Friday, September 21, 2018

Aurora Borealis

The On Point Triangle quilt is from way back in Season 2 of the Midnight Quilt Show. Now, I'm not sure if I would have chosen this pattern if I just saw it in the wild, but after watching Angela make it, I was determined to make one myself. I'm just a sucker for presentation, and I can't think of a better presentation than seeing it made on the Midnight Quilt Show!

The pattern calls for a jelly roll, but I'm using fat quarters instead. After one of the most intense fabric auditions ever, I decided on the Wanderlust bundle curated by Jen Rossotti for Stash Fabrics. On a cursory glance, I recognize some Katarina Roccella, Alison Glass, Me + You, Leah Duncan, and Libs Elliott. The colors are so beautiful and the Aurora Borealis inspiration really comes through!

I haven't done tube piecing since Lakeside, and there's a good reason ... I think it's so hard. Piecing the individual blocks wasn't bad, but because of all the bias edges, assembly was a total nightmare. I can't stand the smell of spray starch so I don't use it, but without it, the edges literally stretch if I just look at it wrong. (It didn't help that there's also multiple substrates in here!) All in all, the piecing looked so easy on the Midnight Quilt Show ... but it sure wasn't.

The fabrics are easily the best part of this quilt, so my only job as a machine quilter is to not mess it up. I kept the quilting simple with some echoes and dot-to-dot so that the fabric really shines.

Of course, around the pretty focal fabrics, I like to quilt more heavily in the negative space. Make that a lot more heavily. I did a swirl chain and then, to try something new, I quilted a leafy chain. It was an experiment but I think it turned out alright.

Not every quilt that comes off the frame becomes my new favorite, but this one sure has. It turned out better than I had hoped for, especially given my shoddy piecing job. I adore the fabrics, the quilting, and I even love the binding. So all in all, I'm totally in love with it!

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Linking up with: Crazy Mom Quilts, My Quilt Infatuation, Busy Hands Quilts, Confessions of a Fabric Addict, Cooking Up Quilts, Sew Can She, and Powered by Quilting.

14 comments:

  1. What a gorgeous quilt and quilting! I also agree with you about tube piecing -- I would rather not deal with all of that bias!

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  2. Love this quilt! It looks amazing!!!

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  3. I get excited every time I see you have a post because I know there is going to be drool worthy pictures of the yummiest quilting! This one is just beautiful!

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  4. This is gorgeous. I love the detailed quilting in the negative space.

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  5. If you cut the strips for your tube on the bias, you won't have bias edges, but then it kind of wastes fabric. Also, Sta-Puf starch smells a lot better than the aerosols. You have to water it down and put it in your own spray bottle, but that makes it more economical.

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  6. Love the leafy chain motif! How big are those blocks? Looks like you had lots of room to play with the quilting. I use Mary Ellen's Best Press to stabilize fabrics. It's not starch so it smells different. It even comes in various scents, but I prefer the unscented. I'm worried about regular starch attracting bugs on the boat, and so far no issue with the Best Press :)

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  7. Another wonderful quilt which leaves me speechless, btw my hubby likes it when you post. This is another stunner and the quilting is wonderful. You are too hard on yourself on piecing, it looks great especially if the eyes are focused on your machine quilting. Love the fabrics and the quilt name is just perfect.

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  8. Like the others, I always get excited to see a post from you in my inbox. I love to see what you have been up to! I can't imagine that tube piecing was any fun at all, but you sure can't see the issues in your beautiful quilt! That leafy chain is fantastic!

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  9. I'm in love with your quilt, too, Liz!!! You sure know how to jazz a quilt up!!!

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  10. I love the texture I can see from the backing, too!

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  11. Gorgeous work - your quilting is amazing!

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  12. I love this quilt and the quilting is wonderful. Love your colour and fabric choices.

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  13. WOW. seriously your quilting is just divine! I love all the texture you put into this quilt!

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