Rowan Flora Quilt Finished!

Doing the finished quilt dance! Here's Flora just out of the wash. Drug-free mood enhancement in fabric form. We've got a heavy marine layer today, but this quilt's colors still glow in the gloom.

Yep, that's little black cat's tail disappearing under there. She's always such a help - knocked this off three times at least as I was trying to get it artfully draped. It got noticeably gloomier in just the few minutes I was taking photos, but I'm just so excited that I had to take pictures today.

The details...

Pieced in Oct 2007 and quilted and bound in April 2008. Approx 54" x 63".

Pattern:  Flora by Valori Wells
Fabric:  All Rowan except solids
Quilting Thread:  King Tut multicolored cotton color 922 (I LOVED working with this thread)

I must admit I liked it so much I was afraid to finish it. Then in a big jump, I decided this past week that I would learn to free-motion flowers on it and play with binding ideas. When I get brave it's always just-this-close to stupid.

Started safe by stitching in the ditch down each side of the narrow color lines. Almost stopped there, but knew I had to break out of my funk and conquer my fears. Thought a curving line with pansies down each patterned block line would look simple and fun. Because the narrow color strips are made up of blocks the same length, but the placement is staggered, they made an easy way to keep the pansies spaced evenly, yet appear randomly placed along the patterned blocks.

For the binding I fudged the "right" way, probably to the point of giving a classic quilter hives. I sewed the strips to the back, the turned them to the front and zigzagged it down. I use standard methods for joining the strips as well as for turning corners and joining the final edges, but I just don't care to hand sew the binding when this is just a fun throw quilt. Anyway - and this may be a massive rationalization - I like the playfulness of the multicolored zigzags.

Sometimes I went round and round inside a flower, sometime not. I kind of embarrassed to admit it, but I only practiced once or twice before getting bored and starting on the quilt, so I learned as I went. My darling eldest daughter comes by her bad habits naturally. Anyway, they're fun to make and as in nature, no two are alike.

 

Here's what the quilting looks like from the back:

Here's a larger view of the back. It's a Kaffe print I bought last year. I found it just after I'd pieced the whole top or it would have been on the front too. I love it on the back, but I was kind of bummed when I found it so soon after finishing the front because it's so perfect with the other prints. It probably would have been the lead fabric. Have to admit I considered ripping and splicing it in, but even I deemed that insane and put the seam ripper down and backed away.

We've lived here over two years, and all this time the kitchen table has been pushed to the side of the room and loaded with the PC, then the fish tank too. Of course it became the instant magnet for piles of crud (not the first word my fingers typed I admit). I'd gotten to the point of looking past that area, even though I walked through it every day. Funny how you can do that huh? Anyway, finally got a bookshelf for the fish tank and a small desk for the PC and voila, it's like a new room appeared! I even cleaned the fish tank (whoo hoo) -- with sparkling clean glass we found out that our fantail girls are fertile Myrtles.

For now the maps of the world and US are just tacked up because my DH has plans to install a wall-sized metal sheet as magnet board for the maps plus postcards, kid's artwork, etc. I think it will be cool, so I hope he gets time soon. When I was in my twenties a boyfriend and I house-sat for two UCSD profs who loved hiking. They had their entire kitchen nook wall covered in raised topo maps of the Sierra. We'd eat our cereal and plan hikes. I've wanted to do something like that ever since.

The girls are on Spring Break this past week and next so we all went to the Carlsbad Farmer's Market on Wednesday. We bought the best strawberries of the season so far and I let the girls pick three colors of gerbers. They choose well didn't they!

Now I LOVE my kitchen nook!

Seeing this quilt on the table makes me want to get started on a table runner and bench pads.

Soon... 

Comments

[Ruthanne (in Seattle)]

Beautiful Nancy. Makes me smile - how lovely for all of you to have it welcome you on the table!

[Louise]

I'm glad your back! I've been checking for your newest post. Quilt is lovely, of course & gerbers are radiant.

It's always inspiring to check in with what you're doing.

[JOdy]

Just beautiful! And perfect for the Spring. I would love to walk into my kitchen every morning and be greeted by such a lovely quilt.

[Maria]

I just gasped when the first picture loaded. It's wonderful!!! I thought the binding would give me hives, but it's perfect for this quilt. A fabulous job all around!!!

[Carla]

What a BEAUTIFUL quilt. The colors are so bright and cheery. Love your free-motion flowers. You have every reason to be proud!

[Jo]

Love the quilt, and the artful flowers too, it's beautiful!

[carolyn]

Oh my - just beautiful! I love the way it looks on your dining room table. My son wants me to make him a quilt and he loves linear design, so this pattern would be perfect for him. Maybe in different colours though ; )

[marissa]

oh.my.god.
just beautiful.
And I love, love, love that table!
Marissa

[Khalila]

I love having stuff around me that makes me smile just by seeing it. Your quilt makes me smile and happy!

[Danielle]

Hello Nancy,
I appologize in advance the comment with the most spelling mistakes ever. I can't remember how I found your blog but I absolutly love it, I had lost the link for a while and found it again by typing the whench sews just in time to see this post ;O) I just want to say that I absolutly love this quilt, the colors, the quilting everything, it is beautifule. I also want to thank you for the thread link,I have just finished peicing together my very first quilt top and had started wondering what thread I should use. I also appreciate that you talk about you thought process while you are working, I find it very interesting and instructive. Thanks so much for the inspiration.
Danielle

[amy]

OH MY. So, so PRETTY! You made me retrieve the Flora pattern from the pattern stash and give it another look-see. Oh my.

[Maggi]

Oh, that is gorgeous! Makes me feel sunny on a chilly, rainy night. I've been accumulating a little Kaffe stash and thinking of Confetti in the Modern Quilt Workshop book, but you are giving me other ideas ~

[kathy]

Wow, I have this pattern and yours looks better than the pattern cover! LOVE all the bright colors and the solid sashing. You did a fabulous job on the quilting. You have the perfect place to display it in your home.

[Toby]

The bright and cheery colors are just delightful. The free motion pansies are wonderful too. Looks like you're instinct was just right not to practice more.

I totally understand about taking a brave jump into the finishing! I tend to put off both the selection of a stitch pattern and the actual stitching. One of these days I'll have to get brave and jump into finishing all my quilting UFO's.

[kristin]

I love love LOVE the binding! You're inspiring me to get back to all the quilts I'm too afraid to finish. (I'm fine with piecing - it's the quilting that's scary.)

[lily boot]

Oh I'm with Kristin -its the quilting that's scary! But I love your new quilt - it looks gorgeous as a tablecloth and the gerberas are perfect. Awesome quilting!

[Emily Dibdin]

I love it.

[Christiane]

I have to come often these days to get more of the colourful splash of good vibrations this quilt sends out. It is gorgeous and this pink orange really stirs me up to severly raid my stash and to join in some orangy pinkish quilty goodness.

[juliet]

Oh gorgeous - you've just brightened up a cold gloomy Scotland - the quilt (and the gerberas are fabulous), I especially like the photo with the kitty tail disappearing under the quilt

[Julia]

Nancy, you are a quilting machine! It' so pretty. And the dining area is lovely with the quilt gracing the table. And the back of the quilt! I have that fabric in another shade - I am using it for one of those cute reversible aprons by Montesorri By Hand. IF I could manage the time to actually sew. Looking forward to those long days of summer.

[Jolanda]

I'm gobsmacked! It is so beautiful, a true delight for the eye.

[Terry]

It's gorgeous! I love how it "pops" out against the dark wood. It really says "good morning" to you :)

[Tracey]

Oh it's gorgeous! It looks like you could the fruit right off it!

[Jacquie]

Oh my...I almost fell over when this quilt appeared. STUNNING! Glad I found your blog. You do gorgeous work!

[Julie Rappe]

Gorgeous! I love it, really love it! And, the more I see of your house, the more I want to live there. I really does have a great open and relaxed feel, yet your decorating keeps it very classy. I think the map idea is splendid! Post cards and other travel related bits would provide a very Indiana Jones feel, especially since your furniture always makes me feel like it has been gathered from exotic places. You might want to take a look at the very cool stainless steel bulletin boards at Pottery Barn. I got the large one, but there is a long narrow one too (especially cool for photos). They might be cool additions to the kitchen wall idea.