Friday 21 December 2012

639 little pieces ... It's finished!

I previously blogged about this quilt here and here and here and I can't tell you how happy I am to have it finished before Christmas. My dear SIL is going to have 13 of us around the table on Christmas Day so the very least I could do was finish this quilt for her and I LOVE IT - hope she does too!!

Whilst looking for loose threads and tails to be hidden, I did a little counting ... give or take, there are 639 prices of fabric in this quilt top - 221 alone in the building on the far left as you look at it - I know, what was I thinking?!


Most of the fabric Deb chose herself in Amsterdam, supplemented with a Moda Serenade charm pack, some Makower sky, some Stof brick and extra bits and pieces from my stash along the way.

As I wasn't working to a pattern (not to be advised for the faint hearted!), it was a bit hit and miss at times with fabric choices and building sizes designed and decided upon as ideas popped into my head but I managed to work it all out in the end. Also, my original plan of this being a 60" x 60" lapquilt got a bit 'lost' and this now measures 72" x 62" - oh well, it can cover a couple of laps :D


I was tempted to try a different quilting style - thought about trying straight lines - but the coward in me decided best to stick to what I know so 'stippling' with a lemon cotton - looks lovely. 

Cute yellow and orange gingham pieced for the back:


And the all important label:


I hope she likes the little Amsterdam touches: the tulips, the cobblestones, the bicycles and, of course, the red light in one of the windows :)

I have really really loved making this quilt; big thanks again to Mandy Monroe for her great workshop which taught me some new techniques and I can't wait to see Deb's face when I hand it over :)


17 comments:

  1. Love this quilt. I am a sucker for all things Dutch, though.

    ReplyDelete
  2. So creative! That is an awful lot of little pieces! I'm sure she'll adore it :)

    ReplyDelete
  3. This quilt is so unique and special - just wonderful!

    ReplyDelete
  4. I came over from Finish it Up Friday--I love your quilt. I lived in Holland for a year (in Groningen) and I find this so evocative. Perfect. I hope your SIL loves it too!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Oh another house quilt~ Love it~

    ReplyDelete
  6. Your quilt is just beautiful. The colors you chose for the buildings are so lovely. They make me think of old and weathered bricks. I especially like the building on the far left with its tiny windows and brown sashing. Interesting that one of the LinkWithin images at the bottom of this post is "With MY Sausage Fingers?" and shows a photograph of what look like the inspiration for the buildings in your quilt. Wonderful!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Oh my gosh, that is just fantastic! What a dedicated quilter you are - very creative - the result is superb! I love quilting for the fact that no-one else will have something exactly the same, and they certainly won't have anything like this quilt! Have a Merry Christmas!

    ReplyDelete
  8. The quilt is beautiful! Your sister-in-law will be thrilled, I'm sure. Merry Christmas!

    ReplyDelete
  9. It's just so clever! The little bicycles the details, everything! I am sure she will fall over ; )

    ReplyDelete
  10. Everything about this quilt is lovely! From the design to the fabric choices, the piecing and the quilting. Great job! This is truly show-worthy.

    ReplyDelete
  11. I love this quilt. It is beautiful. What an inspiration you are. Thanks for sharing.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Absolutely stunning, love, love, love it.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Absolutely stunning, love, love, love it.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Was browsing your blog as not had a chance for a while, this is amazing! Well done on your hard work! Rose x

    ReplyDelete

I love reading all your comments, I know it takes time to write them but they make me smile so thank you for dropping by :)