Monday, May 30, 2016

Labyrinth--OMG Finish



For some reason, I was in fear this quilt was going to break me.  It was my One Monthly Finish goal for March but I allowed myself to fall short of finishing by like an hour and a half of quilting.  I was so mad at the quilt for its non-finish (like it was the quilts fault) I skipped the whole month of April working on it and put it in a (unfair) time out.  May would be its month, when I declared it as my gaol yet again.  So let's recap about this quilt for a second.  Labyrinth is a UFO I pieced quite a few years ago and wanted to wait for a time when I felt I could do the quilting justice.  I dearly loved the blue and brown batiks that went into this quilt.


One of the things I wanted to play with in the quilting of this quilt was feathers.  Stitching those billowing plumes is a skill I have only recently felt comfortable tackling.  Sometimes you just have to jump in with both feet.


When I went into motif planning I had hoped to stick them several places.  I auditioned a little bit of everything in each of the sections.


I sorted through my Aurifil stash to find just the right shades for quilting each section.


I decided on Aurifil #1285 Medium Bark, #5011 Rope Beige, #2775 Steel Blue, #1126 Blue Gray, #2310 Light Beige, and #2000 Light Sand.

Quilting started off pretty quickly with dot-to-dot quilting in the center star and the addition of Kathleen's Magic Shape in the surrounding background area.


I wasn't exactly happy with the first attempt with the feathers at the top of the bracket, but it got easier and closer to what I had in mind the more I stitched them.

One of the biggest challenges quilting this quilt, was the fact that Caroline loved it so much.



It was shortly after this picture, I found myself missing my end of March goal date.  I had just finished quilting the tan/beigh and brown borders and hit a wall.


All that was left was more feather plumes in the large blue border, but I was so disappointed that I hadn't completed it and was getting tired of fighting with it in the opening of my machine, I decided to set it aside for a while.  I folded it and set it on the back of the couch with the intentions of coming back to it in a few days.



Okay, try a month later, way longer than I had expected. But I needed that small break.  As soon as I picked it up and started quilting those borders, I started laughing at myself for giving up so easily.  In no time at all they were complete.  I guess I just needed a small amount of distance to work through my road block.  As soon as those borders where finished I tossed it on the floor for a quick shot of the back.


Even though there were lots of points of doubt as it progressed, I think I achieved the look I was wanting all along.  Labyrinth was almost finished.

After attaching the binding I decided to give it a quick bath to remove some of the blue marks from my water soluble pens.  I ran cool water in the bathtub submerged her and left for about 10 minutes.  As soon as I saw the water I knew I needed to act fast.  She immediately when into the washing machine with about 6 color catchers.  Thank goodness I keep them on hand.


After a good soak and spin she was good to go.





I cannot express how good it feels to have this finish behind me.  One UFO gone from quite a large pile of them. Now to decided on the next one to finish.  I set a goal of finishing four this year, but I am quite hopeful I can cross more off than that.


Today I'm linking up with Linky TuesdayMain Crush Monday and OMG Finish.

17 comments:

QuiltShopGal said...

Oh my gosh, I love your Labyrinth Quilt and free-motion quilting. Total #CreativeGoodness. This quilt has been on my wish list to make for ages. Love the design and love the fabrics, colors and thread you selected. Time for fireworks and celebration.

QuiltShopGal
www.quiltshopgal.com

Anja @ Anja Quilts said...

Yeah! The quilting is awesome. Kudos for pushing through and getting it done.

Yvonne from Quilting Jetgirl said...

What a wonderful finish. How big does it finish, it seems deceptively small until I see Caroline stretched out on the top.

Nancy J said...

Oh Me.Oh My!!! absolutely.. totally ..amazingly.. stunning, the fabric choices, and your quilting. And like down here in NZ when the man talks about making a block of cheese.. All good Things Take Time.

Lara B. said...

Labyrinth is a jaw dropper Tish! The fabrics and piecing and made all the more beautiful because of the amazing free motion quilting you did! Wow Wee! Congratulations to you and hooray for pushing past that roadblock!
LOL - you weren't kidding that Caroline loves that quilt!

Heidi said...

Oh, your quilting is beautiful Tish! I got nervoua reading about the bath, sooo glad you were able to keep the dyes away! Congrats too, another UFO checked off!

Jen said...

I have hit that roadblock so many times. It is frustrating when it is so close to the end. Congrats on breaking through and finishing strong! You did a great job! It is beautiful.

Kate @ Smiles From Kate said...

It's a wonderful quilt, nice colour combination too, but, your quilting is fantastic and makes the quilt. Congrats on your goal.

Melva said...

Nice job! I love the pattern... It reminds me of the carpenter's wheel that I finished last month as a wedding gift. Do you have a long-arm that you quilt on? Great job with the quilting too.

Stitchin At Home said...

A beautiful quilt with beautiful quilting! Thankfully you had colour catchers on hand.

Lisa J. said...

Congratulations on finishing this wonderful quilt Tish. The quilting makes it extra special. I am continuously impressed with your quilting skills.

Vicki in MN said...

Tish it is just gorgeous, you did a great job with the quilting! I am so glad you were able to catch those wayward colors after all that work. Congrats on getting it finished!

Sandra Walker said...

Tish this is just so so beautiful. I think quilts do need to go in a time-out once in awhile...I'm glad you persevered though and got 'er done because she is just so gorgeous, and you did the rich batiks proud with your incredible talent at FMQ. Now I want to know, did you give it to Caroline? :-)

Ruth said...

Looks fantastic - love your quilting. Suits the quilt top so well and so detailed!

Beth @ Cooking Up Quilts said...

Sometimes we have to just walk away from a project and recharge. Even though you feel like it took forever to finish, just look at it! It's a wonderful accomplishment and that quilting is to die for. *Love* the texture!

Anonymous said...

Love your Fqm.

Cheryl said...

Your quilting is wonderful! From some of the pictures I could not tell how big the quilt was, the picture of your kitty with the quilt really shows how large the quilt was. Beautiful!

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