Sunday 10 February 2013

A favourite finish

I have a new favourite.

This one.


Some of you may remember that I asked back here for advice on how to join all the individual blocks. I received lots of differing advice for which I am extremely grateful

And I ignored it all.

Because all the advice got me thinking about possibilities that I'd never though of before. I knew I wanted the whole quilt to be made from just the one shape.


Each piece was individually cut, with the original inspiration coming from the book Material Obsession II.



It's been my main portable hand sewing project for the last 18 months and it just grew and grew as I made more blocks than the patterns in the book had. So that got me thinking about the possibilities of making the whole quilt from just the one shape. And then I thought 'borders.' It needs a border. But when I'd finished the first border it didn't seem to have the right balance so I carried on and did a second one.

Am I allowed to say I LOVE IT?
Because I do.



It is completely my kind of favourite quilt: a scrappy riot of colour where you notice the colours and patterns rather than it being 'this designer line' or 'that designer line'. These types of quilts are the best for hiding past dodgy fabric purchases. Indeed, this quilt disguises a number of dated and ugly fabrics very well.

I have seen this block on quilty internetland paper pieced but (imo) it's just as doable this way and you can skip the paper template part completely.



You may also remember that when I asked for help last time, I said as an incentive to reply, I'd send some scraps your way. I didn't.
So, if you're still interested, leave a comment and I'll pick someone to help reduce the level of my scrap bin.



Off to start hand quilting this one now.

71 comments:

  1. This is absolutely beautiful! I love the solution you found to your layout problem, and the borders are perfect. Your scraps would be very welcome, but getting to see your lovely quilts is enough!

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  2. Ok, I am in love with your quilt, you are the master of this kind of scrappy riot that still does not make my head spin. You have just the right balance here. I did not clue in to the fact that it was just the one shape for the whole quilt but now that I look I totally see it. I am going to get my book out and take another at the pattern. It truly should be your new favourite, it is stunning.

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  3. WOw. That quilt is spectacular! I'd never have thought about doing it without the paper templates. So, did you just hand sew the seams instead of whipstitching two EPP'd pieces together? I'd love scraps, but I also agree with Adrianne about being happy just to see the quilt.

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  4. Wow...that is just brilliant - its so interesting how what stands out in any given block is so dependent on print choices, this is one of those quilts you probably wouldn't ever get tired of looking at. Great use of fussy cuts, and its the funnest border I've ever seen. Uh...going to pin this but...just to look at it sometimes and wish I was braver ;)

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  5. Beautiful quilt...gorgeous colors...what a delicious way to use scraps...if you are destashing scraps I would love to receive some...

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  6. Oh my! this is such an inspiring and exciting quilt top.
    I can't wait to see it finished. It is going to be utterly beautiful.
    I love other people's scraps, so I'd like to throw my name in the hat for those please.
    xxxx

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  7. Absolutely stunning!!! Each block looks so different, but so cohesive at the same time. What a treasure! Thanks for the chance at the scraps - my favorite thing in the quilting world!

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  8. Absolutely brilliant. You should be justifiably proud. Such a lot of work has gone into this and I love the way you joined them up. Inspired and perfect.

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  9. No wonder you love it, it really is a stunner. Love the scrappy look, and I think you really have mastered the placement and design well. It'll be a long time before you grow bored with this beauty.

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  10. SO GLAD you ignored it all. It's just fabulous-----again! You amaze me.

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  11. Gorgeous! And wow, 18 months of work, it shows your determination. I started on that same quilt from the book, but made just one block so far...

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  12. I didn't weigh in before, but I will now! I would love to be gifted with some of your gorgeous scraps. If they're anything like your quilts, I'd be in heaven! Thanks for the chance!

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  13. Oooh, WOW! Just beautiful! And I love your border solution! It is gorgeous. This is absolutely my kind of quilt, too.

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  14. be still my heart. it's breathtaking. you are tied with 'molly flanders' (mary) for my favorite quilter.

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  15. Oh my goodness, it is absolutely stunning. Love, love, love!

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  16. I honestly don't think I have seen a more beautiful quilt. The borders are fabulous and set the quilt off to perfection. Congratulations! Linda on travjonuk@ yahoo.com

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  17. I love your new quilt, and I'm happy to see someone else piecing by hand! It is gorgeous!

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  18. Brilliant idea to stick to the one shape - it just feels so cohesive that way! (No scraps for me please - I think I have enough :))

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  19. It's stunning!! I'm teaching 3 groups of 14-year-old girls how to do EPP this month using this basic block (but with a hexie centre, then hexie thirds and kites sub-cut from that shape)...it's such a lovely design, and *so* interesting when made solely of kites as you did. What an accomplishment!

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  20. this is gorgeous!! I'm making a similar one.. but by hand.. sooooo slow. ugh haha

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  21. This is AMAZING! I think you did right to ignore all of us. :) The border is perfect!
    No scraps needed here! :)

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    1. What are you doing logged in so my comments publish under your name?!?! Alison is my quilty friend! ;)

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  22. this is just glorious. It makes perfect scrappy sense. genius!

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  23. Your quilt top is amazing! I am in the process of finishing mine- in fact I put a post up last week about it! (Mine is EPP and much smaller than yours.) I also think seeing this is just reward in itself! The border is beautiful too!

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  24. you're definitely allowed to say you love it! I love it too! Especially that double border! You're making me want to get back to EPP with a vengeance! And I'd love some of your scraps, but I love the inspiration more!

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  25. Genius! I've been thinking about your quilt a lot.
    I keep marching on with my blocks...this is insanely inspirational to me!
    The border is perfect. I find I have cut loads of kites that haven't made the cut for one reason or another

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  26. Allison, I can see why this is your new favorite. You have the riot of color style down! I love very one of your quilts very much. I am so glad you have your blog and share them with us.

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  27. This quilt is really amazing. I am in awe of the amount of work that went into this quilt, and I hope that someday I could do something like it!

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  28. It is a beautiful quilt! I love that you pieced it in your own way and I completely agree that using up new fabrics mixed with old ones is a wonderful way to use up the uglies.:) Congrats on an amazing job.

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  29. Utterly amazing!! It pains me to say it, but you are a genius!

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  30. This is amazing! Love ow you used your scraps!

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  31. another seriously amazing and beautiful creation! I can't wait to see it quilted!

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  32. Absolutely brilliant! What a gift for the eyes! Please, share with us when you get it quilted!

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  33. Hand sewn and soon to be hand quilted: Petje af!
    For patience!
    For getting your scraps together and making this absolutely beautiful monster (I mean BIG) of a quilt.
    I love it!
    It takes a wise woman to ignore all advice and go your own way: WELL DONE
    And sometimes advice only tells you what you DO NOT want.

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  34. of course you are allowed to say you LOVE it ... and rightly so x I LOVE the material obsession books too x so you can say you LOVE those as well xx

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  35. You are allowed to love it as it's amazing Alison! Yes it may hide dodgy scraps but it is also a reminder of all your favourite ones too. I love scrappy quilts.

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  36. Beautiful!!!!!!
    I love the borders too......I will finish mine one day.

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  37. It's incredible! I hadn't realised it was made from just one shape so I've been looking intently at the block construction and saying 'There it is! And there it is again!' - you clever thing! I love the mix of fabrics you've used and can't wait to see how you plan to quilt it but I know it's going to be a clever choice! Your own admiration and love is rightly deserved!

    P.S. 'Yes, please!', to scraps!

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  38. I particularly like the border but the whole quilt is amazing. Yes please to scraps.

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  39. Seriously, that is one abso-freaking-lutely gorgeous, amazing quilt. I need to get in my iPad so I can stick my face close up to the pictures to ogle with ease. Seriously, wow. I can't wait to see what way you hand quilt it. Thanks for the inspiration--I am suitably disgusted with myself that I've been working on the same paper pieced quilt for 3 years and it's still a WIP.

    Thanks for the offer for the scraps--I'd love a chance to get them!

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  40. What a gorgeous quilt! Honestly, if anything could persuade me to try hand piecing, this is it! I'd like to have a portable project. I looked for the shapes in there, and was amazed to find them, no paper? BTW, I looove scraps, and yours would be awesome!

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  41. This is amazing!! I have to say, I usually stick my nose up at borders but I just might have to borrow this double border idea of yours... Beautiful ;)

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  42. Oh wow wow wow! This is incredible-- I can't believe you HAND pieced this! You are the queen of hand stitching and quilting! This is really gorgeous.

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  43. Double border - you have just started the next quilting blogland craze. The quilt top is amazing by the way!!

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  44. This is gorgeous and the border is the best ever. I can see why it is your new favourite! (and don't send me your scraps, mine are reproducing on their own!!)

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  45. Oh my... this is really amazing and gorgeous! A WOW quilt for sure.

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  46. WOW!!! I love how this has turned out. Each time I look at it I see something I hadn't noticed before. Hope it doesn't take another 18 months to quilt ;)

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  47. You're killing me!!! I'm crazy for that pattern and to see it was done entirely by hand is a huge inspiration (I love hand work). I'm hot and heavy in the middle of "Gypsy Kisses" from the same book and am on fire with how much I am loving it. Congratulations on your beautiful top. Well done!

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  48. Ivana
    big WOW I just love your work anyway, but this one is fabulous
    and thank you for your generous offer
    ivana.tvrdonova@post.cz

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  49. I can see why this is your favorite Alison, it's stunning! Love how you've used the same shape throughout the quilt and the borders.

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  50. Absolutely gorgeous! I bought the template too, ages ago, but have never used it. Looking at your quilt makes me want to take it out and start to a quilt right away!

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  51. I sit here gasping and "Wow"ing like crazy. That is by far the most beautiful quilt I've ever seen! I can't believe all the work and love you put into making this piece of art. I am bookmarking your blog as one of my favorites; I'm looking forward to following you from now on. Congratulations on making this amazing quilt!!

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  52. What a gorgeous quilt! How cool to have something on hand to do by hand. That's awesome!

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  53. Your quilt is just awesome, so your scraps must be too!

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  54. Absolutely dazzling! And weren't you brilliant to think up that border, a perfect ending for all that dancing color. I always like to have a "by hand" project or two avaialble, so soothing.

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  55. Absolutely beautiful! How long did it take you to make that quilt?

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  56. Whoa. This top looks awesome! I love your borders. I'm doing the EPP version with some other hexagon parts and not just the kite shapes. This is awesome. I'm so excited about your quilt!

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  57. That is a gorgeous.gorgeous quilt. I think the only way I would tackle something like that would be paper-piecing. Well done!!

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  58. Totally gorgeous! Making a slow EPP version. May never get this big! I am so with you on scrappy quilts - think they are so much more interesting to make and look at and you can hide a few uglies easily - gotta love that! Believe me I have so many!

    Well done Alison and say you LOVE it with pride!

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  59. No wonder its your new favourite! Its awesome!!

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  60. I just love this, especially your borders!!!( and ignoring all the advice !)

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  61. Hi, i found your blog today and a must say you made some beautiful quilts!
    My favourite is the top below, it's so fresh and pretty and i really love it. Such a nice design and the border is great.
    Greetings from Germany, Marle

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  62. Just ran across your blog for the first time, and your quilts are amazing! I love the INSANE amount of colors and scraps in each one, especially the one in this post. Never would have thought of doing the double border--usually when I come to the border I just want to finish the quilt. So this was a total inspiration.

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  63. Love the double border. Beautiful quilt

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  64. Amazing! The borders tell the story of your faithfulness to the One Piece quilt. Stunning, just stunning. Congratulations!

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  65. Trying to figure out how you did this if not EPP? Do you mean you hand sewed them a quarter inch just by your eye? Beautiful quilt!

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