Blooming
Nine-Patch
I needed a new quilt for my queen-sized bed, and I love this pattern, so this was an easy decision. What wasn't so easy was deciding on the fabrics to use, especially since I wanted to use ten fabrics, rather than the eight in the original pattern. Thanks to the help from a couple of RCTQ members (thanks Susan M and Nancy!), I had revised measurements to consult and lots of very good tips. I bought the fabric for this in late 2001 with help from a very artistic friend, but I didn't start making it until October, 2002, because I found out that Blanche Young (the originator of the pattern) would be in town for a class in this very pattern! I finished the top in late November, 2002, and did something I'd never done before -- I took it to a long-arm quilter instead of quilting it myself. It was so large that I didn't want to wrestle with it to machine quilt it, and it was too busy to benefit from hand quilting, so that left a commercial quilter as my choice. She did a gorgeous job with it, getting it back to me in early April, 2003, so that I could bind it and put a label on it. Here's a detail of the quilting:
She did a lovely job, didn't she? The quilt measures 95 1/2" x 105
1/2"
and was entirely machine pieced. Now it's on our bed, where it belongs!
I've been collecting dog fabrics for several years now, with absolutely no idea of how I was going to use them. However, so many people were raving over how much fun they were having making Yellow Brick Road quilts that I decided that this might be just what I was looking for. I figured out the measurements I'd need to make one in a double-bed size and set to work. I cut out my fabrics on a Friday afternoon, machine pieced the top (minus borders) over the next few days, and finally put the almost-finished top on the bed I'd intended it for on Wednesday evening. After that, I slowed down a bit and finally finished the machine quilting and binding at the end of May, 2003. I had a lot of fun with the machine quilting, putting in lots of dog-related words, as well as dog bones and paw prints. Here's a photo of part of it:
The bed this quilt is for is in our guest room, but it's also the bed that our dogs like best to curl up on for daytime naps. They apparently approve of the quilt! :)
The quilt is machine pieced and machine quilted and measures
approximately
80" x 97".
I really prefer making smaller quilts, but our current bed quilt has
taken a lot of abuse with dogs jumping up and down -- and I don't mind
at all that dogs like to be on beds. :) Since I've wanted for a very
long time to try the Winding Ways pattern, that's what I decided to use
for the new bed quilt. I found some lovely Moda (mostly) fabrics and a
very good book by Nancy Elliott MacDonald on how to make the blocks
successfully -- and it all came together. :) I decided which
free-motion quilting designs I wanted to use on it, but that's where I
stalled. Unfortunately, since the quilt is so large, I just couldn't
see how I was going to manage it in my wonderful Bernina 630 and with
some back problems of my own. However, a very good friend came to the
rescue and did a gorgeous job of quilting my top on her longarm
machine, adapting my quilting ideas a bit to what worked better for
her. The next problem was how to get a photo of the quilt! I just have
no place in my home to take a picture of such a large quilt! ;) The
problem was solved, though, by entering the quilt into our local show
and taking a photo there -- complete with its lovely blue ribbon from
that show! :D
The quilt was finished in February, 2011, and measures approximately 95" x 112". Here is a detail of some of the quilting:
