Monday 11 July 2022

Done and dusted: my orange summer


My piecing may be slow, slow, slow, but at least I am keeping the quilting ticking along and as a result have a finished quilt. More to the point, I have a finished quilt that feels cheery and summery and perfect for the current weather. Here it is, nicely attached to the front of my little shed.  
I don't think it's as satisfactory a location for photos as the washing line, but I used to prop that up with a length of downpipe, which has now been used, strangely enough, for its proper purpose.  Until we devise an alternative prop, the shed is the best option.  
Having always worked through my quilting pile chronologically, last in, first out, I have changed my approach this year.  I am now working on two hoops, instead of one.  The first will always be something that's been waiting ages, but the other can be anything I fancy.  This particular quilt was only pieced last year, but I am still in an orange kind of place, so it pushed its way to the front of the queue.  It has made me happy, working on these colours and fabrics, so it was definitely a good choice.

You can see that I was really feeling the orange when I pulled fabrics for the back.
Mostly my backs are made using fabrics from the oldest part of my stash - so before I started only buying organic yardage and shirts.  I have started to contemplate what I will do once I run out of this stuff.  I am not keen on piecing all my backs from shirts and things like vintage sheets sound like a good idea, until you try to track them down - they are hard to find here and also expensive.  

I am really pleased with how this quilt turned out - I love the denim/orange combination and, strangely, haven't found the denim hard to quilt.  It has slightly more weight to it than an all-cotton quilt, but when the weather turns cold, I rather like something a bit heavier.  
So, down to the nitty-gritty. 

This was started on September 14th 2021 and piecing was completed October 14th.  I am surprised to see that this only took a month from start to finish. I think I started quilting it during the first week in January, and have been working in fits and starts until last week.  It was finished on June 29th 2022. 

I started with shirts and denim, and added in bits from stash.  You might recognise the black floral fabric from here.  Handquilted using perle no. 8.  I didn't buy anything special but just pulled the best options I had already.  I have been doing that for a while now, but think I will have to restock soon. The binding is a very old Oakshott stripe that has been in my boxes for at least seven or eight years now.  
My favourite parts of this quilt are the two strips of flying geese, and, specifically, the places where the geese change direction.  I will be making those again at some point.  

11 comments:

patty a. said...

Yes, those two strips of flying geese are my favorite parts too! They just add such a fun element! Congratulations on another finish on a gorgeous quilt!

Yvonne from Quilting Jetgirl said...

The spots where the geese change direction are lovely elements. Keeping two hoops going at once for hand quilting looks like it is working really well for you. And as I don't work with denim much, I really appreciate hearing that you didn't find it harder to quilt.

Robin said...

So fun to see this quilt, it just has a happy vibe to it. I agree the flying geese add a lot with their change of direction. I'm glad to hear the denim wasn't hard to quilt. The backing is a great use of leftovers. I agree, I like a little weight to my quilt.

Quiltdivajulie said...

Well done on the finish - so much to look at as my eyes move around the quilt.

O'Quilts said...

Oh, so delightful!!! You are an inspiration, indeed!!

Julierose said...

Wonderful work on this lovely grouping of fabrics..super work hugs, Julierose

Shelina (formerly known as Shasta) said...

Congratulations on another beautiful finish! I like the flying geese too, and I like the strip of fabric that looks like lace from a distance. Wonderful!

Linda @ kokaquilts said...

It is a lovely finished quilt! I think the denim & orange contrast nicely, unexpected but it works. And all your hand quilting is amazing, so much texture. It looks like lots & lots of straight lines?

Grams Jean said...

Wild n wonky, so free spirited. Love it!

Janie said...

I like your mix of florals, plaids, stripes and denim, great look!
Congratulations on your finish.
And I'm energized by the back, super.

audrey said...

I'm gonna echo what Grams Jean said 'So free spirited'! Love this one!! It made me enormously happy when I opened up my app to this quilt, just seeing it. I think the mix of all the elements brings so much life and energy to the final result. Stupendous finish Kaja. I'm a little jealous actually.:) lol