Friday, January 9, 2015

Finished My Swoon! Finished My Swoon!

Can you believe it?  I can not.  I had a look back through my blog to find my first Swoon post: I first joined Sarah's Swoonalong in June 2013.  I had my Denyse Schmidt fabrics pulled, the pattern in hand and a color coded plan ready to roll.


My first 5 blocks came together in August 2013 with the rest to follow in September and November.  I was on a roll....right?  That sashing was a mental block, but I came around eventually. It was April 2014 before I showed you a finished top.  I was DELIGHTED! 



I packed it up and sent it off to an Irish longarm quilter and waited...and waited...and waited...only for her to return it to me unquilted.  I threw it into a cabinet and shut the door.  I didn't even open the returned parcel I was so disgusted.  It sat there for nearly six months, ignored.

Finally in October, Liz Dunne and I started to work together to get this monster finished off.  I can not say enough about how wonderful Liz was to work with.  She offered ideas, listened to what I imagined, generated sketches and sent on photos and texts during the quilting process.  Wonderful.  I had my Swoon returned to me on Halloween day and finally bound as a 2014 finish in mid Dec.  What a long journey!  

Want to see it?


We took Swoon on a hike up Mullaghmore, Co Clare for a photo shoot on 27 Dec 2014.  It was a stunning day...and I had 2 men with me who were over 6 ft tall and could hold the quilt up no problem.  She's too tall for my clothes line, you see.  


The back was pieced Le Creme (with hot pink microdots) with a WOF strip of Farmgirl's Garden (by Joined at the Hip for Clothworks).  It was pretty straight-up as far as just piecing an off-center strip of my focus fabric within the Le Creme.  The back fabric color coordinated PERFECTLY with the DS prints I used on the front.  It's quite floral and romantic, which is not really me, but it works very nicely in this context.


At this point on our hike, the sun was starting to go down, so the quilt is a bit orange/pink tinted.  I couldn't stop taking photos, though.


The quilting by Liz was unique for each block.  The texture is incredible.  Liz used an Angela Walters swirl hook in the negative space, ribbon candy in the grey border, feathers in the gold borders, finger quilting in the exterior halo of the star with orange peels in the interior part of the star to give a flower-like effect.  The center of each star has a circular feather wreath.  All told, it's about 50 hours worth of quilting in this quilt.  


Thank you all for your continued encouragement through the long process of making this quilt.  This was a bit of a struggle at times, but now that she's finished I could not be happier.  I pet her every time I walk by, trace the quilting with my fingers and show her off to anyone who is polite enough to fake caring.  This quilt finish fills my heart with happiness and pride.

Quilt Stats:
Name: Swoon.  What else would it be?
Made for: Me. Me. Me.  It will live on my guest bed.
Fabric: Kona with Denyse Schmid fabrics on top.  Riley Blake Le Creme dot for the back with Clothworks "Farmgirl's Garden". Denyse Schmidt binding.
Thread: Pieced with 100% cotton Aurifil.  Quilted with So Fine pearl.
Batting: 100% Simply Cotton.
Size: 96x96 inches.  She's a whopper.
Quilting: Quilted by Liz Dunne. 
Pattern: Swoon by Thimble Blossoms, found here.



45 comments:

Tomomi McElwee said...

Yapee! You finished it! Lovely quilt and quilting is very nice! Cogratulations!!

patchworkdelights said...

Oh my goodness that is absolutely spectacular, you are motivating me to get my finger out and get moving with mine! Love love love the whole thing. Congrats on the beautiful finish!

memmens said...

Hooray! that is so blinking superb, the quilting is stunning, maybe it wasn't a bad thing that the original quilter didn't touch it! Are you going to take it off the guest bed when visitors come? ;-)

Sarah @ FairyFace Designs said...

So so SO beautiful! I love it. Fab job Cindy. Love what Liz did with the quilting, the whole thing is gorgeous.

pennydog said...

So glad the journey has reached a beautiful end :)

Sigrun said...

Congratulations, it's beautiful!!
Hm, maybe I should get with my bucketlist?!?

Rhonda the Rambler said...

She is A. MA. Zing!!!!! My Swoon is on this for this year. All 25 blocks I have some of the blocks quilted but yours is incredible, absolutely incredible. I want to be a guest at your house now all the more.

Canadian Abroad said...

Absolutely stunning. Love the border, quilting, everything. But it is huge! you may need a bigger bed.

Sarah said...

Such a beautiful finish, and so long-awaited. Such a shame the first quilter let you down so badly. Liz's work has redeemed that circumstance though. Definitely an heirloom quilt!

Sarah said...

Such a beautiful finish, and so long-awaited. Such a shame the first quilter let you down so badly. Liz's work has redeemed that circumstance though. Definitely an heirloom quilt!

Marjorie's Busy Corner said...

it turned out wonderfully..congrats!

Unknown said...

I am working up the courage to try a swoon quilt. I love yours!! It came out beautiful! I may give a practice run on the block soon to see if I can really do it. Lol

Lynz said...

BEAUTIFULBEAUTIFUL BEE-YOO-TEE-FOOOOL!! Worth it's painful birth, it's a stunner!

Leanne said...

This quilt is beautiful! I love the colours and the back and the quilting is fantastic! Is it on your bed now?

Penny Barnes said...

I'm getting ready to make some Swoons!! Sew excited....your is fabulous!!

Ruth said...

Looks beautiful in the evening light - Love Liz's quilting! You are motivating me to keep going on mine - only made 3 blocks so far!

Debby said...

Absolutely gorgeous!!!

MeliClo said...

Wowwww! She's gorrrrrgeous! Well done, Cindy!! :)

Wendy said...

well done on having a completed quilt, she's beautiful

Needled Mom said...

Beautiful!!!! Love the fabrics.

Sophie Belle Designs said...

Wow she's a beauty, worth the struggle. Well done to you both!

Deb@asimplelifequilts said...

This is so beautiful... sometimes projects have their own prickly path to the finish line which can make them all the more special! Enjoy it!

Teje Karjalainen said...

This is gorgeus, Cindy! Most beautiful! Sorry to hear about the quilting but now it looks fantastic! x teje

Annabella said...

Wow - I love this!! The border is complete genius and the quilting is stunning...oh and the back! Did I tell you I love it?? What was with the long arm quilter - how weird!

Judy said...

Congratulations on a wonderful finish!! I love the quilting against the unique fabrics-nice choices all around :-)

Judith, Belfast said...

I can totally see why you have happiness and pride for this quilt! It's totally stunning C! Very well done! Jxo

Kirsten said...

This is so beautiful Cindy - love all of the fabrics and the quilting is amazing!!!

tink's mom said...

Congratulations of the finish. So worth the wait (easy for me to say). It is beautiful.

Kathy@KayakQuilting said...

I can imagine what a wonderful feeling to have such a gorgeous finished quilt after all the effort and time invested! Congratulations on a beautiful finish! This one is still on my list!

Katy Cameron said...

*faints* Congrats on the finish, it looks fab :o)

Missy Shay said...

She is wonderful, how frustrating that must have been having to wait so long to get it quilted.

Vicki said...

She is a looker! Absolutely wonderful. Sometimes quilts just give us fits.

Kathy said...

Looks awesome. I have had my fabrics picked out for three years now for my swoon and have yet to start a block so congrats on a beautiful finish!!!

Catherine said...

What an amazing quilt, it looks fabulous. Glad that you were able to find a reliable and amazing quilter. No wonder you are thrilled with it

dutchcomfort said...

Congratulations on a wonderful finished SWOON! It’s a spectacular quilt and quilted so beautifully!

Nicky said...

Glad you found your match - look like Liz is a keeper! The Swoon is perfect tempted to sneak into your guest bedroom just to try it out!

Coser Tejer Crear said...

Oh Cindy it's so beautiful!!! Congrats on the finish! The quilting is just perfect! There was a reason why the first quilter didnt do it. This is amazing!
Also, I can go pay you a visit any time you want! (please, let me stay in the guest room!) lol

DeborahGun said...

what a beautiful finish - no wonder you can't stop gazing at it :)

Archie The Wonder Dog said...

Oh, wow! It's absolutely stunning! Bravo! *stands up and applauds* Well worth the wait!

P.S. The first quilter sent it back?!!

Sarah said...

so very happy for you! its lovely, of course!

Karen said...

What a beauty! Such a long journey and so worth it :)

Tina said...

Stunning!

Liz Dunne said...

Cindy, your fabric choices and your piecing were superb. Thank you for taking a chance on me. I just really wanted to do it justice and I am beyond happy that you liked the job I did. You were a pleasure to work with.

bee said...

wahoo! this pattern rocks in any fabric combos and looks amazing! It's such a great feeling to have it finished, yes? well done.

Catrin Lewis said...

I think that I can work out why the first quilter sent it back - she had it out waiting for inspiration to strike as to how to quilt her. Everyday she would look at the quilt and ask her "how am I going to quilt you?" And everyday the quilt would answer " I'm too beautiful for you. You'll never do me justice" in the end the quilter could take it no longer and had to get the quilt out of the house!

Luckily Liz doesn't seem to have the same lack of ability/worthy ness if the first quilter so it all worked out ok in the end.

Congratulations on a truly beautiful finish x

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