Friday, October 31, 2014

Smooth Sailing

I have a new finish to share today that was one of those secret projects that I didn't get to show anything of until now ;)  And I just so happens to align perfectly with Bloggers Quilt Festival so I am adding it to the Large Quilt Category!!!  Yippee!!!   So if you are popping over from BQF and visiting for the first time, Welcome!!!  So glad you stopped by :)

This quilt is called Smooth Sailing and I made it to hang in the United Notions booth at Fall Quilt Market.   The fabric is Daysail by Bonnie and Camille for Moda and the pattern is by Bonnie Olaveson of that amazing duo ;)  Isn't it just so fun!!!


This is a big quilt finishing at 83" x 91" :)   And oh my goodness, was it a fun one to put together!!!  It was like creating 16 little mini's and then putting all of those mini's into boats :)  It was so much fun picking the placement and colors of each boat and then making sure they were all facing the right direction, I had to double check a few times ;)  But really, oh so much fun to make, and it is all just traditionally pieced, no foundation or paper ;)   What an amazing design!!


When it came time to quilt this I really wanted to go all out ;)  For the background I went with a mixture of designs.  I wanted to create a lot of movement that just flowed so I quilted swirls, echoed paisleys, pebbles, and curls all interchangeably.   I used my favorite 402 Pearl So Fine Superior Thread so it blends just beautifully while still showing the quilting ;)  And can I just say I LOVE it!!!


For the boats, I quilted wavy lines in the sails, woodgrain in the boat, scallops in the water, and 1/4" straight outline on the block, flag, and mast ;)  I switched colors to match and blend with the color of the sail.  It took a minute more but was so worth it ;)   I don't consider myself a professional long-arm quilter by any means, but I have to say, I was pretty proud of this one ;)


Back to a little bit of the piecing . . . I just love how each of these little boats turned out ;)  I played with a lot of different color layouts and in the end I just loved the matching color sails look :) All of the water and masts have the same colors in all the boats to tie them all together ;)   And It is probably hard to tell from the big picture but I matched the little flag to each of the block, just a fun little detail that makes me smile ;)   


The backing is one of my favorite prints from the collection :)  These adorable sail boats which I was so happy to use as I stuck to basically the tone on tone prints on the front to give the overall look I was going for ;)  It's fun to see all of the quilting on it as well ;)


This really was such a fun quilt to make, and I am so glad to be able to share it now with all of you ;)  I also got to share it with one other special person . . . Bonnie Olaveson!!!   Wow, what a special moment ;)  She loved it and was super impressed with the quilting, yup, perma-grin all day ;)
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 Thanks so much for stopping in today ;)  I hope you love the quilt as much as I do ;)  Be sure to pop back to the Blogger's Quilt Festival to see all of the other amazing quilting goodness!!  There are over 400 Quilts!!!


Have a Happy Quilting Day!!

Linking this finish to Sarah's and Amanda's ;)
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38 comments:

  1. This quilt is so cute! Fantastic job and the quilting is fabulous!!!
    Amanda

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  2. I'm sure the pictures don't do it justice and you really don't get a true sense of its size until you see the pic with Bonnie! You deserve that perma-grin!

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  3. Melissa, your quilt is FABULOUS! It's was so nice to meet you.

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  4. Awesome quilt. It would be great in a boy's room.

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  5. OMG, that's adorable:-) Your quilting is amazing and this is the perfect way to complement the new fabric line!!!

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  6. Such a beautiful quilt! And the quilting...amazing!

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  7. WOW!!! I love this quilt and the quilting!! Makes me want to get a long arm machine. I just love the sailboats.

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  8. I love this quilt! It is so cute! I have a very very old sailboat motif quilt! Now it is put away so it will not break down anymore!

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  9. WoW! Great job! Loving the sail boats! Way too cute and she is right, the quilting is pretty awesome! Dont' doubt yourself!

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  10. Wow! Your attention to detail is impressive! What an awesome job you did.

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  11. Muy bonito quilt, es como mis casitas pero con barcos ,cada uno lleva un mini bloque diferente
    Besos

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  12. I do love your quilt and the quilting on it is perfect.

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  13. The quilting is wonderful. Perfect finish for your qult.

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  14. I was having a difficult time with the size of this quilt until the photo of Bonnie and you with the quilt. That is the exact moment that this quilt won me over. Smooth Sailing is on my to do list. Great job, Melissa. Happy Halloween.

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  15. The quilt is wonderful. I love the tiny block details on the sail. Congratulations!

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  16. Wow, your quilting is awesome on this quilt! The boats are adorable too. Really great work.

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  17. You certainly should be proud of the piecing and quilting on this one. It's fabulous! But I think the best part was getting to share it with Bonnie in Houston!!! What a treat!!!

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  18. I liked this quilt when I first saw it, but I really liked it after reading about the thought you put into the colors and fabric placement. And the quilting is delightful!

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  19. You did an awesome job on this quilt. Keep that perma smile going.

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  20. Those boats are so cute! I love the mini blocks in each sail!

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  21. Love this quilt! fabrics are perfect along with the quilting.

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  22. What a beautiful quilt - lovely piecing and fabulous quilting. You are very clever!

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  23. great colours and amazing quilting a really great quilt what more is there to say

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  24. Oh that's gorgeous, I love it - and the quilting is incredible and really sets up each of the little boats - I'm going to have to bookmark this pattern for when my little boy is a bit bigger :)

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  25. It's so pretty! What a wonderful quilt

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  26. Such a fun quilt! Looks perfect in Daysail, and I love the size of the boats and the little blocks in each sail. Your quilting is fabulous!

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  27. So cute, but that photo with you guys next to it really gives perspective!

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  28. So cute! I love all the little details. I'm working on a nautical quilt for a friend and may try my hand at some boats like yours :)

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  29. Way behind in reading your post, but I had to tell you, I love this quilt. The picture at the top of the whole quilt I said - what cute little boats. Then the picture at the show of the real deal!!! The size of the boats is great and I want to make this now. Beautiful job and great quilting.

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  30. Gorgeous quilt Melissa!! I don't know how I missed it, but maybe it was during the time that my subscriptions weren't getting to me. I love how you quilted it!!! So perfect!! Hugs, Helen

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  31. It's critical to do this with your completely open roller reefing genoa and additionally a hanked-on sail.hamptonsboatrental.com

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  32. The backing is one of my favorite prints from the collection :) These adorable sail boats which I was so happy to use as I stuck to basically the tone on tone prints on the front to give the overall look I was going for ;) It's fun to see all of the quilting on it as well ;)

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Thank you so much for your sweet comments. I just love hearing from you!!
Have a Happy Quilting Day :)

Melissa