Saturday, January 9, 2021

Fresh Off the Frame: A Feather-Licious Peacock Flourish Snowball Quilt for a BRAND NEW Quilter!

Fresh off my frame, and full of fabulously scrumptious feathery texture:


I just finished quilting this snowball quilt for a customer who is also my mom -- this is her very first quilt that she's made by herself from start to finish, and she decided to make it KING size!  Didn't she do a great job?


It's a 12 x 12 layout of 8" snowball blocks that she made following the pattern in the book Quilts! Quilts! Quilts!, 3rd Ed., by Diana McClun and Laura Nownes.  

Peacock Flourish Opulence Fabric, Mottled White Multi

When my mom picked out her fabrics for this project, her favorite one was this Peacock Flourish fabric that you see pictured above.  She took all they had left on the bolt and then filled in with batiks and blenders.  But, once she had finished making all those blocks and sewing them together into a flimsy, she was a little disappointed that it all looked "kinda plain."  She was not seeing those cool peacock feathers in her favorite fabric when she looked at the whole quilt from a distance.

I found the perfect quilting design to amplify the impact of the peacock prints in my mom's quilt, the Peacock Tail E2E design from Wasatch Quilting, shown below.  I mean, there are so many digital E2E feather designs out there, but the style of the feathers in this particular E2E design is so similar to the style of the feathers in the fabric print, right down to that long comma curl and the angle of the plumes radiating from the base of the spine.  

Peacock Tail E2E by Wasatch Quilting

It's also a very large scale, deeply nested design, which is more impactful on all of those big, "blank canvas" blocks in this quilt.


I had to run my machine pretty slowly to stitch this design accurately because it has some backtracking and several places in the design that require precise alignment to look good, but it was totally worth it.  

Batting is Hobbs Heirloom 80/20, and I chose Glide thread in color Peacock -- totally bizarre coincidence that's the color name, because wouldn't you have thought the color Peacock would be a deep teal rather than a pale lilac?  I chose this thread color because I wanted it to disappear on that printed peacock feathers fabric.  Had I chosen a darker shade of purple or teal, the quilting design would have been fighting the fabric print in those areas.



I love how the quilting design takes Center Stage on those deep amethyst batik blocks, don't you?  Now those blocks don't look "plain" anymore.  They look feather-licious!



(I should note that the question of whether those big, solid blocks looked "too plain" in the first place is a matter of opinion, and the only person whose opinion matters on that subject is the person who made the quilt top.  She's the one who wanted to see more feathers and less "plain," so that's why I went in this direction.  That's why I ask quilting clients at drop-off what they like best about their quilt and whether there's anything about it they wish they could change.)

Another thing I love about this design is that, because of its large scale and deep nesting, it's almost impossible to see where one row ends and the next one begins.  It gives the pattern a very free-flowing, hand-drawn look -- yet, because it's a digital pantograph, the quilting density is perfectly balanced and even from one end of the quilt to the other.


Is this Photo Overload?  I love this design!  It's not my new go-to feather design that I'll be stitching on a ton of quilts, though.  Had there been a lot of busy prints in this quilt, the extra hours that it took to stitch this particular design would have been a wasted effort.  But I think it looks awesome against the large swaths of solid fabrics that show off the quilting on this particular quilt.



What about the snuggle factor, you may be thinking?  Still good.  The finished quilt is still soft and supple.  Wish I had a better place in my home for getting a good photo of the WHOLE quilt, but this will have to do for now.


PSST!!  I'd Love to Quilt for YOU!

By the way, if you or any of your quilty friends has a quilt top or two that needs quilting, I'd be delighted to quilt for you!  My turnaround for edge-to-edge quilting is currently running about 2 weeks, and you can click here to find out how to book your quilt with me.


I'm linking up today's post with the following linky parties:

SATURDAY

UFO Busting at Tish in Wonderland

Scrap Happy Saturday at So Scrappy

SUNDAY

Frédérique at Quilting Patchwork Appliqué

Oh Scrap! at Quilting Is More Fun Than Housework

MONDAY

Design Wall Monday at Small Quilts and Doll Quilts  

Monday Making at Love Laugh Quilt

BOMs Away at What a Hoot Quilts

TUESDAY

To-Do Tuesday at Home Sewn By Us

WEDNESDAY

Midweek Makers at Quilt Fabrication

Wednesday Wait Loss at The Inquiring Quilter

THURSDAY

Needle and Thread Thursday at My Quilt Infatuation  

Free Motion Mavericks with Muv and Andree

FRIDAY

Whoop Whoop Fridays at Confessions of a Fabric Addict

Peacock Party at Wendy’s Quilts and More

Finished Or Not Friday at Alycia Quilts

Off the Wall Friday at Nina Marie Sayre

 TGIFF Thank Goodness It’s Finished Friday, rotates, schedule found here: TGIF Friday


27 comments:

Karen - Quilts...etc. said...

wow a king size for the first quilt - congratulations to your mom and you did wonderful on the quilting

The Joyful Quilter said...

That's a really pretty quilting design, Rebecca, but where's your PINK for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge?!?!

Anonymous said...

Boy, your mom doesn’t do anything halfway! A king sized for her first quilt!? Whoa! I love the colors and fabrics she chose. So pretty! And the quilting is perfect for it!

Jenny said...

What a wonderful mother and daughter collaboration. Congratulations to your Mum on her first qui.t!

scraphappy said...

The design really does shine on those big open spaces. Looks fabulous! I am sure your mom will love it.

Carole @ From My Carolina Home said...

Perfect quilting, inspired by the fabrics, and beautifully done.

SJSM said...

That turned out so well! Your mother must be ecstatic.....and a first quilt on top of that.

The motivation has faded here. We are just starting to get Christmas down. The ornaments are off the tree and lights off the house but the tree is still standing as well as the rafter decor, the elves and other tchotchkes. We hope to have the energy to get the rest done today. Once that is done I will spread the two quilts I have on the dining table to take pictures and send.

Frog Quilter said...

Wow. I know your Mom is sooooooo proud of you. It came out beautiful!!!

TerryKnott.blogspot.com said...

That is a lovely swirl quilting pattern and it is the perfect accent to your mom's piecing!

MissPat said...

Well, considering that she's your Mom, and knowing what we know about you and quilt projects, no one should be surprised that your Mom tackled a king size quilts as her first. Both the quilt and the quilting are beautiful and each enhances the other. Applause all the way around.
Pat

piecefulwendy said...

What a beauty, and her first quilt! Yay for your mom! Who wouldn't want to snuggle under that lovely quilt. I hope she makes many more quilts.

Ramona said...

Your mom really knows how to begin big! What a beautiful quilt she made and you quilted. Your design choice is perfect and really shows up nicely. I love all of the feathers.

Karin said...

Perfect choice of quilting design for that quilt. Love it!

Frédérique - Quilting Patchwork Appliqué said...

Your mom is very brave, a king size straight for the first quilt! Pretty fabrics, and your quilting is absolutely gorgeous!

Lynette said...

What a cool quilt to get to work on. Love the colors.

Marti said...

Kudos to your mom! I don't think the quilt is plain at all, but your quilting definitely raises it to a new level.

O'Quilts said...

no photo overload at all...You did a wonderful job!!

JustGail said...

Momma done Good! And such a nice selection of purples - it's so hard to find ones that don't go too far orchid or blue. And the quilting pattern you chose goes with it so well.

Home Sewn By Us said...

Hi Rebecca and Rebecca's Mom!! Just LOOK at those first two pictures. Fab, fab, FABULOUS. The quilting design was THE perfect choice and just look at how nice and straight the quilt is!! Nothing like going big or go home - a king-size quilt for your first solo project?!! I think you both did a spectacular job with this project. I would love to be able to feel and snuggle underneath this quilt. I'm so glad you shared the details about this wonderful quilt! Thanks so much for linking up this week. ~smile~ Roseanne

Quiltpiecer said...

Wow, so beautiful! It is fabulous!

Susie H said...

Beautiful job, Rebecca and Rebecca's mom. Perfectly balanced, the color's are fabulous, great job, ladies!

Alycia~Quiltygirl said...

I love it - Mom jumped right in - go big or go home right? It turned out so great and I know she will be happy with that awesome quilting

Nancy @ Grace and Peace Quilting said...

Wow factor--YES! Awesome quilt and quilting! I'll be recommending this pattern to a new quilter that I know. Such a simple yet beautiful quilt!

Lisa in Port Hope said...

I just love how the motif flows across the blocks. Well done! Thanks for joining up with TGIFF.

Jennifer Fulton Inquiring Quilter said...

Lovely thoughtful choices you've made for this quilt! I'm sure your mom is very happy and very proud. Thanks for sharing on Wednesday Wait Loss.

Andree G. Faubert said...

Hi Rebecca, your choice of pattern and thread was right on. You really did an amazing job. I'm sure that your client (MOM) will be thrilled. Thanks for linking up to Free Motion Mavericks. Take care.

dq said...

It is lovely! Great quilting as well on your part!