Labor of love, it is finally finished.

Since it is International Quilting Day, it is totally appropriate that I post about a quilt that I have been quilting for the past little while.  I am so excited to share this quilt with you.  This is the second quilt that I have worked on for Thelma, you can see the first quilt I quilted for her here.  It is always a blessing for me to be able to do what I like to do on a quilt and this quilt is one that I am very proud of. It truly was a labor of love.  I went through all of Thelma's post about Evening Bloom and I realized just how much she put into this quilt as well.  Only hers took 18 months of applique work - that is amazing endurance when it comes to a quilt! It was totally worth it because this quilt is gorgeous!

 

When I pulled out this quilt to put it on the quilt racks, I was in complete awe.  This quilt is gorgeous and the colors are incredible.  This quilt is called Evening Bloom and you can find this pattern in this Country Inn book.
 

 

Let's get started with the pictures!  I used Kimono Silk for the background thread.  It is strong thread and it is small, so the dense quilting looks incredible.

 

Because of the applique, I had a lot of "going around" to do and that made it a slow and steady process.  I did not want to compromise the beauty of the applique, just wanted to add a background that would make the applique stand out. In five of the flower blocks I chose a diamond design for the background. There was a lot of marking in this quilt. That is for sure! 

 

For the beige background blocks I chose a square tile pattern, and I love it!  This was fun to do.

 

The diamond sashing designs were my favorite part of the quilting.  I used two layers of batting to help pop out the designs.  I used a 100% cotton and a Hobbs 80/20 blend. 

 

I used my arc ruler for the curved lines around the Dresden flowers and the outside borders.

 

Each one of these blocks are unique and fun and I never get tired of looking at the texture.

 

I would be lying if I said I wasn't sad that this quilt is leaving on Monday. It's been here for a while and it is always hard to let go of these works of art because I pour myself into each and every quilt. I just feel lucky to have worked on this one.   

 

By far, this is my favorite block.  Everything about it is incredible.  The colors and the design are just perfect and the quilting texture just makes me happy.

 

So, naturally a close up of my favorite block.

 

You'll notice the applique flowers had simple quilting, the background was my focus as far as the quilting design.

 

The first time I "scribbled" in a quilt was when I decided to go around the fabric in the sash. I know it would not work to scribble with the thread if it was anything other than silk. 

 

I am so happy to be finished.  I am happy that I have these pictures for my memory.  Each quilt is a push forward to something better.  I want each one of my quilts to be better than the one before.

 

And the back - doesn't it look awesome?

 

I had four different thread changes, so I quilted the backgrounds first and went back through with the red and brown threads. 

 

Thanks for letting me share my work with you.  I hope you enjoy this quilt as much as I do and Thank You Thelma, for allowing me to work on your beautiful quilt.  It was a pleasure! 

 

Pre-order a signed copy of my book which releases in a few months by clicking here.