December 18, 2015

Bias Strip Quilt: Score # 9


It's done, it's done! Ok, it's really been done for a couple weeks but I haven't found any daylight lately. It's dark before I get home and the weekends haven't been very sunny.  Let's face it, its been dismal up here in New England. Last weekend, I found some sunshine and got some projects photographed, finally! 

Many of you quilty friends have been sharing about different projects from The Improv Handbook for Modern Quilters by Sherri Lynn Wood. Here is my version of score #9. This spring I was lucky enough to take a class with Sherri. She shared with us her methodology for bias strip piecing. We started by making bias tape then learned how to create the petals, and how to ease the fabric flat. The real trick here was getting those strips to settle into a flat space with out curling up or buckling. Oh, then getting all those petals together and filling out the quilt. That was probably the biggest challenge.



I was also huge fan of Sherri's hand quilting. Before seeing Sherr's work up close, I was scared to use black thread. She sparked some inspriration inside me.  Now I have no regrets in choosing the black thread (Perle cotton, size 8) and doing a design independent of the quilt design.  It's subtle but still makes an impact overall. 



This may be my all time favorite quilt. Maybe it was the tears, the bountiful frustration, or headache of trying to fill in the background, but everything came together perfectly and was worth the trouble. This is also the first time I put a sleeve on a quilt.  Once I find some wall space this one is getting an up front and center wall spot. Have any of you been so frustrated you wanted to quit?  This one pushed me to that limit more than once ... 

-Patch & Chels 

19 comments:

  1. Hi! This quilt is g.o.r.g.e.u.s! I love everything on this quilt and I'm so happy you found courage to finish it! The pattern is amazing, colours so beautiful and the hand quilting just perfect! It's time for me too, to start stitch something else than straight lines. Thank you for inspiration and Merry Christmas! x Teje

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  2. Love it Chelsea! It came out great!!

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  3. I'm glad you worked through the challenges of this quilt. It is truly wonderful to look at. Glad it's going on the wall for you to see your triumph and it's beauty everyday! Good for you to stretch your comfort zone with the bold hand quilting. It's very inspirational for me to read about and see your success with pushing your boundaries. Thanks for sharing!

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  4. Oh my goodness! I love this one, and your handquilting stitches are so great!

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  5. This is just wonderful! I love the extra dimension that the hand quilting gives.

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  6. Oh WOW!! That is incredible, I love it, it's just so happy to look at :) well done you for battling through the challenges it was definitely worth it!

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  7. I can see why you want to keep I would too. It is beautiful!

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  8. Your quilt is fabulous. You have inspired me.

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  9. This is a beautiful quilt, the hand stitching looks wonderful. The petals look 3 dimensional, great movement with the curves.

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  10. It's beautiful Chelsea. I can only imagine your frustration with curved piecing and I've only done it on a small scale, nothing this big. I like the striped binding but the star of the show is your hand quilting. It looks amazing! Definitely worth hanging.

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  11. Gorgeous ! The hand quilting definitely adds something to the quilt. I started with score #1 and planned to go through all scores of the book. Your quilt will keep me going !

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  12. Congratulations! All the tears and effort were well worth it!

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  13. It looks great and definitely worth all the work. The black thread looks great. I would've been afraid too!

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  14. I love the handquilting, and black I would never have thought of - thanks for that, I'll be keeping this in mind! Congrats on a beautiful finished quilt!

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  15. Wow, it turned out beautifully and I would have no idea that this quilt would have pushed you to wanting to quit working on it so many times. I am glad you stuck with it and how awesome that you will be hanging it to display. The hand quilting really is a perfect touch and compliment to the overall design.

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  16. I can imagine that getting those bias strips to sit flat without buckling or curling would be tricky, but the result looks absolutely worth the trouble along the way.
    I would have been nervous about black thread too, but it looks fabulous, and I adore the floral echo design you created.

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  17. This has got to be MY favourite quilt you've ever made too!! It's lovely!! and the handing quilting in black is something I must try. Happy new year to you xxx

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