Wooo Hooo!

It's been a long time coming. If you have followed this blog for any time, you have seen my Blue quilt in various stages of completion. Two and half years to design, piece and quilt this from my collection of blue and white fabrics. (When you quilt for customers for a living, there is precious time to work on your own things. So, I grabbed time where I could.)

It has paid off! I'm here with Tangled Up in Blue (thanks, Bob Dylan for that!) which is sporting Best In Show and Best Professional Quilting ribbons!

Best In Show – I never imagined that!

This is our regional show, the Rim Country Quilt Roundup. A show my husband and I started 11 years ago in central Arizona.

I could not be more proud...or giddy!

Ta Da Done!

Two and a half years after I started it, my blue and white medallion quilt is finally finished!

After discovering the Zentangle art form several years ago, I knew I wanted to use some of the designs as inspiration for quilting. And, that is what I have tried to do with my quilt. The next picture is of a tangle named Leaflet. It translated beautifully to continuous line quilting and looks, I think, quite smashing in the bright blue thread. (I used four colors of blue Glide thread over this quilt, in addition to Aurifil clear nylon for the stitch in the ditch.)

The odd shaped dark blue batik corner was a definite challenge. I sketched, stitched and ripped out designs for 2 whole days until I settled on this swash, inspired by the tangles Finery and FeatherFall. The actual FeatherFall also appears in the aqua triangle.

In the star's background fabric, I was inspired by the tangle Cockles and Mussels.

And, the center is based on a lotus mandala.

You do not know Zentangle? Google it or search for it on Pinterest. It is a relaxing way for anyone to draw beautiful designs, one stroke at a time!

Happy Doodling!

Last Row...

...and only a border to go!

While the two sleigh blocks are my favorites because of their detail, this Hawaiian-style cut of the Holy Family is so special. Isn't it beautiful in its simplicity?

And, who wouldn't love poinsettias in a Bean Pot?!!!

And, Christmas Cactus. (I killed three of them last year! There must be a secret to growing them...)

I especially like the way the red Bells just pop, due to the dense stipple in the background. (I shot this at an angle to show its 3-D effect.)

I've thoroughly enjoyed this piece and kind of don't want it to end. Kidding! I'm ready to be done and on to something else. Double Wedding Ring, anyone?

A Merry (albeit early) Christmas blessing to you all!

Blocks 9 – 12

People have complimented me on my photos for this blog. The quality of inexpensive cameras today really helps. But, the best aspect of my photography is lighting. And, I take no credit for that. You see, my studio has a big picture window just to the left of my longarm frame. It's a northern exposure, so no sun comes in that window, but tons of light, which creates the shadows that highlight the quilt line.

The reason I mention this, is that sometimes, great texture shows in the studio, and therefore in the quilt photos, only to have that texture disappear when the quilt is hung in a show or on the wall of your house. This has been a great frustration to me. And, one that I try to keep in mind when I plan quilting. Am I spending too much time creating complex quilt motifs that will never been seen? I'm afraid I have in the past.

Hopefully, that will not be the case of the Christmas in Baltimore quilt...but it is still a possibility. With that in mind, here are Blocks 9 through 12.

Blocks 5 – 8

So, here we are again with Row 2.

Block 5 has lots of space, so I filled it up with paisleys. Sweet.

Block 6 also has space, so we have pebbles with occasional shells.

Block 7 – Oooh, I'm so happy with how this turned out. After outlining the interior petals and leaf spaces, I was at a loss as how to quilt the background because there are still a lot of teeny spaces formed by the leaves along the edge of the design. It just popped into my head to echo those shapes a couple of times. Then what? Keep going! The echos fill the space out to the boundary. So cool.

Block 8 is a little more open than the reindeer was, so I have added little feathers to the continuous curl design.

I've got some non-quilty commitments during the rest of this week, so progress on Row 3 will be slower. See you when I get it finished!