Sunday, December 1, 2013

Swoon...Swoon...Swoon


It's hard to believe, for me, but I am actually finished my Swoon quilt. Yes, you read that right. Finished. It's done. And its FABULOUS! I know they say self praise is no praise, but, honestly, I am utterly in love with this quilt and so delighted with how it turned out. Cue lots of photos.


It seems an awful long time that I've been working on this quilt, and it is really. I started back in the back end of June with this bundle of fabric: 

 

I swapped around a few fabrics as I worked through it, and it began to take shape. One of the things I found with this as I made it was that pretty much every block became my "favourite" as I moved through them. I really love each of the colour combos and the fabrics - there is one block that I wasn't as keen on, but since finishing it, I've just fallen in love with that one too.


When it came to choose colour palette and fabrics, choices were dictated to a large extent by the fact that I was making it for my own bedroom, where the feature wallpaper is duck egg blue, and shades of aqua and teal feature in the curtains, lampshades etc to tie in with that colour. I used a number of different values and shades of aqua and teal - from the very light to very dark, and from a number of different fabric ranges such as Kate Spain's Fandango, Boho by Urban Chiks, Carina Gardner's Pinfeathers,  Joel Dewberry's Modern Meadow, Denyse Schmidt's Hope Valley and Bonnie And Camille's Happy Go Lucky.  To balance the aquas, I used navy and yellow prints. I did consider adding grey as well, but ultimately decided against it.


I was nervous about limiting the colour palette to 3 colours - its not something I've done a whole pile in the past, and I wondered how it would work out. My primary concern was that it would be a bit flat, at the end, but I kept faith, despite my misgivings at times, and love the vibrancy of the colours and how they work together. No flatness to this quilt!

Some of the fabrics I have been hoarding for a very long time, waiting for a special project - like my Saffron Craig navy Birds fabric, or the Amy Butler Arabesque or the Lotta Jansdotter Echo.


You know that moment when you cut into them and wonder if you're doing the right thing? Because they're so lovely you can hardly bear to cut them? Do it. Because they're even nicer put together in a quilt :-)


This quilt is a monster, size wise, 80" x 80". I table basted it a few weeks ago, and I quilted it on my Pfaff, at home, after deliberating sending it to a long arm quilter for a while. I expected the quilting to be torturous (honestly) but it wasn't. It flowed really well, and I did it block by block, and I got it done in 2 days, doing short enough sittings at various times. The biggest problem I had was manipulating the weight of it which took a while to get used to.

 

I didn't do anything fancy in the quilting - I stuck to my regular FMQ stipple (I thought this was a bit boring, but was under time pressure and didn't want to try something new on such a big and special quilt). I'm delighted with how it turned out though, all lovely and crinkly.


The backing is a print that I can't remember the name of, that I bought about 2 years ago in a sale from Julie, which worked out super, super cheap (about $3-4 per yard). It was the perfect colour and print type for this. I didn't bother doing a pieced back, because, honestly, after all those massive 24" blocks, I couldn't face it. And I knew I'd never get it matched up basting it without giving myself a heart attack from stress. 


The binding is a navy dotty popline which I got specifically for this and I love how it frames the quilt.



All in all, I can't quite believe its done, finished, and on our bed. I couldn't be happier!



Have you made a Swoon? If not, I'd highly recommend it. Yes, it's a lot of work, but the pattern is really well written, the blocks are insanely addictive, and it makes a wonderful quilt. And woohoo! I love mine :-)

24 comments:

Di said...

It is stunning Sarah. You are rightly proud of such a beautiful quilt. Di x

Sarah said...

This is so beautiful Sarah. Enjoy every minute snuggling under it!

Leanne said...

It is awesome! I love those colours together and I can understand how it felt odd in the middle. It looks great on your bed and good for you to get it all quilted so quickly.

Adrianne @ On the Windy Side said...

What a stunning quilt! You are right to be proud - it is beautiful.

Katy Cameron said...

It's gorgeous, no wonder you're so thrilled with it!

Tiffany said...

I've been loving this on FB - and love all the photos! You did a great job! :D

Kate D. Spain said...

That's a real stops-you-in-your-tracks beauty! Way to go!

Marjorie's Busy Corner said...

Sarah it turned out stunning! I like the stippling myself. I haven't done mine yet..still debating on machine or hand. I think it will depend on how busy I am with hand quilting at the time.

Kirsten said...

Such a beautiful finish - really love the colours and fabrics you have used!

Catherine said...

Oh Sarah, it is absolutely stunning!!

Anonymous said...

Beautiful! I think I caught the swoon bug too.

Linda B said...

It's stunning!

Judith, Belfast said...

Wow! What a beautifully inspiring quilt S! So want to make one of these! Jxo

Jenniffier said...

Looks amazing all quilted up. Great color choices!

Georgi said...

Absolutely Beautiful! Love your colors and especially the navy dotty binding!

Tamie said...

I'm a bit more than half way done cutting mine out. Your Swoon is beautiful.

Canadian Abroad said...

It's beautiful. I particularly like the soothing, yet striking, colours you went with.

Cindy said...

AWESOME! Awesome awesome awesome. It's an absolute stunner, S. Great job.

Annabella said...

It's perfect Sarah!! The colours are so soothing and I love me a dotty binding :)

Yvonne Campbell said...

Your swoon is beautiful! I love the color palette.

Ruth said...

Love the three colours - It's gorgeous!

Melanie said...

LOVE the color palette!

Sarah said...

I love your Swoon. Congratulations on finishing it, AND quilting it yourself. Oh my! It's so big. I have made the Swoon quilt, but it's still a top only. I'm waiting to get it to my long armer. I pulled it out the other day and was dismayed to find that it had dissolved in to some holes in the most central piece. I think it may have had some help from moths :-( . Luckily I have some of that fabric left and will have to work out a way to get it into the middle.

Lori said...

You should be in love with it. Nothing wrong with that. You are not boasting. Its so beautiful!