Thursday, April 14, 2016

Never Say Never . . .

I've finished my Picking Petals Medallion Quilt.  

For the center I started with Taunja's Picking Petals pattern.  (Available here)

I made  mine bigger and added more squares to the center block.


Then I added this pink and green border.  So far so good.


Next I added this red border, which I really like, but think it overpowers the rest of the quilt.  I should have added more red prints that had different colors in them, to tone down the red some.


After that I added a row of geese, big geese, 4" x 8" geese.

Now my quilt is 72" x 72", my favorite size.  But I don't think it looks done and the red is still bugging me.


 I decide to add some stripy Friendship Star blocks from the Sister Sampler Quilts book.  I made a 9" block first, but thought it wasn't big enough, the petal blocks in the center were big, so I thought the outer blocks needed the same look, I went with the 12" block.


I selected blue middles in the stars to pull out the blue border in the center and stayed with the scrappy theme, just like the center square, for the star points.

Which I think finished things off nicely.  


There's a lot to take in when you look at this quilt, but I think that last border helped with the red, my eyes are drawn more to the outer border and less on the red middle.  I'm also planning to use red binding which I think will help even things out. (fingers crossed)

This is Lifetime Quilt Number 176
The center pattern is Picking Petals by Carried Away Quilting
The fabric is all Bonnie and Camille for Moda, mostly Hello Darling.
It finished at 96" x 96"
It has approximately 1,944 pieces.

Making a medallion quilt was one of my 2016 Goals.  I'm very happy with how this turned out and enjoyed piecing every block.  I particularly love the center block, and if I didn't have so many other quilts that I wanted to make, I would make another medallion quilt using that center but go with different borders, I think the possibilities are endless.

Last year I blogged about being out of the kingsize quilt business, well this top finished kingsize, but that's just the way it was supposed to be.

20 comments:

  1. What a lovely quilt! It's one of my favorites of yours! Good job!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Oh, sew very pretty! A red binding will be perfect!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Gorgeous! Adding the final border definitely made a difference. Wow...so many pieces.

    ReplyDelete
  4. This is terrific and I do think that outer border toned down the red. A touch of red binding and it is all married together. One to be loved for years to come.

    ReplyDelete
  5. This quilt turned out to be just lovely, Thelma. That outermost border is inspired and really holds it all together. Bravo!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Very cheery and fun! Each border adds to it. Your outer border is definitely an impressive inspiration! Lovely work and design process. The red border is going to be perfect!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Thelma - I am still in shock at the sheer number of string blocks you had to make to complete that 12" border with the string friendship stars. You are amazing!!! Love this quilt!

    ReplyDelete
  8. That last border was an inspired decision! It makes a great finish for the quilt.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Thelma, you nailed it! That last border was just what it needed. What a beauty!!

    ReplyDelete
  10. I see a bright, summertime picnic quilt when I look at your latest finish. Reminds me of taking my babies to the park and just laying out under the trees and sunshine.

    ReplyDelete
  11. It's such a beautiful quilt and the last border is just perfect!

    ReplyDelete
  12. The last border is perfect for this quilt ! Just a beautiful quilt Thelma !

    ReplyDelete
  13. I'm completely in love with this quilt! It's so beautiful! Great job! :)

    ReplyDelete
  14. It is beautiful. All the borders go so well together.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Great job on the outer border. It works perfectly and also makes the geese border stand out, somehow balancing the red - and it all looks wonderful. You have an amazing eye!

    ReplyDelete
  16. Great job on the outer border. It works perfectly and also makes the geese border stand out, somehow balancing the red - and it all looks wonderful. You have an amazing eye!

    ReplyDelete
  17. I love it. You really got 'carried away' here! Amazing!

    ReplyDelete
  18. Nicely done, Thelma. It's such fun to watch your quilts come together.

    ReplyDelete
  19. I love this pattern and the fabrics that you've chosen!

    ReplyDelete

I try to respond to all my comments but sometimes I just don't get the job done. Please know that I am reading your comments and appreciate you taking the time to add a little of yourself to my blog.