Friday, April 13, 2012

Flocking Chevrons Quilt

It's fitting that I'm posting this on Friday the 13th - this was not my lucky quilt.

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When I saw Jennifer's generously free Chasing Chevrons quilt pattern on her blog That girl...that quilt, I knew immediately I wanted to make it.

Photo from Jennifer's blog That girl...that quilt.

Most of those participating in the quilt-along were using different coloured chevrons on a solid back; I wanted to use white chevrons on a colour gradation background.

I'd had the majority of the very classy Alhambra II line sitting on my shelf waiting for a suitable project, so I dusted it off, added more blues and greens and set to work making all my HSTs.

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I pressed all the blocks up on my design wall, colours gradating out from the centre spot, and really didn't like it.

I made them gradate across the quilt, then on the diagonal, and really didn't like it.

I had them gradating from a central line and really didn't like it.

(I'm sorry I didn't keep photos of all these outtakes - I know you guys like to see them. Sorry.)

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I was starting to feel a little ill by then. I'd taken a lovely design and fantastic fabric and screwed them both up royally. I've wasted all this fabric, I've wasted all this time, don't you KNOW that blue and green should never be seen without something in between?

Step away from the quilt, Kirsty.

There was nothing for it but to get drunk, trash some cars and invest in some quality buttock tattoos.

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I felt a lot better after that (although my bottom was a little sore) and realised one of the blue fabrics I'd added (not from the Alaham II line) was actually the wrong kind of blue and messed up my gradations. I also drew inspiration from Jennifer's pattern itself and laid out a new background in the form of one large gradating chevron. I liked it. Phew.

Flocking3

All laid out it was still a little over the top though - my busy background with the chasing chevrons was too much. I decided to face my chevrons all the same way and it made a big difference. I had to move some of the chevrons so they stood alone (otherwise they turn into zig-zags) but then it was done. Voila, Flocking Chevrons.

I wanted this snuggle-on-the-couch-watching-movies lap quilt to be very soft and drapey. I had a nice flannel sheet for the batting and spent hours online looking for a navy patterned flannel for the back.

No dice. Instead I ordered some Lotta Jansdotter Echo in Moira Navy and crossed my fingers it would be one of those nice soft quilting cottons (it is, beautiful fabric).

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It wasn't quite wide enough so I pieced together long strips left over from the top to extend each edge.

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I wanted to quilt in white on the front (so it wouldn't mess up my chevrons) and navy on the back. I couldn't get the tension right despite testing and many lines had to be unpicked. I gave up and used white cotton for both sides.

Then I realised that my machine was making some loose stitches - more unpicking, cleaned the machine, changed needle. More loose stitches, more unpicking - my machine did not like the flannel.

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So I unbasted the whole thing, removed the flannel, re-basted with cotton batting. (On the bright side, I was then able to sort the tension so I could use white on top and navy underneath). I nearly cried with joy when the quilting was finished.
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My simple quilting pattern echoed the chevron.

The binding was the only part that didn't cause me heartache. I pieced a scrappy binding, matching the binding colours to the quilt to create an 'invisible edge' kind of effect. For this reason I sewed my binding strips together on the perpendicular, rather than the diagonal. I was going to machine sew the binding but in the end decided to hand sew it down - I was in need of some zen by this stage!

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So, it's done. A bit of a drama but I do think it's come up nicely and most importantly, it's very snuggle worthy. Thank you so much Jennifer for the pattern!

I could say the strongest swearword used during the making of this quilt was flocking, but I think we all know this is a lie.

Flocking2

Have a wonderful, wonderful weekend everyone. Flock on!

41 comments:

Salley said...

Way to go Kirsty.
Blue and Green...you're a quilting Queen.

Jess @ Elven Garden Quilts said...

I love this quilt - superb job!

Susan said...

It is a 'flocking' gorgeous quilt Kirsty! Hopefully it was worth all the grief! Happy snuggling!

Laura said...

But it turned out great in the end! And I think you get to feel very creative for having solved all those quirky problems. Love the quilt!

Nicola said...

Sometimes when you lose patience with a project everything starts to go wrong but this came out lovely in the end! It reminds me of the seashore with gulls flying overhead and has a very calming vibe now. Hope you enjoy it now it's finished!

Teresa in Music City said...

It's quite beautiful!!! All your efforts - and it seems they were many! - were well worth finishing up with this quilt! No picture of your tattoo? LOL =^..^=

twelfthzodiac said...

It may not have been an easy one, but it sure turned out beautifully!

Cally said...

It may have been a flocker to make but I think it's turned out beautiful.. and I love blue and green together! Have a wonderful weekend too, btw what tattoo did you get? ;)

Sharon T said...

Your quilt is beautiful! I loved reading about it's construction and how you "made it work". I visit your blog daily in hopes of finding more of your wonderful pictures and stories. Thank you!

Carla said...

I love it love it love it! So glad you persevered!

Taya@TypeB said...

So beautiful! I can't believe you unpicked and unbasted! You are a wonder woman :) Enjoy your hard work, it's gorgeous!

pam said...

Well I'm worn out from reading of the trials of flocking. I do love the color palette -very oceanie and soothing. The back turned out as nice as the front. I think you surely built character on this one:)

Jennifer said...

It's absolutely flocking perfect!

I love what you did with the design. You are the queen of color gradations!

Jennifer :)

Kirsty @ Bonjour Quilts said...

Thank you for visiting Sharon!

Katy Cameron said...

It was a lucky day for me, you popped back into my feed again! Sorry it gave you so many hassles, but it does look flocking fab now!

Tiffany said...

Amazing! For all the trouble it caused you, it turned out flocking beautifully! I'm inspired.

Anonymous said...

I am all frazzled by just reading this post! Lots of do and undo and redo, but thank Goodness the result is so pretty. Hope you can spend many hours relaxing under this charming quilt.
Annick

Janet said...

it is really beautiful! Well worth all of your effort. Well done!

Dianne said...

Great quilt Kirsty! I especially love what you did with the binding, it could be a bit tedious to put together but the effect is worth it I think. Thanks for sharing your process, the good, the bad and the pretty!

Meg said...

This is gorgeous! I cannot imagine having to baste, unbaste and rebaste--basting is my least favorite part of the process! But I'm glad it was sorted in the end--I don't believe that bit about blue and green in the slightest, anyway. :)

SelenaThePlaces said...

It's just beautiful. I so wish I could create something like that. I can how much work and effort went into it. Lovely.

Rachel at Stitched in Color said...

Oh my gosh - unbasting!!!!! You are a saint, despite the newly won tattoos. I think it came out beautifully and I love those colors together. The gradation you chose actually looks a little like a half a trip around the world, but coming down instead of from the side and with mixed fabrics. Very nicely done!

Carla said...

I love your quilt!!!

RebeccaNYC said...

too many tears for such a thing of beauty

www.randomthoughtsdoordi.com said...

I think this quilt is beautiful and it is so crummy when a quilt gives you so many problems

Bronwyn said...

Absolutely gorgeous!!! I really really like it! I hope you can get past it's 'history' and just enjoy the art you have created!

Kerri K said...

This is so gorgeous! Sounds like you went through hell and back to get it, but IMHO it was worth it! I am totally saving this one for inspiration.

Hitch and Thread said...

Gorgeous! Well done for not giving up and throwing the flocking thing out the window. Maybe your next post will have the tattoo pics??

Betty said...

Love love loooove this one too!

Lauren said...

I think this quilt might be my favourite of all the projects you've shown us. LOVE it!! Seems like its creation was a bit like giving birth: hard work but definitely worth it in the end.

Eva said...

I flocking like it! :-) It really is beautiful! The back is brilliant as well! Thank goodness for alcohol and buttock tattoos!

Sara Louise said...

Kirsty, it came out flocking beautiful! You are so talented... not only can you turn a wine bottle into an explosive device (I didn't want to use the 'b' word on your blog) but you can quilt like a motherflocker.
And this right here is why we're friends: "There was nothing for it but to get drunk, trash some cars and invest in some quality buttock tattoos."
So let's start planning that LPV visit shall we? You + The Larsons in a gite for a weekend sounds like a flocking good time to me :) x

Kirsty @ Bonjour Quilts said...

Thank you Carla!

Rhanda said...

This is really gorgeous! The colors are gorgeous. I am glad you stuck with it. It is 'flocking' beautiful. :)

CapitolaQuilter said...

Love your quilt, thanks for sharing the process to success.

RachelC said...

Wonderful quilt and delightful post that I absolutely relate to. I'm an expereinced un-picker, but you beat me by miles on this one (mostly because I don't do the quilting myself!) You've got the patience of a flocking saint ;-)

Shanna said...

Even after all the issues, it is just beautiful!!

Maaike said...

Uuuhm... how did I miss this beauty?! It's gorgeous Kirsty! I love it, the colors are my favorite and the lay out is really original I think.

xx

Mermaid Sews said...

This is amazing!! I love it so much. And, yes, thanks for sharing the process, it is encouraging to new quilters like myself. This is going on my to do list.

WAZOO! Quilting said...

I love your quilt and am planning to make one this weekend.
FYI, if your bobbin case has the little sticking out finger with a tiny hole in the end of it, you thread the bobbin thread through it after putting the bobbin into the case, then pop the case back into the machine. Now, when you quilt, the bobbin thread stays on the bottom, top thread on the top and no pokies. The planets all align and your quilting is lovely. I saw this on a recent episode of Quilting Arts,and tried it with my Pfaff with great results. The other plus is you don't have to make any top tension adjustments!
I quilt professionally on a longarm machine, but enjoy doing smaller projects on my domestic machines, as well. Your quilts and our text are both delightful! Thank you!

annie patch said...

Such a beautiful quilt - well worth the tears and tattoos! I especially love value quilts, and the colour gradations in this one are gorgeous!

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