Friday, September 25, 2015

Finished Quilt - Long Post



My fourth Scrap Squad quilt is finished! For this assignment I made a pattern called "Blue Bayou" by Kate Colleran. It is from the September/October issue of Quiltmaker magazine.
Deciding on the layout was the highlight of making this quilt. There are so many possible options in setting these blocks together. Of course I tried out all of the layouts in Quiltmaker magazine on my design wall to see what would happen when each block was twisted, turned, and set differently beside it's neighbour.
Option 1 - love what the darker teal/blue is doing but didn't like the light/blah 16 patch blocks that emerged.

Option 2 - a little frenetic for my liking

Option 3 - I like what the red pinwheels are doing in this layout

Option 4 - This is a variation on option #1 and again I don't like the light/blah 16 patch blocks.

Option 5 - This is fun...I just noticed that the top left corner block isn't turned properly!

Option 6 - I really like this layout and it was my second choice.

Option 7 - Fun zigzag layout.
After all the block play, I loaded the photos on my computer and after viewing them several times, finally decided that I really liked option #1 the best. And if I pulled the third and fourth columns down one block, it got rid of the light/blah 16 patch block that I didn't like, and gave it a zigzag look that I loved. Perfect!
Option 8 - my favourite!



Confluence at the confluence
I call this quilt "Confluence" which according to Mr. Webster means "a coming or flowing together, meeting, or gathering at one point". The design is a confluence of two of the possible layouts, and of course I had to do a photo shoot at the confluence of the two rivers in my town.


While trying to get a good photo of the quilt, the clouds started to clear away, and the sun came streaming through which made my camera very unhappy. Makes for interesting photos though :)

And then when Mr Max (the granddog) came to visit, I had to try a photo shoot with him. He had forgotten all his posing skills that I had taught him previously. But just look at this cheeky fur baby - does he look guilty or what?!? And his left eye changed colours to match the quilt... that's kind of wierd!

One last photo - the back of the quilt is just chunks of leftover fabric sewn together to use it up. You can maybe see here that I have adopted 
Martha Schellingerhoud's idea of using the same colour of thread in the bobbin as you are quilting with. I like how it makes the back of the quilt more interesting.

24 comments:

The Cozy Quilter said...

So many options for this block! I like the one you chose and I think Max does too!

Deb @ Frugal Little Bungalow said...

What a fun post! I enjoyed all of the layout options and then the photos shoot at the river....just gorgeous!

Flickenstichlerin said...

Congratulations on the finish Kathy,
it is a gorgeous quilt, wonderful color combinations.
Love your playing around with the layout.
Greetings,
Sylvia

Karen said...

Option one would have been my choice. As soon as I saw it, I knew I would have chosen that one.

Kaelyn Angelfoot said...

Its a great quilt!

Marla's Crafts said...

Why is it we always go back to the first one? Even in life it seems that way. Good choice. Love the pictures with the background . Water always makes a great picture.

Deanna W said...

Love your layout. Think I might even try this one..will have to look for my copy of the magazine!!!

Carole @ From My Carolina Home said...

Good choice! Mr Max's eye is shining from the retina, that is why it looks blue, it is from the camera angle in relation to the eye. Sometimes they turn red, but when a dog has cataracts they look blue. Great quilt finish!

swooze said...

Love it!

Vroomans' Quilts said...

I saw, I saw, I saw!! And now from another point of view too - this is just delightful. Love a one block wonder quilt.

Bonnie said...

I love your color choices. I would have had a very hard time deciding which layout to use. I like the one you evolved to. Wonderful job and great photography.

Janet O. said...

How clever of you to shift the rows to eliminate the blah!
I always quilt with the same color in the bobbin, because I don't trust my tension all of the time and fear the bobbin color rising up through the back. : )

Julierose said...

What a great finish! I like your final choice--altho that "barn raising" option is pretty neat, too...super work! hugs, Julierose

AnnieO said...

I love this!! Your choice is wonderful. My town has a very small river that reaches the ocean but no beautiful place to pose a quilt. Though the Pope did just canonize the Spanish missionary that founded my town...

Ivani said...

Confluence quilt is beautiful.

Lesley Gilbert said...

Thanks for sharing all the options - you picked the right one in the end :)

Mary said...

Confluence! That's a nice name for it. We lived near where the Snake and Columbia Rivers Converged and also by where the Umatilla meets the Columbia River. Glad you got it DONE!

Kate said...

I really like how the red frames the other fabrics in your version. Beautifully done. Congrats on another successful Scrap Squad quilt.

Anonymous said...

You do lovely work and so prolific? Just a question....do you spend 8 hours a day in your sewing room? I am just curious. I thought I worked fast, but you are amazing!

PaulaB quilts said...

A fascinating pattern and colors. First time I've seen this and it wowed me. Thanks for showing all the choices. Your solution is perfect, movement, but not chaos.

Angie said...

What a neat block pattern! Thanks for sharing all the possibilities with us. The layout you chose is great!

moosecraft said...

Perfect! :-)

Lisa J. said...

You picked my favourite of the layouts Kathy. It's a beautiful quilt. Mr Max certainly does look guilty...he needs more posing practise for sure.

beaquilter said...

Love all the ideas before you put it together.
btw I always use the same bobbin color as the top, this way it also hides if your tension is a tad off.