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Friday, August 12, 2011

Fun Coffee quilt finish...

Angie from Stitching by Starlight submitted this fun Coffee quilt, don't you love all the fabric options out there? What great prints! Check out Angie's tutorials here, and look at her finished projects here. I really like the colors, I love the quilting, and I really want to go on vacation where Angie was taking these photos!


OK - I don't know whether it was the Sew Shine WIP Challenge or the fact that I was on vacation, but I've finished yet another quilt. Maybe it was the timing of the two. Who knows - but whatever it was, I'm on a roll and I'm loving the momentum I'm feeling.  Sorta like a dieter who has lost her first two pounds - it's inspiring me to keep moving!!

Yesterday, I finished the last stitches on my husband's coffee quilt - a quilt over a year in the making!!

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He and I are avid coffee drinkers - though not coffee snobs - and when I saw this collection at a quilt show last spring (2010!) I wanted to make a quilt for him.  The panels have the cutest sayings...my favorite is "Without coffee 'Good Morning' is an oxymoron."  Oh, so true.

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This is also the first quilt I designed on my own - sort of.  The outer ring is a block that was featured onMoose on the Porch Quilts as part of a sampler sew-along.  (Just FYI for inquiring minds - it's Block #2.)  I didn't do all the blocks, but of the few I did, this one was my favorite.  It was simple and quick!

The inner four blocks are my own.  I wanted to highlight the panels, so I measured and cut them, then worked with the remaining prints and panel scraps to make the blocks fit. It's basically a wonky nine-patch, with the middle "row" being much thicker.  If I remember right - and forgive me for not actually measuring - the panel cuts were 6-ish inch squares and the outer rows about 3.5".

I pieced the back, out of sheer necessity.

Because I didn't have a clue as to what I was going to do with the fabric when I bought it, I bought what I thought was enough.  All I knew is I wanted a lap quilt.  The lady at the fabric booth helped the best she could with estimates, but let's face it - she didn't have much to work with!!  By the time the quilt top was finished, I had a veritable mountain of turquoise, brown, and cream scraps, but not enough floral to cover the back.  And I had no binding...something that apparently slipped my mind back then.  (But hey - I had only finished two quilts at that point and both were under the watchful guidance of a teacher at my LQS.)

So, a few weekends ago, I sat down with my graph paper, pencil and eraser and got to work.  After about three hours, I finally had a combo that would both use my scraps and leave me enough for binding.

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The next struggle was the quilting, which is no news to those who have read my previous grumblings about the actual quilting step.  I had decided long ago that I would straight-line quilt, but I wasn't sure how to do it with the seams between the two blocks (the outer and inner rings) not even.   I finally decided to start in the middle and quilt a square spiral in the center section and then parallel the seams in the outer ring blocks.  Except for running out of top thread a little over two-thirds of the way through, it went pretty smoothly.  I prepped and attached the binding, then packed it up for my beach trip.

As I was finishing it, I couldn't help but think about how much has changed in a year.  The quilt show (where I purchased the fabric) was in May 2010 and I had only "restarted" my quilting in January.  I had not found any of the blogs I follow and had never heard of "modern quilting".  I hadn't started this blog, either.

Shortly after starting this quilt, I began falling in love with quilts from people like RitaRachel, and Julie - who I still admire to the point of near stalking.  They had a crisp, clean look that often made me catch my breath (and still do!).  I began seeing that, yes, it is ok to use solids in a quilt and - gasp - I liked it!  I found straight-line stitching and gave it a try.  I started perusing websites more and more, and my list of  must-read blogs and must-try projects continued to grow.  I grew, too.  And it makes me wonder what my style will be like next year.

Looking back, I'm not sure I would have made the same quilt today as I started back then (even though "back then" was only a year ago).  Not that I don't like it.  I love it... it's cozy and warm and I love the chocolate/turquoise combo.  It's incredibly special to me because it's for my husband, my schmookie.  It's themed around a quiet cup of coffee, one of the simple pleasures we both adore.  I know it will get lots of use. 


But, for now, it's back to packing.  We leave this beautiful piece of heaven tomorrow.  I swear the weeks go by faster each year.  Fortunately, the weeks in between trips seem to go just as fast.  I leave here refreshed and rejuvenated - just the way it should be - and I'm already looking forward to next year.

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22 comments:

Joy said...

I love your Quilt... I love the fabric... awesome.

Tangos Treasures said...

Wow came out great!!!! Love the beach view too!

Deanna said...

Wow. Beautiful story. Beautiful quilt. Beautiful final photo. = )

the gathering girls said...

wonderful story and quilt!!

Tatkis said...

Absolutely cute and beautiful quilt!

Best wishes,
Tatyana

Marsha said...

Awesome Quilt! Love the colors. Great job.

Needled Mom said...

I think it is just a wonderful quilt. I love the colors, fabrics and even the photos of it!

Crafty Newbie said...

Ooooohhhhh!! My favorite colors! So, beautiful!

Joanna @ ShapeMoth said...

The quilt is very nice, but the view you have there just takes the breath away!

Unknown said...

does anyone know if this fabric is still available anywhere? i love love love it!! what a great quilt!

Staci said...

Beautiful location for your photo shoot!

Go-Go Kim said...

Love it and coffee!!!!!! Great job :o)

Judee said...

Great quilt! Great quilting! Great photos! I like that you call him your shmookie(?).

Andrea said...

his work on the combination of fabric I loved, I hope your husband enjoyed it, beautiful place to rest

Unknown said...

That is a wonderful quilt and such great scenery. Love it.

Lynne said...
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Lynne said...

What a great story!

I started my quilting journey in March 2010, then took a hiatus for most of the rest of the year! Looking back at my first two quilts, both started in 2010 and finished in early 2011, I am stunned at what I let slide then that I would not let slide now! But I still like them; they are a great reminder of where I started and how far I have come (plus baby grandsons don't care about uneven stitching and wonky strings!!)

Thanks again for a great reminder that we grow in our quilting lives as in every other aspect!

Aideen said...

Wow! you are really talented! I love the colour combinations you used and the patterns. your husband must be delighted with it!

Charlotte Modern Quilt Guild said...

Looks great Angie! Congrats on the feature.

Gmama Jane said...

Hard to believe you have been here for only a year!!?? you've grown at a much faster speed than I have but I've still grown tremendously! My blog is still small but it accomplishes waht I intended, to journal my retirement years doing what I love and hopefully keeping the family stories alive. I want to tell more of the family stories this coming blog year..as a retired teacher I still think of everything according to the school calendar. I adore the coffee quilt and think the colors are just right. I hope you will take the time to visit me and perhaps become a follower as I grow in this quilting journey along with you!
Blessings
Gmama Jane
Gmama Jane

Tiffany @ Another Pie In The Sky said...

Absolutely beautiful quilt! I love the design and the colors!

Admin said...

This quilt looks beautiful. Can you advise where you got the fabric or who the designer is?