Monday, December 17, 2012

Giant Dahlia Quilted

 dahlia2

Here is my Giant Dahlia quilt finished, even the binding is on!!  The pattern is by Michelle Yeo Quilt Designs and included acrylic templates.  Here is a link to her shop.   My friend Desley sent me the pattern last January so we could both work on this quilt.  I know she is almost done piecing hers and has done a different layout with smaller Dahlia designs.  I’m looking forward to seeing how she quilts hers!

dahlia1

I used all Stonehenge fabrics for my quilt and added more background to the original pattern to make it larger.

dahlia3

I using a variety of techniques to quilt this quilt.  Free hand meandering feathers to fill the background, straight lines to create a leaf motif in each petal piece, curved ruler work in the lighter center petals and then added a secondary circle design in the second and fifth petals to echo the outer circle.  Seven thread changes of So Fine thread and I used Quilter’s Dream Blend batting.

dahlia4

When I was piecing this quilt I had trouble with the very center….where 16 seams intersect!  I’ll even share a picture. I couldn’t get all the seams to meet in the center, there was too much bulk no matter which way I pressed it.

dahlia5

So I decided to appliqué a circle of the same fabric over top to be the center of the Dahlia, then I trimmed off the bulk from the center under the appliqué.

dahlia7

Hard to believe December is half over but I’ve put a good dent into my UFO’s.  I just loaded my Judy Nieymeyer’s Island Sunrise quilt and hope to finish that one by Friday before the boys start their two week xmas break.

 dahlia8

30 comments:

  1. Your dahlia is absolutely gorgeous. I like the way you quilted the petals. Love your colors, and the snow is beautiful. We are still having temps in the 60's.

    Judy

    ReplyDelete
  2. Wow, your dahlia quilt is just stunning! A real work of art, I just love the colors and of course your beautiful quilting.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Another beautiful quilt! Great way to solve the issue with your centre - and thanks for sharing. I think it is actually nicer making the centre more focal.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I made a quilt of a different pattern where I couldn't get the seams to intersect right and I did the same thing - add that circle in the middle and it is fixed!!
    your quilt looks great!!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Beautiful quilt, you've done a great job on the quilting too! What a great idea for the centre points!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Fab piecing, excellent save on the centre piecing, and fantastic freehand feathers.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Wonderful Kathy, I believe the centre looks better with applique, gives the eye somewhere to rest....I love that you are so busy doing your own thing....me, I'm working my day job, can't get caught up no ho, no way...lol....Merry Christmas Kathy!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Gorgeous! This quilt looks amazing on your bed. I love how you quilted it too. Great work, Kathy.

    ReplyDelete
  9. That is just gorgeous! I like the idea of the applique centre, they can be so tricky with so much fabric! Nice work :)

    ReplyDelete
  10. It looks great on your bed. Love the circles.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Absolutely stunning!! Kathy, I *love* this. :D Very nice work-around for the center.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Nice job my friend! I like how you broke up the quilting with the circle through some of the petals. Adds interest.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Beautiful! I love the color combination.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Wow , another gorgeous quilt and very clever way to deal with the bulk in the centre .

    ReplyDelete
  15. Oh my gosh! I'm going to do that to my dahlia quilt! Brilliant idea and I was having he same issues:) I'm so glad you blogged about this and I love how you did your quilting!
    LauraT

    ReplyDelete
  16. That's incredibly beautiful, and the quilting looks wonderful - great job!

    ReplyDelete
  17. I love the dahlia quilt, always meant to make on but have never quite got to it! great solution for all those intersecting seams, too.

    ReplyDelete
  18. Everything about this quilt is nicely done!

    ReplyDelete
  19. Kathy, Love your Dahlia Quilt! Great colors too! I haven't been online much this year....extremely crazy work year! Hoping 2013 is a better year; miss the quilting! Love your Blog!!
    Hope you and your family have a Happy Holiday.

    Liam (APQS Forum)

    ReplyDelete
  20. Kathy, that Dahlia quilt is so pretty! LOVE IT! Thanks for sharing! Great lines on the inside and beautiful feathers all around! Thanks for sharing!

    ReplyDelete
  21. The color combination is beautiful in this dahlia! I love the quilting detail.

    ReplyDelete
  22. Absolutely beautiful. I love the colors you used. Where did you find
    the pattern . That is amazing perfection in all areas....WOW.

    ReplyDelete
  23. OMG I absolutely love your Dahlia. Beautiful quilt, lovely colors, perfect free-motion quilting.

    QuiltShopGal
    www.quiltshopgal.com

    ReplyDelete
  24. Is there a pattern or PDF for this?

    ReplyDelete
  25. Gorgeous! I would love to get the pattern. Do you have it for sale?

    ReplyDelete