got my estimate and then brought it home so I could save the money to quilt it and take out the hand quilting I'd already started. That night I thought, "why don't I just try and see if I can get it in my machine..." and I did! And I taught myself meandering quilting in the process! I finished it in March of this year... probably 4 years in the making. It is 100 inches square (so it is rather difficult to photograph the whole thing at once) and currently resides on our bed. It brightens the whole room! These days I just call it my Stained Glass Quilt.
Here are a few more pics of it...


I love the way the sunshine hit this last image...

Hope you enjoyed my entry!

24 comments:

Zlaty said...

Very pretty quilt! You did an amazing job! Wonderful use of color!

Happy sewing!

Kerstin said...

Wow!!! What a great quilt! I love it!

Viele Grüße
Kerstin

felicity said...

Good for you for quilting it yourself! I love Frank Llyod Wright's windows, and this quilt is a beautiful tribute. Thanks for sharing.

Anonymous said...

Congratulations on your new blog, and on a very, very beautiful quilt. A true tribute to Wright's stained glass windows.
Thank you also for the very nice email you sent me, - I truly appreciate it :-)

RaisinCookies said...

I love this quilt. LOVE IT. I've never been drawn to batik fabrics much, but I'm going to have to change my mind after seeing your quilt! This will be filed away in the back of my brain as a "someday" quilt... beautiful!!!

Mary-Kay said...

Wow! It's beautiful. I like the way all the photos look like there's light coming from behind and not just the last one. Great fabric choices and what a great design.

Dusty said...

Absolutely gorgeous. You totally captured the essence of Frank Lloyd Wright's stained glass work.

Apple Avenue Quilts said...

Stunning!

2miracles/Tove said...

Wow, Hands down your quilt is my favorite in this festival! I saw a couple I really liked but yours is a peice of art work. Great job!

Army Wife Quilter said...

looks like a stain glass that i would like to have in my window. great job

Zonnah said...

It is beautiful!

Marjorie said...

Love it! What a great use of batiks! I'm doing a batik charm-square give away you may be interested in.

rome said...

Your quilt rocks! It is my favorite in the festival, too! It really does look like a piece of Frank Lloyd Wright's glass. Wow.

Carol said...

Wonderful stain glass effect.

Anonymous said...

Gorgeous!

janet said...

Just lovely!

Unknown said...

Great quilt

Eileen said...

a beautiful quilt. so wonderful that you've designed this and shared it with us. have a great day

Laurel H. said...

This is a stunning stained glass quilt; WOW!

Anna Dawn said...

I LOVE this Stained Glass Quilt! I can't believe it! It's GORGEOUS! And you designed it yourself! I wish I had someone nearby to help teach me this amazing hobby, I could definitely learn a lot from you! Just Beautiful work!

jenashford said...

This quilt is amazing!

Belinda said...

I'm late to the game, but that quilt is just absolutely unbelievable!

Saraccino said...

Just beautiful...! There is really nothing more to say! The play with the sunlight is enchanting :)

Lisa said...

Wow! AWESOME!!