Friday, May 17, 2013

The Story of Sunlit Treasure


A very warm to welcome to all visiting from the Blogger's Quilt Festival over at Amy's Creative Side and Sarah's blog, The Last Piece.

I'm sharing the story of my Sunlit Treasure quilt which I finally completed last month.




It began with a desire to make a bigger, more challenging quilt, one large enough to cover our bed well. When my pre-ordered copy of Sarah Fielke's "Quilting from Little Things" arrived in April 2011 I fell in love with her "North by North East" quilt design. The same month Lori Holt's Sew Cherry fabric range was released - a perfect match!




Using fabrics from my colourful stash, I quickly made a start on all those flying geese required for the middle panel, experimenting with which method worked best for me as I had never made a flying geese block before.....




Being one who sews on the dining table (of our family of 10) which is also our main homeschool space, quilting time and space is largely confined to school holidays. Somewhere in the middle of the monotony of sewing the required 700 flying geese I nearly lost all motivation to quilt at all. I was enjoying the more instant satisfaction of exploring my love of photography, and "unfollowed" every quilting blog I had previously enjoyed following.




 However, every time I would take a good look at the rows of geese hanging safely in my wardrobe I would realise afresh how much I really did love these fabrics. Many of them held special memories being remnants from previously made quilts and sewing projects, not to mention that their bright colours (like jewels or treasure resplendent in sunlight) just made me feel happy. Slowly but surely I persevered...








As I finished the quilt top I was still unsure about how to quilt this monster. It was physically impossible to reach the centre using my 28 year old domestic Janome. Not wanting to give up at this point, I decided to hand quilt the middle panel using hundreds of little four point crosses, an invented stitch which acts similarly to discreet tie quilting. Using this quilting method I was able to avoid stitches on the coloured fabric pieces.






Stippling the large setting corners has provided good stability and a smooth finish.






I love the hand quilted border around the edge of the quilt, it gives a wonderful finish to the design.

As the time drew near when the backing fabric would be needed our local Lincraft ( fabric/craft chain) store had a fabric sale. They had a cherry fabric which looked just perfect. I bought all that was left on the bolt but I knew it was considerably short of the stated requirements. However as I had slightly modified the quilt top, I ended up being only a few inches short. After hunting through my fabric stash to supplement the cherry backing, my first choice was a green basket weave print which I later discovered just happened to be a quarter yard purchase from the original Sew Cherry range which I had bought (and forgotten about) nearly two years ago. A happy discovery indeed.




As we head into our winter "Down Under" in Australia, my Sunlit Treasure quilt is keeping us snuggly warm at night and brightening my days every time my eyes glance upon it.








Once more I can enjoy contemplating new fabrics and dreaming of beautiful quilts....I am relished re-entering the world of quilting blogs!



Quilt Stats:

Dimensions: 87" X 87" (Slightly modified/smaller than Sarah's original design)
Special Techniques: Centre panel and border hand quilted with mini four-pointed crosses.
Quilted By: Me! All geese blocks are hand quilted, the setting corners stippled using my Janome SL2022.


"By perseverance the snail reached the ark."
                                  Charles Spurgeon


PS If you are interested in further details, click on the Flying Geese Quilt tag in my tag cloud in the side bar or leave a question amongst the comments.

Sharing at the Blogger's Quilt Festival: Bed Quilts.


62 comments:

Mama Bear said...

WOW!!! Stunning!! I am LOVING everything about it!! Love the fabric, colours, photography.......Well done Karen!! Gorgeous!
XXX

Karen @ Pieces of Contentment said...

Thank you Mama Bear! I thought you would like it!

Susan said...

I LOVE this quilt Karen! And the photos are just so stunning too! Enjoy snuggling! And you'll get my vote in the Bed Quilt section!

Adrianne @ On the Windy Side said...

Wow, this is completely stunning! Lots of hard work has obviously gone into this quilt, and it looks wonderful. Well done!

Joyful said...

The quilt is beautiful! Good for you for persevering.

s.c said...

Dogged does it. Well done.

Karen Lakis said...

Wow, wow, WOW! This is truly beautiful, Karen. I don't know how you find the time to make something this intricate. It will surely brighten any room you decide to put it in!

chica said...

Deu trabalho, mas ficou MARAVILHOSA!!! Adorei as fotos! beijos,chica

Kristy @ Quiet Play said...

Wow! That is an amazing amount of flying geese. Beautiful and so colourful!

Annabella said...

My goodness, it's absolutely stunning!! I love the family holding the quilt at the beach - perfect!

Kim said...

Bellissimo!! Your 'Sunlight Treasure' is breathtaking!! One could not feel anything but pure happiness snuggling under this beauty!!

Zenserly said...

Wow what a beautiful work of art! l admire your patience and craftsmanship. l can't recall the last time l Worked on a project Sewing...that is most certainly a labor of love...

Jane said...

It's just lovely and I enjoyed reading about it!

Rosemary said...

Thank you for sharing your journey with us. So inspiring! The results are as spectacular as the hours of creativity, vision, skill and love you have put into it.

Sylvia K said...

Gorgeous quilt and what delightful way to warm up a chilly day/night! This is really inspiring, Karen! Thanks for sharing it's creation!!

Cinzia said...

Credo non sia facile comporre un disegno come questo, ma tu ci sei riuscita meravigliosamente!!!!!
BRAVA!!!!
Cinzia

Pat said...

I am not a quilter, so I didn't understand some of the post, but I do know beauty when I see it! What a lot of hard work you put into the masterpiece and it sure paid off! Congratulations on finishing! You should be very proud!

Paulette said...

This is really beautiful! Love the fabrics and all those geese, my goodness! Clever method to quilt the center - I want to remember that! Such a lovely quilt!

geanina said...

Is really beautiful!:)

NatureFootstep said...

very beautiful work indeed. :)

Sarah said...

A really, really beautiful quilt - don't think I'd have the patience for so many flying geese!

Elise Lea said...

Every time you post pictures of this quilt I fall in love with it all over again. You did such a fabulous job. I know how hard it is to do so many flying geese blocks and hand stitch a quilt! Lovely pictures as always. Keep sewing and quilting you have such a talent for it!

Rena said...

That is one beautiful quilt! I'm glad you didn't give up on it. :)

Anonymous said...

It´s amazing in every way! :-)

http://tinajoathome.com/

Jeanne said...

That is so awesome Karen! and it totally amazes me that you were able to finish this! Just beautiful, and I love the shot of this on your shoulders with the colorful train to the side.

hawknitr13 said...

it's always such a great feeling to finally finish a huge project! thank you for sharing & a job well done!!
^)^ linda
lbquilts on Ravelry

Sarah @ sarahquilts.com said...

Gorgeous! I love Sarah's designs and this is one of my favorites. I really relate to how a big project can feel in the middle! Well done.

Cristina Ferreira said...

Muito bonita!
Queria uma assim. beijos

Michelle said...

So well done! Bravo!

NatureStop said...

WOW!!!WOW!!!WOW!!!very beautiful and would love to own one like this some day...Have a great weekend!

Shantana

Dorothy said...

Wow!! What an amazing achievement. I'm so impressed. A friend of mine brought her almost finished quilt to show me today. I'm surrounded by gorgeous works of art. Thanks for sharing such a beauty. xx

Seeing Each Day said...

Karen, you know me well enough by now that my sewing skills are in the minimal range. What a delight it was to read the story of the making if your quilt - it looked like a whole lot of work from your previous photos and this post confirmed it. I'm in awe of what you've made. And I think you should be too.

trish said...

Oh my goodness!! Your quilt is absolutely stunning!!! :o)

Sue Daurio said...

What a great quilt. Only sweet dreams allowed with this one :)

CitricSugar said...

So pretty! And wow - that's a ton of HSTs!

Anonymous said...

I'm glad you shared some of the process of making this lovely quilt.

Margaret said...

How lovely--the colours and design are super and what a handsome family you have to. I think you are gifted with both quilting and photography. Thanks for sharing.

Robin said...

Congratulations on a beautiful finish! Your quilt just sings. :)

you-wee because said...

Really an impressing quilt - a masterpiece having no equal!

Congrats, Uwe.

Jennifer {Studio JRU} said...

it is just so beautiful. a true work of art!

Unknown said...

I really enjoyed reading the story of your quilt.. It is so beautiful. You did a fabulous job on it. I bet that had to feel like a million bucks completing this quilt. You should be so proud of yourself.

Hugs~

Optimistic Existentialist said...

Karen all of these are amazing as always. Wow. Hope you're having a good Monday!!

Wenche said...

Impressing work, and so beautiful :0)

Anita Johnson said...

Well done! Such a charming quilt. I always dreamed of being a quilter...I love patterns, fabric, color, sewing. But i learned i have NO patience for quilting. I think I better stick with photography as a hobby...but fabric always calls my name.

Aoife said...

Congratulations on such a beautiful finish! The colours you chose are so vibrant. All the work that went into it, and it's so lovely at the end. I love the combination of machine quilting and hand-quilting!

Jessamie said...

Beautiful I love the jewel like quality of it!

Grit said...

Your quilt looks so wonderful.
Greetings from Germany, Grit

Lauren Deel said...

This is gorgeous! I'm so impressed by large, long-term projects like this. The Charles Spurgeon quote is a good reminder of how these things get done :)

Connie Smiley said...

How very gorgeous!

Little Island Quilting said...

What a stunner. This definitely gets my vote.

Scrapatches said...

Beautiful quilt. Beautifully made. Beautifully photographed.

Kimberly said...

What a beautiful quilt! That is incredible to see all of those beautiful flying geese. You have a great stash! So bright and beautiful, I can only imagine how nice your other quilts that helped build the stash are.

Kirsten said...

Such a beautiful quilt - the colours are so lovely and fresh!

Beausoleil Quilts said...

Your photos are beautiful. A really lovely quilt

Karen @ Pieces of Contentment said...

Thank you Lynn - do yo have a blog?

Nilya said...

I really love this quilt and your photos. The background fabric is perfect and makes a gorgeous effect!!!

Jessica said...

What a great idea to hand quilt the middle of such a large quilt and then machine quilt closer to the edges. Your quilt is beautiful!

Julie said...

Wow - what an amazing quilt. love the colours you have used, I'm sure you will enjoy snuggling up under it this winter.

Liz said...

I love it, Karen!! You are an incredibly patient woman. Such a gorgeous quilt!!
I think I've mentioned before that I have an American quilt, (entirely) hand quilted, which is unfinished as I started it when my youngest 2 were babies (they are now almost 21 & 21). It has sat waiting for me to finish the easiest of the 12 main 9" blocks (the flying geese block), the borders & the tiny 9 square corners. Now, my hands cannot cope with the fine work required to complete it. I had planned to machine sew the final piecing and to get someone to machine quilt it (much to my teacher's disgust).

Tammy@Simple Southern Happiness said...

You have such an amazing talent and eye for choosing fabric. This quilt will sure one day if the Lord wills, will become a family heirloom. Beautiful work and history behind the quilt and of course the photography.... you need to create your own work-of-art book.

Maryse said...

Ohh my! This one caught my attention right away, It's absolutely gorgeous! Nice work!
This one is on my to do list as well.

Maryse said...

Gorgeous, amazing pictures and so is the quilt!!
Pure delight for the eyes!

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