Wednesday, December 12, 2012

Jewel Box Quilt

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I am so excited to have finished my Jewel box quilt and be able to share pictures with you.  The blocks in this quilt were my President Blocks made by our guild members and given to me when my turn as guild president was over. So this quilt is very special to me and I will be using it on my bed!!

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I had shown this as a quilt top here last month and was unhappy with my choice in border fabrics. So I found a dark brown and blue batik in my stash and had JUST enough to make it work.   I’m must happier with this chose of fabric and glad I cut the blue one off.  Yes I just cut off the seam allowance instead of ripping. It made the medium blue inner border smaller but that was okay, it was too big anyway!  :)

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I wanted to custom quilt this one but not go crazy with it as I like light custom on my quilts, that just my personal taste.

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I used a few different color threads.  Brown So Fine in the outer border and dark batiks in the body of the quilt.  Matched blues in the two inner borders and used off white in the background.   Light beige  Bottom Line for the back to give a whole-cloth look.  I was really surprised how great the back turned out, I might even use it this way too!  The backing fabric is extra wide Stonehenge.

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I CC’d the dark batik squares and then added another curve along both side in the background to create the pumpkin seed design you see on the back.  I debated about added another curve to those little background triangles and even stitched a few out but knew right away that was the wrong way to go. It took away from the straight lines framing the larger Quarter Square Triangles.   I’m glad I tried those or I would still be wondering.

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It then took me awhile to decide on what to do in the empty frames around the QST’s that I created with the single row of quilting to divide up the background.  I had done small loops in the middle border already so tried more of those and really liked how they looks.  Making these decisions can drive me crazy sometime…but in a good way as it make me think!   :)

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Did my favourite Echo Curved border, you can find my tutorial on that design here.

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I swept the ice off to get a few pictures….love this one with the cracks!  I named that crack ‘The Diamond” as it sparkles and is huge!  A girl can dream can’t she  :)

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One last picture….now to get working on the binding.  I dyed some brown fabric this morning to use for binding so I better get cracking on it so I can bring it to guild next week for Show and Tell.

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30 comments:

  1. Love your quilt and quilting. You're always an inspiration to me. Thanks for posting your closeups too.

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  2. I love that quilt - I have planned on making it some day but you no how that goes. I really like the quilting - some machine quilting is way too much and this one is just right I think.
    I love the ice and your winter scenes.

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  3. That turned out super gorgeous! And that's the perfect amount of quilting for one that you know will live on your bed. The sad thing about heavy custom quilting is that the drape is sacrificed. I just love the motifs you brought together.

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  4. Wow, what a great quilt! You are so right that the back is beautiful with your amazing quilting. We need a few more inches of snow here... then I going to experiment with snow picture too.

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  5. Beautiful job is usual Kathy
    Wow, I think I can see my square from here :-)

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  6. An awesome quilt for an awesome president. So glad to have contributed some blocks for its creation. Absolutely love the quilting. Just enough to showcase your skill and talent. May your sleep always be restful wrapped in its warmth.

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  7. The quilting you did on this os just perfect. I still need to give that border a try.

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  8. Kathy, I really love your light custom quilting on this...and the back looks so great too. Awesomely done!

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  9. Gorgeous quilt. And beautiful photos as usual. Love the crack in the ice.

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  10. Kathy,
    I also like the light custom quilting that you chose on this quilt. It is just the right amount of quilting to make it special but still be lofty enough to keep one cozy.
    Ginochka

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  11. I watched you put the borders on at the retreat. I loved the fabric [it was blue afterall!!!] but somehow it didn't quite look right and I was too afraid to say anything. Your final choice perfectly sets off the blocks. And the quilting is awsome. I had to scrowl back and forth between the front and back a few times how you created the look on the back.
    Sandra S

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  12. That quilt is beautiful! You have such a wonderful backdrop for photos! Wish we had the snow!

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  13. Your quilting is just right on this quilt, love it. What a wonderful present. Also I love all your photos on the ice. I live in Oklahoma, and can't even imagine what the cold must be like to freeze water so hard it cracks. Nature is amazing

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  14. What a beautiful quilt! I love the brownish border. I think that the most difficult part of patchwork and quilting is making up the patterns, choosing the fabrics. The quilting you did is great. It gives it another dimension.

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  15. Oh it's just beautiful! Everything from the colors to the quilting, perfect!

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  16. Incredible pictures...I love your ice...it is like a beautiful huge diamond! I love the redo on the borders...it was worth the extra work. The backside is gorgeous too! A great gift from others and to yourself.

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  17. Lovely photos of a lovely quilt!

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  18. Beautiful quilt and so wonderfully finished - just love the setting. Take care.

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  19. Hey Kathy! I remember this top and love the new borders. I had to grin to myself, I could just see you slicing off the original borders. The quilting is just right for this quilt, as it allows the pretty design and fabrics to really shine. Love your Celtic knot block too. Perfect little stitches! I really enjoy handstitching as well. I know many do not enjoy stitching down the binding by hand, but to me it's the icing on the cake and looks so pretty when well done. We've had -34C to -37C as well, a little chilly! Stay warm, my friend,and happy stitching!

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  20. Jewel Box has to be one of my favourite blocks. It's on my "one day" list to make a JB quilt. Your quilting just perfect.

    ......and I cant get over your stunning backdrop for your photos.

    Cheers

    Linda

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  21. Kathy, this quilt has turned out so beautiful for you! I am so glad to be a part of creating some of the blocks. Truly a "jewel" design for a great past president :) G

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  22. Just beautiful , I love the Colors !

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  23. Is this pattern for a nubbie quilter ? This is lovely .... I didnt see any info on your site on your long arm prices and where your located ...

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    1. Julie this would be a great pattern for a beginner as it is just made with a four patch and HST blocks. I have a website as well that has all the info your looking for, the link is at the top of my sidebar on the left.

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  24. Thanks so much for all the great photos of your quilting! I've been trying to figure out how to quilt my jewel box quilt. My background is dark navy to set off the jewel & sand colored batiks, trying to emulate the colors I saw in the tombs in the Valley of the Kings.

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