Friday, December 19, 2014

Happy Trails

It's Done!!!  And with 24 hours to spare ;)  I am so excited to share with you Happy Trails!!!   Back in September, I asked the gals from the Bees Knees group if they could make me Outdoor inspired blocks to make a quilt for my Grandparents new Motor Home.  My Grandparents love to camp and when I saw the not so inspiring bedspread in their motor home, I knew just what needed to be done.


The group had no guidelines on size or design.  Just think outdoors and create.   I am blown away with their amazing blocks and was so excited to put them all together.   Excited and a bit nervous.  Bringing all those blocks together all improv style is a bit out of my comfort zone.  I kept wanting to sketch it out on graph paper.  But Barbara kept encouraging me and I managed to get the top put together without having to draw it out.  Yippee for trying new things!!!   I wanted all the blocks to stay obe on the actual bed, and not hanging over the sides of it, so once they were all pieced the quilt was a little long and skinny.  So I added some skinny borders on the top and bottom and some wide borders on the sides to make it queen size.


Not surprisingly, it was a little hard for my little symmetrical mind to be okay with different size borders. I always have to push myself to do things Asymmetrical.  But I kept reminding myself that I did it for a reason and it was going to be okay.   And when it came time to quilt, I decided I needed to take advantage of those extra wide background space :)  So I made some templates, traced them in my disappearing marker, and quilted my Grandparents Names into their sides of the bed ;)  And suddenly, I wasn't so stressed about the different size borders, I loved it!!!


And speaking of quilting . . . I really had some fun with this one.  I used my favorite 402 Pearl So Fine Thread by Superior Threads on the whole thing.  Isn't it awesome how it creates such a perfect compliment to the background and totally blends in with the blocks ;)  For the background, I really got into this one and had so much fun.  I think this might qualify as "quilt grafatti".  There are swirls, paisleys, leaves, pebbles, curly cues, and tendrils.


And on the blocks, I used arches in all of the squares and triangles, and then some basic meandering and outlining to highlight the character blocks.


I used ribbon candy and just simple back and forths in the blocks made of strips.   I just love the way it creates so much movement in the blocks.  


I could seriously show you every block in this quilt . . . they are all so awesome.  But I will finish with this one and not make this the longest post ever ;)   I made sure this winded up in the center of the quilt, because it just summed up my Grandparents so perfectly.  Love it!!


I can't wait to give this quilt to my Grandparents tonight :)  Thank you a million times over to all of the amazing gals in the Bees Knees group.  You gals are the best and I so appreciate your amazing creativity.  The quilt is exactly what I hoped it would be thanks to each of you ;)


Linking this finish up to Sarah's and Amanda's :)
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27 comments:

  1. Oh I snickered when you wrote, "not so inspiring bedspread"...been there, seen that!! This is fabulous, love the owl, and the quilting especially! Well, okay...and the fish blocks, and the message between the two trees...okay everything! LOL

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  2. What a great finish!! And your quilting really takes this over the top! Fantastic job to your quilting bee too.

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  3. Beautiful quilt and awesome quilting!!

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  4. Your bee group really came through with a winner! Love the way you set the blocks - improv is much harder then it seems!!! Your quilting is spot on and really puts the icing on this quilt cake!! Please post pictures of your grandparents opening this one!!!

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  5. They are going to go nuts when they see this and hear about everyone that helped contribute to the quilt. Even though it was "ad lib", it looks like it was meant to be done this way. Wonderful job!

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  6. This is so beautiful. You nailed the asymetry! I know that would have been very hard for me to do too.

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  7. Amazing! The bee did a fabulous job, and your quilting is stunning, especially since you haven't been a long-armer for that long!

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  8. Your grandparents are going to be blown away! This quilt is so pretty. Lovely quilting, too! Each block is unique, but they all look so fabulous together!

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  9. I have loved this idea and this quilt from the first post about it. Of all the quilts I have seen online, this is my absolute favorite. Such a nice tribute and so cute. Everything about it is fantastic. Congratulations to you and to your grandparents! Really nice work!

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  10. Such a sweet quilt-you can tell a lot of thought & love went into making it!

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  11. This is so fabulous. Well done!

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  12. Awesome quilt! I love the colors you chose and all the different blocks! I'm sure it will be cherished.

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  13. It looks amazing! Can't wait to hear how they react!

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  14. Your grandparents will love your beautiful gift. We go camping too, down here in New Zealand, and I have a toning quilt on our bed - as quilters do. We tow caravan (trailer) and enjoy getting out and about.

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  15. Es perfecta, enhorabuena!!!! Le encantara a tus abuelos y en sus viajes estaras siempre tu.
    Te deseo que pases unas felices fiestas rodeada de los tuyos
    Besos

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  16. your grandparents are going to love this quilt and when they are on their travels it will bring them close to you

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  17. It is an amazingly great quilt! Your grandparents are going to be blown away. And every time they get under it, the very special quilting and personalization on it will be like a tremendous hug from you, making them feel good. As a person without a lot of family, this quilt is very moving to me, showing that close bond that everyone wants, but not everyone gets. Well, that's a bit mushy :) but it really is a very special, and inspiring to me, quilt! Magistra13 at yahoo dot com
    Beth

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  18. You did such a beautiful job of putting all those special blocks together. Yes, I know different sized borders are out of my comfort zone too, but the wider side borders remind me of two trunks of trees and of a great scene unfolding as we 'peek' through!! And all that special quilting - your grandparents will love it!

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  19. Yay!! It turned out so awesome. Fun to see all the block put together. And the quilting is INCREDIBLE!!

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  20. It is really fabulous and such a treasure for them. Nicely done.

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  21. The details in this are incredible, well done all!

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

Melissa