Thursday, February 1, 2018

It's a Finish! Glitter!

Glitter
66.5 x 73

A Jen Kingwell pattern from the book Quilt Lovely


 All last year I made a few blocks each month as a Rainbow Scrap Challenge project. I have a problem choosing fabrics that go together for projects so decided to use my 3.5 inch scraps and make a few blocks each month, since they are kind of fiddly to make, with the points and midsection in the RSC color of the month.   All I had to do then was pick a contrasting 3.5 inch scrap for the background and rest of the pieces of the nine patch.  That scrappy method of making blocks usually works pretty well for me plus it uses up scraps.  The one thing that kind of surprised me is that I had so many pink 3.5 scraps. 
 Jen Kingwell quilted Glitter with a vertical line through the points of the nine patch and a horizontal line across the midsection of the nine patches. I didn't want to break up all those nine patches. I wanted them to stand out.

 First I hand quilted around the blocks with ecru perle #8.  Then I experimented with stitching in a variety of ways but nothing seemed to work for me.  I was then going to try tying with the ties ending up on the back when Carla (A Few of My Favorite Things) commented that I might want to try the Hidden Tie or International Stitch.   Well, after viewing the video I thought that might be just what I needed to do. And then there was a delay because I needed to go buy a long needle but I finally got the job done.  I used ecru crochet cotton #10 for the tying. I tied in the middle of each nine patch, in the seam between nine patches where the nine patches meet and in the middle of  the background sections where the four four patches meet.  That Hidden Tie or International Stitch was the perfect solution and gave me the look I wanted - the nine patches stand out.  Now that I have the needles and thread I'm going to keep this method of tying a quilt in mind.  It was quick and easy once I got the hang of it and figured out how to keep the thread from tangling up. 
And since it was a scrappy quilt I used a bunch of pieces of leftover scrappy binding from the leftover scrappy binding box. 

I pieced together a couple of small pieces of fabric in the same pattern I had on hand in the neutral box for the backing. I think they were pieces leftover from the background of another quilt.  

I think this will be my new go-to quilt to wrap up in for book reading or just because I can. 

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32 comments:

Shelina (formerly known as Shasta) said...

Woo hoo! Yay! Congratulations! It is gorgeous!

Nann said...

YES!!! I've admired it all along and I still do!!

LIttle Penguin Quilts said...

That is a beautiful quilt, Cathy! I am really interested in that method of tying - where did you find the really long needle?

Marly said...

Lovely result. Did you sew it completely by hand, as Jen did herself or is there some machine stitching in there too? I'm going to look up that hidden tie; thank you for the link.

Quilting Babcia said...

Absolutely gorgeous finish!

---"Love" said...

You have another very pretty finish! Thanks for the link to the tying; it does look very nice, and also must be much easier than tying that many knots and leaving dangling strings! ---"Love"

Lisa Boyer said...

So beautiful. So happily scrappily gorgeous! Congrats.

Linda said...

Another fabulous quilt finish! Love all the scrappiness of the glitter blocks. They so look fiddly to make I think it was an excellent idea to make some each month as an RSC project. I have never heard of the stitch you used so I'm going to check on it now. Another idea for me to squirrel away. Thank you!

em's scrapbag said...

Oh my goodness! This is wonderful! Good job on a beautiful finish!

Linda @ kokaquilts said...

Wow a lovely scrappy quilt, it does glitter! Off to check out the tying link, thanx!

Lori said...

I LOVE it! Guard it well! Its breathtaking!

Connie said...

It is beautiful and amazing. All those small pieces and all that hand stitching . . . it's a treasure :) You have every right to be proud . . . I surely would be if I had made it.
Happy Quilting!
Connie :)

Libby in TN said...

Glitter is the perfect name for this pattern and your colors especially glitter. Such a happy quilt!

Sue SA said...

Such a pretty quilt, perfectly named!

mangozz said...

It's gorgeous Cathy! I can't believe you are done hand quilting it already. Thanks for the link to the video for the Hidden Ties. I would definitely like to try that since it doesn't show as much as the older method. I like the way you used both quilting and tying together. Did I mention how gorgeous your quilt is?

gayle said...

Wowzers! It's stunning! I love this pattern so much!
(And it's a real incentive to get busy on mine! I've got lots of pieces cut, but have fallen down on the stitching together part. Maybe I should take your cue and make it part of RSC, too...)

Louise said...

Wow! This quilt is amazing! So much scrappy happy goodness in the color combos. Yum! The blocks look very hard to me, too. It gives off that "expert level quilt" vibe :) Congrats on another great finish!

Cathy said...

Another masterpiece! It’s really a stunningly beautiful quilt, and I can see why you want to keep it for yourself. Great finish, Cathy!!

diane said...

You did it again! Everything you chose (fabric and colors) is just perfect for this quilt pattern. Thanks for sharing the hidden stitches, may have to use it one day soon.

Deb from Frugal Little Bungalow said...

It's like an array of sparkling jewels! congrats on such a beautiful finish :)

Julianne said...

OMG...Gorgeous!

Browndirtcottage said...

Yes! I. LIKE. This kind of reminds me of Bonnie Hunter's Carolina Chains.

Lynette said...

Great finish!! This looks fabulous, and I'm impressed with how quickly it came together. It would have taken me far longer to do this. I had never seen the invisible tying method. Thanks for the share.

cityquilter grace said...

looooove it!

Quiltdivajulie said...

Absolutely gorgeous. You did a fantastic job.

Kaja said...

Yay! Fantastic finish, and a new-to-me technique for tieing too, that looks very interesting.

Mystic Quilter said...

Absolutely splendid finish -congratulations!

audrey said...

Yay for a gorgeous finish! When it popped up on my Bloglovin screen the other day I wanted to jump up and down for you! Great job on this tricky block quilt. Love the way you addressed the centers of those nine patches. Will keep that in mind for a future quilt!

Angie said...

Fabulous finish! I love how all the colors sparkle together!

Kate said...

Wow! Such a scrupulous work to link all the diagonal elements and a hand stich! It is gorgeous. Congratulations!

dq said...

Glitter is an awesome quilt especially since it is done. Congratulations!

Sew of Course said...

What a great finish, it is gorgeous, and you used your scraps so effectively! I also like your tying and quilting!
On behalf of the Finishalong hosts, thank you for joining us!