Wednesday, April 18, 2018

Postcards From Ikea finish



Ta da! Here is my finished quilt from Sandra's Quilt Along. I feel that I can post it guilt-free now that the QAL is ending. The truth is that I hung it on our bedroom wall on February 22nd. What can I say? I was really motivated to fill that dark wood wall with something bright and cheery.



I'm calling my version of the Postcards from Sweden pattern Postcards From Ikea: enough like Sweden for the average American. The original pattern uses Kona solid fabrics, but I chose similar colors from my stash. Most of them are blenders, so the look is a bit different. I also reduced the size of the blocks so the final quilt would fit the wall space.



The backing is this super fun, big dinosaur print. It was part of a very large and generous batch of fabrics given to me by DH's aunt. It's a bit thicker and stiffer than quilting cotton, so it works well for a wall hanging like this.

PFI is quilted in straight lines using my walking foot. I chose several places to start quilting a small square, then echoed out with a spacing of roughly an inch. When the echoes encountered each other, I veered out toward the edge. The result is nicely geometric, but not terribly rigid. Because the quilting lines cross all those 45 degree triangles, the lack of consistent spacing is lost in all the angles and colors. That's how I like my quilting: lookin' good without workin' hard.



Occasionally, a patch of sun comes in our small portlights and moves across the quilt. The texture is really yummy, even though the piece has not been washed and dried.



The binding is one of the darker colors from the piecing, a deep burgundy that I used as the pattern's color #23, Cerise. Did anyone get to the point where you just knew the colors based on their numbers? "Oh, another #10, my cross hatched peach. 31 is the pink with big polka dots..."



I like this outtake photo that shows our ensign blowing straight out in the wind. You can see why I use the strong clip on the left to hold the quilt onto the chair. Sean just took our long handled net back to the restaurant where we ate last night, to recover his sunglasses that blew off the table into the water. I really don't want to do that with a quilt! The water might be a gorgeous color, but it isn't very clean in the marina.

I really enjoyed making this quilt and love seeing it every day. A big thank you to Sandra for hosting the quilt along! She has forgiven me for turning it into a Quilt Ahead At Breakneck Speed, and I truly appreciate that. I've already started on her next one!

36 comments:

  1. Wow, it is gorgeous, really brightens up the wall! The quilting looks great and it's wonderful that it isn't hard to do.

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  2. I would seeing it every day too!! Just love how bright and happy it is! Okay....love even more that dinosaur backing!! J E A L O U S. LOL!! Always enjoy seeing what you are up to. :)

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  3. Oh Louise, it's so STUNNING! All those bright colors together are just amazing, they glow like jewels. The geometric quilting is perfect for this quilt, so bravo!

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  4. I love a good splash of color.....but not in the water:) It is a beauty and looks wonderful on the wall. I think it really glows.

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  5. Beautiful! I think you did a really good job matching the Kona Fabrics with ones from your stash. And the title cracks me up :-)

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  6. It's beautiful as a wall hanging. I like the quilting and the slight differences with the blenders from your stash.

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  7. Love the quilt... very happy and perfect above your bed.... clever with the quilting too... it adds a dimension...
    Hugz

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  8. You're such a hoot! and so clever with the quilting! I'm going to have to 'work hard' because what I did (mostly wavy lines with added zip) was just eyeballed as I went, and pulled it off, and there's one little-bit-too-large-so-it-bugs-me gap that I'll go back and make one last pass but with the Bernina, not the longarm. And of YES! I thought I'd be the only cray-cray person who was YES! Cerise 23 (one of the first ones I just knew and 10 Dusty Peach was another early one I just knew too! 13 Chartreuse, 22 Thistle (let me check...snort! yup, even after finishing it a few days ago I still know a few by heart. Thank you for joining in with us and for your tips along the way too! :-)

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  9. What a beauty! Love that you used your stash to make this and it looks great up on the wall. I hope Sean had luck retrieving his sunglasses!

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  10. Looks so great! The quilting idea is brilliant, so I may well copy/ imitate (you know the phrase about imitation being the sincerest form of flattery?). The burgundy binding works really well.

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  11. You have the best photos of the quilt, perfect against in the boat and on your deck. BTW, I happened to be reading your post because I sort of mentioned you in my latest post and believe me I can understand you anchoring your quilt on the chair--the wind is not too kind when it involves photographing quilts. And yes, I agree about remembering the numbers, #14 Lime Green, my favorite color and unfortunately not too many of them.

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  12. If I recall correctly, #10 is peach. I'm not a fan of peach, and there was more peach than I liked. However, I did see how it played a role in the liveliness of the quilt. I still don't like peach. Your quilt is lovely! I'm glad you clamped it to the chair. It would be a sad day to have that beauty splash into the water!

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  13. You’re too funny! Your quilt came out beautifully! Love the pictures. Is it always windy there?

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  14. Fantastic finish - love the variety of fabrics, too - more interesting than just solids!

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  15. Sew pretty! Lovely photos. I love how it looks on your wall! Great idea in using blenders from stash.

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  16. It is really beautiful and adds such a great pop of color in your room.

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  17. Beautiful splash of color for your room. Nothing like some color to lift a mood too.

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  18. That's just gorgeous, and perfect to hang on that wall! I like the quilting, too! It was fun to see a version of the quilt done in prints - your fabrics give it some added depth and texture.

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  19. Love all the bright colors you work with. That latest quilt is a real beauty on your bedroom wall. Would I ever think of putting dinosaur print on the back of a quilt like that? NO!
    Wish I was brave and could think more "out of the box". Love, love your work & stories.

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  20. Hi Louise, your wallhanging looks great!

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  21. Great version of the quilt and it works so well with your blenders too. Love your outake pic, I'm impressed at your bravery taking it it in the strong breeze. I'm glad you are keeping this one, looks wonderful on your wall.

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  22. Your post always make me smile. Love this quilt! All the colors and scrappy goodness �� just perfection. Thanks for the quilting idea.

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  23. Hi Louise,
    Oh what a beautiful finish! It looks so lovely on the wall with that bit of sun shining on it. I also love your quilting - just perfect all around.
    ~smile~ Roseanne

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  24. Love love love your Postcards quilt!

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  25. Bright and cheery! I am not modern enough to do a quilt with all solids, so I love your variation. Maybe if I use up ALL my stash first, I will try to do something that is all solids......

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  26. So pretty on your bedroom wall! I love the Postcard quilts—but it’s always fun to see a version with a different spin. Yours looks typical from far—but looming in to see the patterns in the fabric is a neat surprise. What size HSTs did you use to reduce the size?

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  27. Oh Louise, you insert a little of your zany personality into everything you make! I LOVE THIS! There isn't much of what you make that I don't love, to be honest. YUMMY YUMMY COLOR!

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  28. Congrats on a gorgeous finish! It looks perfect hanging on that dark wood wall.

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  29. Brilliant quilting plan! And, your tone on tone fabrics make it much more interesting! Beautiful finish and destination!

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  30. Love, love, LOVE your version!!! I had the same thought...make it smaller so it can be a wall hanging. Great work!

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  31. GORGEOUS! I love your colors. I seem to be doing more novel reading and less blog reading. Or maybe I've got my nose to the grindstone in the studio? Nah... not so much. I need to go over and see what Sandra's doing next.

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  32. Congratulations on your stunning quilt Louise - I love it!!! Superb title too.

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  33. Your postcard quilt is so fun and bright for your boat, perfect for all the tropical places you are going!

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  34. Congratulations on a fabulous finish. You must be so proud of this one!!!

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  35. Nice finish! That really is the perfect quilt to brighten up that wall. I have a quilt that has been basted and waiting for quilting inspiration for a while. I think I'm going to use your idea on it. The sunshine shot is cool. Love when that happens!

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  36. Beautiful! Love the dino print! It could be a quilt all on it's own.

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