Saturday 13 October 2012

A totally groovy finish

Eeeeep! Groove is finished! In time for the QAL no less. I am a little in shock that it's actually finished (I have a really terrible history with QALs).

This is a long and very photo heavy post - you have been warned ;o)

This quilt began when I bought Emily Cier's Groove pattern just after it was released - it was instant love. So when Alyssa at Pile o' Fabric announced the Totally Groovy QAL a few months ago it was the motivation I needed to make a Groove. Long story short, I'd had a few yards of this in my stash for a looong time:


Perfect backing for Groove. I grabbed my Kona colour card and matched Kona Black, Chartreuse, Willow, White and Azure for the five colours. Once I had the fabric at hand I used my Aurifil cotton mako colour chart and matched the thread colours as best I could. They're pretty spot on apart from the Willow - but I'm pretty happy with how it looks.


Fabric from The Fat Quarter Shop, all Aurifil Thread from Always Quilting


I chose a different quilting motif for each colour and went for it - some of the motifs I'd done before (echo shells, pebbles) but the others were new to me. There is a bit of a difference if you look at where I started the azure section compared to what it looked like later in the quilting - but I'm too impatient to practice, so I'm okay with it :o)

It's taken the last 5 weeks or so to quilt it (a few hours at a time) and I have enjoyed every second. I have learnt so, so much while quilting this quilt - and it's given me loads of ideas for how to quilt some of my WIPs.

I didn't have quite enough of the print for the back, so one corner is azure (I was way too impatient to start quilting to do a proper pieced back.)


But I matched my bobbin thread to the top thread for all the quilting, so that azure section shows a glimpse of the quilting on the back.





These first few are taken in our springtime garden.


On our balcony:


We went to our local botanical gardens today - so the quilt came along for a few (hundred) photos. Our botanical garden is one of the oldest in Australia, so it has some pretty good photo spots.



These are my favorites - I love, love this wall.




If you're still here, well done ;o). Thanks for all your lovely comments along the way with this one - they really motivated me to keep going.

Hope everyone who is not at SS is having a great weekend - and grudgingly I hope the rest of you are having a brilliant time too ;o)

xx Jess

50 comments:

Heather D. said...

Amazing, spectacular, stunning...there are many words to describe this quilt. I love it so so much. You have MUCH to be proud of. Love the photos as well, in particular the one in your springtime garden.

Dianne Neale said...

I fell in love with the straight away. - it is so me! And it has turned out brilliantly. Your quilting is amazing. This is definitely on my to do list.
Well done.

Leanne said...

I just love how you quilted this one. I am totally inspired to make a similar kind of quilt with long patches of different colours to do different kinds of quilting in them. This quilt is just stunning!

mumasu said...

WOW!! This is fantastic

Catherine said...

Oh wow, this is so amazing Jess, well done. And the different quilting is fabulous

Lucy | Charm About You said...

Jess it is incredible! The pictures are beautiful. I adore the colours you chose and the quilting is superb!

Charlotte said...

that is so spectacular!!!!! I am so impressed with your skillz!

MalinisQuilts said...

Congratulations on the quilt completion.

Love love love your quilt. Colors are just awesome and your backing is totally fabulous.

Awesome job with FMQ.

Ali said...

oh Geesh! Your photography is excellent, I hope my poor photography skills will keep anybody from seeing my lackluster FMQ on my Totatally groovy I just finished today!

Seriously the quilting is beautiful, it turned out really nicely! I love your impatience too :)

Finding Fifth said...

Cheers and whistles from me Jess. It totally rocks.

Benta AtSLIKstitches said...

That quilt is heart stoppingly gorgeous! Well done :-)

Waverlee said...

Wow. That is just fabulous!

Litamora's Quilt & Design said...

Such a gorgeous quilt! Your quilting looks stunning too!

giddy99 said...

It's beautiful and completely perfect. Stunning!

Melinda said...

Are you in love?! I think I might be. :) It's beautiful!

Toni said...

This is incredible! I wouldn't blame you if you had taken a thousand pictures. So beautiful, and the quilting is spectacular! Well done!

Laura T said...

Love the colors and quilting- well done! Found you by way of Aurifil on Facebook.
LauraT in WA state

Pile O Fabric said...

This is so amazing…I am not a very FMQ savvy person and you have encouraged me to just go for it. I am a little worried though since I am the host and only starting the quilting today :) ut oh haha Thanks so much for the inspiration and the push I needed!

Captain StitchyPants said...

What a wonderful quilt! I love the backing fabric, and the front is a perfect complement - the pattern and the colours. Gorgeous!

MC said...

Beautiful finish, I love your FMQ!!! (especially the design in the willow section) The backing fabric is a great find as well.

Judging by the time it took you to quilt this, my queen size Groove is probably many months from completion...

Newbie Jen said...

So awesome! Fantastic finish! And INSPIRING!

Kelly said...

That is a work of art - absolutely stunning!

Kim said...

Beautiful job! Love the FMQ you did. I am still piecing mine but seeing yours is inspiring me to get moving :)

moira said...

flipping heck, that is so utterly cool and amazing that I'm off for a wee lie down #inawe

felicity said...

Alex Veronelli from Aurifil tweeted a link to this post. I'm so glad he did - I am in awe of this gorgeous finish. Congratulations. (And you're my no-practice, too impatient to get started twinsie! :))

Kirsten said...

Groovy baby!!! Absolutely gorgeous quilt Jess - your quilting is stunning!

Jess @ Scrappy n Happy said...

It looks awesome Jess! The willow works really well!

Janine @ Rainbow Hare said...

This is just brilliant! The colours are fab and your quilting is amazing :)

Anonymous said...

What a great quilt! I love the way you have used the colours.

Anonymous said...

This is such an impressive piece to me! I love everything about it!! Beautiful and indeed groovy!!!

Chez Roo said...

The quilting on this is so so beautiful!

Jenelle said...

This is just stunning! I aspire to get this good at FMQing someday. :) Thanks for sharing your thread choices too. It's nice to see how the spool color translates to the fabric.

Kelsey said...

STUNNING!! Love everything about it :) The colors, the quilting, the backing - all amazing!

Teresa Silva said...

This is amazing. I absolutely love everything about it including your color choices in fabric, quilting (out of this world), and backing fabric. All perfect for this quilt. This will be on my bucket list to make in the future. Thanks for sharing it!

Jennifer said...

WOW - this is absolutely AMAZING. kudos to you for seeing it through! The quilting is stunning, the colors, seriously jess, amazing!

Helen in the UK said...

Was searching for modern quilt inspiration on flicker and found this quilt - WOW!! This is gorgeous. Love the pattern, the colours you chose and the quilting you did. Awesome :)

Mary said...

Wow! Love this quilt!

Mary on Lake Pulaski said...

Didn't really think Groove was my thing UNTIL I came across yours! It is amazing - the colors are the perfect choice and awesome quilting!

hafza said...

Wow... this is lovely!

Deonn said...

Oh, my goodness! Wow! I love the fabric that inspired your color combination... what a cool, groovy quilt! And as we are just going in to Fall here, your quilt is so inviting in all the Spring settings...lovely! Terrific quilting, also. Beautiful.

Katy Cameron said...

Oh it looks absolutely fabulous now it's done, and I'm still in awe at all that quilting!

Patti said...

I feel like I've said this a millions times, but I completely adore your quilt! Beautiful finish and the quilting is spectacular!

Cascade Quilts said...

yours is my favorite of the groove quilts so far! Maybe on the azure backing, you could do the label? Maybe even applique ''Groove'' (in groovy letters of course) in that section for the name of the quilt :) Fabulously groovy job you did though, LOVE it!

Denise said...

Amazing!!! So very beautiful'

Alyce @ Blossom Heart Quilts said...

TOP 10!!! YAY!!! Just voted for you!!

Newbie Jen said...

Oh, Jess! I am so happy you were chosen as a finalist! Congratulations!!!!

Elle said...

Wow! That turned out so great!

Brandy Lynn Simmons said...

I am so in love with this quilt. You did such a great job!! I love the colors!!!

Iesia said...

I love your quilt! Sublime is the first word to come to mind.

Kelly said...

I love the lines in this quilt! So well made! What a great matching job on the thread color, too! I love this quilt and I've pinned it to my "Quilty Goodness" board on Pinterest (with proper credit, of course!). Feel free to follow me if you'd like: http://pinterest.com/lipglass/quilty-goodness/