Sweet Surrender has progressed into the flimsy stage. (Link to the pattern is here.) I've been working on this quilt for several years starting sometime in January 2016.
The applique is needle turned hand applique. There is also supposed to be an appliqued border but I just couldn't make myself applique anymore on her.
The borders are my own design. The white border is 6" and I plan to quilt a flower design there. I bought the stencil yesterday and it fits perfectly!
Not only has Baskets & 9-Patches progressed into a flimsy, the quilt is an actual finish!
The baskets were pieced in early June and quickly attached to the center of the quilt which was then delivered to the long arm quilter. I've finished hand sewing the binding and she's ready to be presented to the world!
Paisley is my favorite design so I asked them to use paisleys in the quilting and they did! Usually when I took progress pictures, the sun was brightly shining and made the blue squares look white but I took these pictures early in the morning, soon after the sun peeked over the horizon. As you can see, the squares are a light blue.
For backing I chose this lovely whole cloth fabric. If I get tired of the pieced side I can turn it over and have a different quilt.
The pattern was designed by Karen H and is available here. Now her original quilt is cute but when you enlarge a pattern to king size (98" x 112"), it's no longer cute, just HUGE! Here is a link to her blog, Faeries and Fibres.
Of course I made a few changes from the original pattern. The top 9-patch border extends the entire length along the top of the quilt and I alternated my 9-patches so they would look more like patchwork.
I used a foundation paper pieced basket for my quilt and I put the corner baskets on point.
The bottom two corners were also blunted so the corners wouldn't drag on the floor.
The baskets turned out so nicely.
Here is a picture of the baskets on my design wall before I attached the blue corners. The top right applique is the center from my waiting to be finished Wilfred & Cloves quilt.
Nearly Insane is quilted! I started hand quilting March 23rd and finished June 21st. When I started, I mentioned I hoped to have the quilting completed sometime this summer and I did, the day of the summer solstice! I've been very busy and it just took me awhile to get the binding completed.
And as I promised you way back in March, a picture of the back of the quilt.
A close up of a corner quilting. More pictures of the quilt.
I've been asked what I'm going to do with this quilt. I'm not going to do anything, this quilt is for me! When I am no longer able to have my own home, then I will gift it away but hopefully that won't happen for a long time.
For now the quilt resides on a bed upstairs where I can look at at it every day. I'm enjoying the pleasure of this accomplishment. I started piecing this quilt as a challenge to myself to see if I could do it and I did! Here is some general information. I used a Hobbes 80/20 batt. It took 13 weeks and 519 yards of thread in the quilting. The quilting thread was white YLI. My Insane measures 88" square and was pieced from a variety of blues and yellows. There are 4687 pieces in the blocks, 196 yellow sashing in between the blocks, 112 blue cornerstones with 564 pieces in the zigzag border for a total of 5559 pieces in this quilt. Of course there is a narrow blue sash all around the quilt center and then the outside border too which is pieced but I'm not counting them. The first block of Nearly Insane was pieced on January 11, 2016. After 2 years and 6 months, this is the final post about this quilt, unless I decide to enter her in a quilt show.
A link to all the posts I've written about piecing and hand quilting Nearly Insane. Special thanks to Edith for lending me her Nearly Insane book.
These are the last week by week photos of the individual blocks with the quilting if you wish view them. The blocks are 6" finished. (There are a lot of pictures!) Week 11 of quilting, June 3 - 9. Another rainy week so more time for quilting. And, since the Star Dance applique is completed, I'm using that time for quilting.
This is not a block that Salinda designed, I did. The original block was very scrappy. I made the first block according to the book and sewed it into the row. It just looked out of place and I hated it. I took it out and made my own design. I think my block fits in better with the other blocks than the original did.
This block has 233 pieces in it. How in the world do I quilt it? The HST row seams are pressed open. I decided the easiest way would be to just stitch down the center of the rows each way. The center blue strips are pressed to the side so they are stitched in the ditch. The blue center of the star is stitched in the ditch and I managed to stitch the corners of the star.
This block has the fan design. Also that is a stripped fabric in between the dark strips, not pieced strips.
Row 6-1/2, yes, I completed 2 rows this rainy week.
Right side triangle and block 1.
Block 2. In the center I just quilted through the center of the block both ways but now I see I missed quilting the bottom row one direction. I've quilted the missing stitches but I didn't bother to take a new picture.
Block 3. I remember piecing this block. It was to fussy cut the fabrics.
Close up of fussy cutting on block 3.
Blocks 4 and 5.
Block 6 and left side triangle which is the same as the right side triangle. Row 7 and the inset top triangles. I'm getting close to the finish! Quilting week 12, June 10-16. Finally, a week with lot of sunshine so we could work outside. The last of the soybeans were planted on Saturday the 16th. Harvesting is going to be late this year with crops planted this late. I didn't get a whole row quilted but I did quilt 5 blocks.
From the left side, blocks 1 & 2.
Blocks 3 & 4.
Block 5 by itself. These blocks are from row 7, the last row of whole blocks in the quilt. You can see in the picture the half blocks on the top. I'm getting closer to the finish! Week 13, another dreary, rainy week. There is such a things as too much rain. If I could, I would redirect the rain to places that are having drought. But rainy weeks do give me plenty of hand quilting time.
First I finished row 7, blocks 6 & 7. Then I started quilting the top triangles. I don't know why I didn't take 2 triangles in one picture but I didn't.
Top left corner. And the rest of the triangles.
Finally, top right corner which looks just like the other corners.
I rolled the triangles down then quilted the zigzag border and then finally the blue outer border. I used a white Sewline chalk marker. It was very hard to see with the white flowers. I had thought of using a different color but I was afraid it wouldn't brush out like the white does. I didn't want to try something different on this quilt. Some of my quilting is rather wonky but that's the way it is.
The next quilt to go in the hand quilting frame is The Pastor's Attic quilt but the marking hasn't happened. Marking quilts isn't fun but I will make it happen sometime this summer.
