Friday, September 5, 2014

Sisters' Ten Quilt #2 - TWO Finished Quilts!

*I'm linking this finish up to the Finish Along at The Littlest Thistle. You can see my original FAL Quarter 3 list here!*

 *Are you looking for the Orange Peel QAL Final Linky Party? Link up your quilts, tops, and minis here until Sept. 8!*

Posts like this one started writing themselves almost 2 years ago. I heard about the 2013 Sisters' Ten Modern Block of the Month, designed by AnneMarie of Gen X Quilters... and I became quickly obsessed with the idea of making TWO matching "sister quilts" - one for me in "sunset" colors and one for my now 17-year-old sister in her favorite colors  (purple, green, and blue). The best part was that I was going to keep the secret (from her only - I'm not that good) for a whole year! I finished Marisa's quilt right on time (days before Christmas 2013)! That was the priority (because keeping the secret for longer would have been torture) and I put mine to the side in favor of other projects.



 I also envisioned piecing the quilts so they could come together at the top like part of a heart. Corny, perhaps, but that doesn't make it any less special to me. You can see above that this little dream of mine finally came true this summer, about half a year later than I originally intended. :)

Sister's Ten BOM Fabric Pull

This picture is from January 2013! I made one or two blocks a month for each quilt. I was *very* careful NOT to share pictures on the blog of Marisa's blocks (she was my very first blog reader and is very loyal). I did, however, share them on Flickr, which helped considerably with the whole I-can't-keep-such-an-exciting-secret-for-a-year thing.


1. Sisters' Ten BOM block for October, 2. Sisters' Ten BOM block for October, 3. Sisters' Ten BOM - September block, 4. Sisters' Ten BOM - September block, 5. August Sisters' Ten BOM, 6. August Sisters' Ten Block, 7. July Sisters' Ten Block, 8. July Sisters' Ten Block, 9. Block 1 - Sisters' Ten BOM June - Contrary Wife, 10. Block 2 - Sisters' Ten BOM June - Contrary Wife, 11. May BOM block, 12. April BOM 1, 13. April BOM 2, 14. School Girl's Puzzle, 15. Susannah, 16. Sister's Ten BOM

Voila! A quilt with some of MY favorite fabrics, just in time for autumn. <3 I changed AnneMarie's design a little bit -  I used some favorite scraps to break up the negative space, and made a few less blocks overall. Thank you for an amazing BOM, AnneMarie!




As with Marisa's I quilted this one in an improv fashion. At the top, I started by making the large swirls with my free motion quilting/darning foot. Then I made smaller swirls, pebbles, double loops, and my version of baptist fans at my leisure. It was so freeing! I quilted the middle with my walking foot mostly freehand (it's NOT perfect), and then quilted the bottom with my FMQ foot. I bound the whole thing in a purple Andover Fabrics print that is similar to Lizzy House Jewels (what other color did you think I would use?! :D).



Yes, I realize that some of the points are cut off. It wasn't preferable! I hoped that I would improve my piecing (especially half square triangles) over the year (and boy, did I!) but sadly some of the blocks from the beginning were way less accurate than others. I ended up trimming them all to the same size. I should have thought about it more and added sashing instead to those that were a bit smaller. Oh well... lesson learned. I'm not a perfectionist so it doesn't bother me all that much.

 As I mentioned last week, Jacquie Gering inspired me to use my favorite fabrics on the back of my quilt. This one isn't going anywhere, so *I guess* it's better than stashing them. Yes, even the Cotton and Steel and Anna Maria Horner. I'm really pleased with it. Now I have a double sided quilt!





I always had this red print by Amy Butler in mind for part of the backing! Marisa's has one continuous backing of the blue colorway (you can see below). She doesn't *like* pieced backings but apparently she likes mine... lol.



Ready for a whole bunch of fun photo outtakes? My husband Mike took the pictures while Marisa and I fooled around (thanks Mike!). It makes me so happy to see her using her quilt so much (she even took it to Georgia recently!). She's going to college next year so I hope she thinks of it as a continuous hug from the sister who will miss her more than anything.

















Well, that's a wrap! Mission accomplished. So far, that was my second long-term quilt project (the first being our wedding quilt). I'm working on the Medallion (though not at the moment). I get such satisfaction from projects like these!


17 comments:

  1. Hurray! Both quilts are so pretty, and they really complement each other! I'm drawn more to the colors and feel of your quilt, but I love the fresh, clean-ness of Marisa's! I like the mix of FMQ and straight lines going on with yours. And all those fun photos! My sister and I have a much more reserved relationship, ha.

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  2. Love both quilts and your pics are so fun!!

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  3. What fun!!! Both quilts are beautiful and a fun project to do them in different colorways.

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  4. What a fun post and pictures, too! I love your gray background. I've been trying to use more white in my qults, but now I think I should try some gray!

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  5. I think that is so awesome that you made two! They both look great, but I think that the back of your quilt is a winner! Probably because I love every print you used on the back. The front is fantastic as well. The grey is beautiful with those sunset colours!

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  6. I really like both of your quilts and the fact that they are sister quilts! Fun pictures, too. I am currently doing the Vice Versa BOM from Annemarie, and I love the whole quilt layouts like these. Great job!

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  7. Both are pretty but I like yours colors better :) Well done for such mission and it is always great to see your smilling pics!

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  8. hahah gorgeous quilts and I love the outtakes! Isn't it so wonderful when someone uses a quilt you've gifted them?!

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  9. I love the idea of matching -- but different -- quilts for sisters. My sister and I might need to be the recipients of a pair, too! And it does feel good to use fabrics you love instead of hoarding them, doesn't it? I have some of AMH's Postage Due in the same colorway and am planning on using it in a handbag -- can't wait! And I've had my eye on the C&S in the lower-left corner of the back of your quilt. I've seen different pics online (my LQS doesn't stock that design). Can you verify that it's a dark navy? Other pics online make it seem black. Great job here!

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  10. They are both such pretty quilts. I love that together they make part of a heart. I know your sister treasures this beauty. What fun photos.

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  11. They look great. My fave picture is the one with the quilt hoodie/superhero capes.

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  12. Awwe! I love the whole idea of your sister quilts and it was fun to see you and your sister having fun together. The quilts look great! I love how you made them to go together like that.

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  13. Hi Jessica, I love these quilts and I LOVE the photos LOL I would like to feature you this week for I Quilt. Please let me know if you are not happy with me sharing one or two of your images. Thanks for linking up!!

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  14. Such beautiful finishes and a fabulously fun post! A joy to read.... And those outtake photos are awesome! Nice work, Jess!

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Let's start a conversation! I love comments and I'd be happy to reply to all who have an email address accessible. Thanks for commenting!

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