Wednesday, January 29, 2014

Gypsy Diamonds Quilt Top

Last week I hinted that I'd been sewing together five year old blocks. They'd been hidden away in the closet because the sewing method suggested in the free online pattern did not result in blocks of equal size. Or, well, maybe it was just user error. Either way, the frustration made for some "out of sight, out of mind" thinking on my part!
 I'm excited to say that the blocks are back in business and have become a quilt top now...ready to be quilted! My plan is to use this on my bed next autumn.
 As I lay awake one night, not able to sleep, I began contemplating how to make all of the blocks the same size. It suddenly occurred to me that it could easily be done using my handy-dandy new triangle ruler. The ruler wasn't quite large enough, but with the additional help of a straight ruler, I was able to make it work out.
 I even managed to come up with the right sized side triangles to enlarge the quilt to queen size. (The pattern had me chopping off all of the outside diamonds to create a lap size quilt without borders.) This is not a "fabric snob" quilt as many of the fabrics were purchased as flat fold fabric in a rural Kansas town. I also threw in some strips from my stash at the time. It's fun to look at the, now, older fabrics from 2008 and before. I still like them...yay!
 The last challenge was finding the right fabric for the outside triangles. After much contemplating and auditioning at Sarah's Fabrics (my favorite LQS) with my friend, Vicki, we finally settled on this Amy Butler Gypsy Caravan Stash fabric called Gypsy Mum.
I love the craziness of all of these fabrics together! On another note, I'm honored to be nominated by Debbie at A Quilter's Table  as one of 31 Inspiring Quilters on SewMamaSew today. It's been a fun series. Thanks, Debbie.

18 comments:

  1. WOW! This is lovely! The border fabric is the perfect match to those fabulous diamonds! (clever you for working it out!) The whole thing reminds me of a Gypsy Caravan!

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  2. Great top! I can't wait to see it quilted. You will probably wonder why you waited so long to finish it :).

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  3. I just came over from Sew Mama Sew and love your blog. Your quilts are beautiful. I have been wandering around here for awhile but need to get back to the "work" I was doing before I rewarded myself with a blog read break. I'll be back.

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  4. The fabrics work great together--isn't if funny how sometimes the craziest combinations of color, scale and patter seem to just fit together? I saw your mention on Sew Mama Sew today--what I nice shout-out. Of course, I always knew that you were an inspiring quilter. I love your sewing style and your blog. Thanks for sharing your talents!

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  5. Wowza! You have my head spinning with all that measuring and cutting! LOL! It looks fabulous. And, of course, you are inspiring!

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  6. So pretty! And the Amy Butler fabric brings it all together so nicely!
    I couldn't agree with Debbie more...yours was one of the first quilty blogs I came across back in 2010, and I am so glad I did!

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  7. That Amy Butler fabric is the perfect edge. It looks like it was made for this. Nice job finishing a long time WIP.

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  8. It's a great quilt, Carla. Strippy scrap quilts are the best! And it's nice that you could finish up a UFO. I recognized one print in particular, so I know you have some oldiest (not too old) and goodies there. I hope you enjoy quilting it!

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  9. Wow Carla. These fabrics still look very much like 'today' . Love what you did

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  10. These are beautiful fabrics. The pattern is wonderful. Congrats on finishing a flimsy!

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  11. Hi Carla! I'm happy that Debbied featured your blog and I found you! I love your quilts and photos! Sunny wishes from Finnish woman from Greece! Teje

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  12. This is a wonderful quilt. It must feel great to have gotten to this point. And you are always an inspiration to me :)

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  13. WOW...another UFO successfully pieced...good on you! It's so pretty and doesn't look one bit dated. :)

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  14. Great choice on the border fabric. It brings everything together beautifully.

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  15. Congrats on your nomination! Your quilt is so pretty, and it does look fallish. A tute or pattern would be wonderful!

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  16. Doesn't it feel great?? This reminds me of the quilt in Kaffe's book, one I've kind of wanted to make. The AB border is perfect, can't wait to see the quilting. Congrats on your honor, I totally agree :).

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  17. You are very inspiring indeed, thank you for sharing your beautiful creations!
    Myrto

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