My final finish of 2014! I bought the fabrics: 7 light fat quarters (black on white), 12 dark fat quarters (reds), accent and binding fabric (black on black), border (white on black) and backing... eight and a half years ago during the 2006 Shop Hop by The Bay. I had no idea what I was making, but loved the mystery of it. (I had pieced the mystery quilt from the shop hop two years before using bright, bold colors and I'd loved watching the design emerge.) I started it immediately, but back then I wasn't sewing very regularly. I worked on and off over the years and this year I finally tried to really focus on finishing since I was able to carve out regular sewing time. There have been so many progress posts about my mystery quilt over the last year. It's so great to finally have a 100% finished quilt to show you.
I've come a long way in my skills since starting this. I think this is one of the frustrations of working on a really old WIP. My piecing has improved (yay for a nearly perfect 1/4" seam allowance), I can free motion quilt now, and my understanding of value has improved, to name a few. I've also started using Aurifil thread to piece and quilt and I press my seams open.
I quilted in Aurifil 50wt grey #2605 I like to match my top and bobbin thread and decided anything more bold would fight with the fun backing fabric and I wanted it to just blend. It finished at 65" by 83". I'm really looking forward to wrapping this up and giving it to my dear friend.
Linking up to Crazy Mom Quilts and ALYoF December Finishes. By the way, I'm a little jealous of all of you aren't feverishly trying to finish your December goal today because yours has been done for a while already. ;-)
Also linking up to Finish Along 2014 Wrap Up Party. Here's my full list of (mostly still incomplete) Q4 goals.
Marji
Best backing fabric EVER!
The 'getter' will love it !!
sarah
Post authorThanks Marji! And Happy New Year!
Amber
It looks awesome!!!!!! Great work!
sarah
Post authorThanks! It feels so good to finish an old project. I think I have one more WIP in the "ancient" category... ya know, that partially completed quilt I gave my brother for Christmas in (cough cough) 2004. I should probably finish that up soon too.
Bo
nothing like feeling accomplished!! good job!! Great way to bring in 2015!!
sarah
Post authorThanks, Bo! Happy New Year!
Gemini Jen NZ
I am totally in love with that backing fabric! Your quilt is lovely, you must be very happy to get it finished. The colour scheme is so effective. Well done!
sarah
Post authorThanks! I love the backing fabric too, Jen. How did I not finish this sooner! I'm glad I have a decent amount of scraps left, though I don't know what I'll do with them yet. I made little pouch zip bags years ago with a different bra fabric in the interior. Maybe I'll make this the inside of something new. I love how striking black, white and a color can be.
Alycia Quiltygirl
What a great quilt!! It is quite striking with its colors!!
sarah
Post authorThanks, Alycia.
Carie
It looks incredible, what a wonderful way to end the year - and that backing fabric is fabulous!
sarah
Post authorThanks, Carie. One of my goals this year should be no finish things before the last day of the month. ;-)
tubakk
A lovely quilt, for sure. I love those colours.
sarah
Post authorThank you for visiting. :-)
bernie
Me too..... I love the backing fabric. It is awesome. Lucky friend!!
sarah
Post authorThanks, Bernie!
Katy
Congrats on your finishes!
sarah
Post authorThanks, Katy! Thank you for hosting the Finish Along in 2014. I've really enjoyed the motivation!
Beverly Fuchs
I made this same quilt years ago but haven't quilted it yet. Is the name of that mystery quilt actually Bold Blooms?
sarah
Post authorBold Blooms is what I named my quilt. I'm not sure what the pattern name was. Thanks for visiting, Beverly.