Friday, October 29, 2010

Blogger’s Quilt Festival – Fall 2010


Amy at Amy's Creative Side is hosting the Blogger's Quilt Festival again.



I was himming and hawing about whether my Meg's Garden quilt was good enough to enter. However, the the give-a-ways offered by the sponsors are just too good to pass up, so I am entering it! I will let you be the judge of how it stands up in comparison to the other quilts on display.


The story behind the quilt? Well, I have been quilting for about 10 years now. My favourite quilts were always the applique quilts, but I suffered from the "I could never do that" affliction. One day, I saw the Meg's Garden Pattern designed by Kellie at Don't Look Now. Well, I was bound and determined to try it!


I modified the size of the quilt to make it larger as I intend to use the quilt regularly.


I machine appliqued the flowers, butterflies, and ladybugs on and then machine quilted the final product.


We were asked what we love about the quilt that we are submitting to the Blog Festival. I do not want to sound boastful, but there is so so much I love about this quilt:


1) I love that I conquered my mental block around applique. I will not be afraid to try another applique quilt in the future!


2) I love the colours of this quilt! They were completely outside of my comfort zone when I started the quilt, but now I love bright colours!


3) I love the size of the quilt. I made it big, so it is long enough for me to wrap my feet into AND pull up around my shoulders at the same time


4) I love the flannel on the back of the quilt. I have decided that all future quilts will have flannel backs. The colour of the back is great, too! A confetti-like polka dot in pinks, purples and light greens! I had some material from the front left over so I appliqued my initial onto the back. I might do that on all my quilts from now on as a signature item.


5) I'm not the world's greatest machine quilter, but when this was done and I stepped back, I was struck by how even the quilting appeared. Like a gift from the quilting gods!


6) Finally, I love the binding. I had originally put a hot pink on and was shocked to see that it washed out the colours within the top! So, off came that binding and on went a pink that was within the top already. Even though changing the binding meant unsewing the original binding by hand, it was 100% the right decision!


Here are the pictures of the quilt.
Thanks so much for stopping by!


Melanie









































46 comments:

  1. this is SO SO beautiful! and what a sweet surprise on the back! nice work!!!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Oh. My. Gosh. It's gorgeous. I LOVE it! So beautiful! So glad you shared it!! (And the detail on the back is awesome too!)

    ReplyDelete
  3. This is just amazing! love it!

    ReplyDelete
  4. It's a beautiful quilt and I do love the colors. Good job on the applique, that's a lot of work.

    ReplyDelete
  5. This is beautiful! Great job, you should be very proud of yourself.

    ReplyDelete
  6. You've done beautifule work! I have one of Don't Look Now's patterns and can only dream of actually completing it. Your quilt is real inspiration and I bet a real joy now that its done. Thank you so much for sharing!!

    ReplyDelete
  7. What a wonderful quilt, congratulations:)

    ReplyDelete
  8. Beautiful quilt and will be a everlasting memory of your quilting journey, happy quilting, Sue.

    ReplyDelete
  9. It's fantastic and I know how much work went into it because I made one too. It's one of my favourites.

    ReplyDelete
  10. This is amazing! I'm about to tackle a bag with applique and thought I was being very brave. Pfttttttt....then I come here and see your quilt of gorgeousness.

    Thanks for sharing.

    ReplyDelete
  11. This is just stunning!!!! You did a wonderful job! Thanks for sharing! I am still a little intimidated by applique but am determined to try my hand at it soon.

    ReplyDelete
  12. That's a beautiful quilt...so cheerful and happy!
    Micki

    ReplyDelete
  13. Beautiful and unique, I love it! I love the contrast between the bright colors and the bright white!

    ReplyDelete
  14. This is gorgeous! I've been wanting to try one of Kelly's patterns -- you've inspired me. I can't ever seem to make a bright-colored quilt not come out dull, so I've hesitated.

    ReplyDelete
  15. I like it! I love DLN patterns. Yours is so pretty! God job!

    ReplyDelete
  16. And why would you think this wasn't good enough??? Amazing job!

    ReplyDelete
  17. This is stunning! I've never tried an applique quilt either, and I'm inspited to give it a try!

    ReplyDelete
  18. This is such a beautiful quilt and I love the bright colours.

    Blessings

    Gail

    ReplyDelete
  19. This is just gorgeous!! I am also a big fan of Don't look now, and you have most certainly done her justice!! Great job :)

    ReplyDelete
  20. totally fabulous! the quilting gods were smiling on you!

    ReplyDelete
  21. You have every reason to be proud of this beauty! Great job.

    ReplyDelete
  22. il est vraiment magnifique et je pense qu'il vous a demandé beaucoup de travail ,le résultat est époustouflant les couleurs sont originales ,feélicitation

    ReplyDelete
  23. precious. a little girl would adore it! A big girl would for that matter;) LOL!

    ReplyDelete
  24. Are ya feelin' the love?! Awesome Job my friend! I especially like the 'm' with the flower on the back .. great signature!

    HUGS!!!

    ReplyDelete
  25. This is awesome!
    Well done!
    It looks huge! I did a class with Kellie a couple of months ago and I saw the original one of this. OMG! She is a machine! Your quilt is definitely good enough to post, I love it! I love the size, colours everything! Well done!

    ReplyDelete
  26. Gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous version of Kellie's design.

    ReplyDelete
  27. That's very beautiful. I love the final detail on the back. Too cute.

    ReplyDelete
  28. Wowsers! This is stunning! Congrats!!

    ReplyDelete
  29. You really thought this wouldn't be good enough? If I had accomplished something this fantastic, I'd be shouting about it from the rooftops! I love it!

    ReplyDelete
  30. I'm so glad you posted your quilt! It's stunning!!

    ReplyDelete
  31. Your quilt is absolutely stunning! Glad to hear you are an applique convert!

    ReplyDelete
  32. OK...this post might just motivate me to actually work on one of the many patterns of Kelli's that I own.

    ReplyDelete
  33. This is wonderful! A friend of mine has asked me to make her a quilt that has a big tree on it...Perhaps i've found the pattern! Really terrific work. Best to you.

    ReplyDelete
  34. Wow - never worry if this is good enough to enter - wow!! Love it !

    ReplyDelete
  35. Beautiful quilt and even better that you've enlarged it to use regularly. I have this pattern too, but so far, not brave enough to do it.

    ReplyDelete
  36. Beautiful quilt! Love the bright colors on the white background! Terrific sewing!

    ReplyDelete
  37. WOW! What a stunning work of art you've made there! That looks so comfy too. I enjoyed your process and look forward to seeing your next applique quilt!

    hugz
    Pam

    ReplyDelete
  38. WONDERFUL QUILT! Congratulations on your beautiful quilt, I would love to have the guts to make that. Thank you for sharing it with all of us.
    Kelley O

    ReplyDelete