The Bargello Quilt is Finally DONE!

 

It's finished! Whoo hoo! The Bargello quilt, over two years in the making is finally, finally, finally done.   It's huge and I love it.

  

This is the first quilt I've ever made that's actually large enough to drape properly on a full size bed.  It's something like 100" by 90". Don't think I'll be doing one this size again any time soon.  It weighs a ton and was a real monster to drag through the machine. 

 

The colors in this quilt are amazing.   I think the pictures speak for themselves. 

 

It's Time

Remember this bargello quilt from forever ago?  My very first post on this blog was actually about this quilt.  It's been layered, pinned, and partially quilted for... at least two years?  During that time it's been rolled up and curled on top of my fabric storage, serving mainly as a bed for Wilson (see below).  Well, the time has finally come to finish it off!

Wilson holds down the UFO

I've finished quilting the center and the first two borders and I'm halfway through the outer border.  I just marked the third side.  I'm quilting the outer border using a variation on an Arabic-inspired design I've been fascinated with for a while.

Third side marked and ready to quilt

 For anyone who is interested, this is how I do my more precise quilting.  I draw the design on grid paper first, transfer it to something rigid like cardboard, and cut out a template to mark the quilt with.

Grid paper to cardboard to template

With this template I mark one half of the design, then flip it and line up the common lines to mark the second half.  As I'm quilting I make an under-over weave everywhere the lines cross so that the design appears 3D.

 In this picture it's easier to see the chalk marks of the design.

I haven't decided what to bind it with yet, maybe a charcoal grey?  I don't have any of the outer border fabric left or I'd use it.  Plenty of time to decide while I'm quilting.  I can't wait to finally get this UFO done. 

Work in Progress..

I went home again this weekend and spent some time quilting on the bargello quilt. It is not as difficult as I feared it would be. Once I have the appropriate thread colors and a few weekends to kill I should be able to get it done. I also laid out the Plume top and mostly sewed it together. I'll post pics of it later, once I finish the top. Right now I have a Spanish test to prepare for.

Back to the Grindstone...

I had grand plans for my days off from school. Unfortunately, an unforeseen sore throat and cold sabotaged my plans and I barely managed to get the monster basted today before I have to head back to school tomorrow. I'm going to be in full-swing thesis-finishing mode for the next couple weeks. I really need to have it done on Tuesday. As in 7 days from now. Geez.

I went to the doctor this morning to try and get some answers. I get one cold on top of another, and even when I'm in between sicknesses I often have day-long spells of lethargy, full-body muscle ache, and stale head aches. The doctor said "Yeah, unfortunately that's kind of normal for people your age." Really?! Because I live with a bunch of people my age and none of them are nearly as sick as me. Anyway, they ran a blood panel so maybe that will come back with an explanation.

The bargello quilt won't be going back with me since there's no way I can quilt it there. I wanted to get in a trial run, but didn't, so I'm still not sure if I'll be able to quilt it at all. That remains to be seen. I basted it the way I've done the past couple pf quilts: by pushing back my parents living room furniture and rolling up the rug. I tape the quilt back (right side down) to the floor and then add the batting and top. I pinned it moving in rows from one side to the other. I rationed my pins because I was afraid I would run out and ended up with leftovers. The pinning isn't as dense as I usually use, but I think it'll be okay.

I may post some more older projects, but there should be no more new progress on the sewing front until I dig myself out of thesis hell sometime next week.

La Alhambra (Bargello)

The bargello top is finished! After seeing how large it is (about 90" square), I'm going to be pricing long arm quilters in the area later this afternoon. I'm happy with how the borders came out and I love the curves in the quilt; they remind me so much of the designs in traditional Arabic architecture. It's quite a bit darker in real life than it has been appearing in pictures. The photo below shows the colors (and the size!) most accurately. I can't believe how easy this was to piece for such great visual impact. I think there is a misconception that bargellos are difficult. That being said, would anyone be interested in a tutorial or even a pattern for this type of quilt?

Bargello!

So here is tonight's freshly ironed progress. There are still two rather wide borders to be added to this and it's already huge! These pictures were taken with it draped over my full size bed, and as you can see, I had to offset it in order to get the border in the picture.

Sewing Strips

It's been a long, not very fun day. I'm engaging in some therapeutic sewing, putting together more of the bargello strips. Wilson is supervising from his new hammock. Hopefully I'll find the time this week to finish this top...

Wilson's Hammock

Wilson loves more than just about anything to be right next to me when I work and soak up the heat of my desk lamp. This causes problems, of course. If you've ever leaned over a cat to reach your sewing machine you know what I'm talking about. I was thinking one of those cat windowsill seats might be a good solution, but of course I'm too cheap to buy one. So yesterday in between projects I made this: a kitty hammock.

It's a simple sling that extends off the side of my desk. The fabric is removable so I can wash it. He seems to approve. Those are strips for my bargello quilt lying next to him. I have them all cut now and the first 3 of the second half are sewn together. Meanwhile, progress continues on the Couple of Squares quilt. I am working out this pattern and the cut requirements as I go so the blocks get progressively better from left to right across the top. Hopefully the rest of it will go smoothly and this can be the bottom when I'm done.

Swamped

I'm absolutely working at capacity between my thesis, job, and class, unfortunately, there's no time for quilting. Believe me, it's not easy to make myself focus on the things I have to do instead!

I am still piecing on the bargello quilt. I'm thinking of naming it La Alhambra - after the famous fortress in Granada, Spain - because the curves remind me of traditional Arabic architecture. I've been researching and sketching intricate, geometric, Arabic patterns to quilt in the borders. I'm going to use something like this for the outtermost border.

While searching for potential quilting patterns I came across this image, which gave me an idea for my next piecing project - a jelly roll quilt that will use to Arcadia roll I've been hanging on to. I worked out most of the measurements and the piecing (on paper anyway). I'm trying very hard to take notes about the exact cut requirements and piecing so that I can eventually turn this into a pattern that other people can use, rather than my usual guess and go method. Although eyeballing it works well for me, it is hard for someone else to replicate.

So, if I behave myself, there should be no new quilting progress until at least Wednesday night. Until then, the new project - tentatively titled "Couple of Squares" because of its resemblance to a squared off Irish Wedding Ring quilt - will have to stay in the state you see above. Wilson, of course, is feeling no stress. Ah, the life of a cat. He doesn't know how good he has it.

On my design wall

On my design wall today is half of a rainbow bargello quilt. I put this together yesterday from a Kona Cottons dark palette roll-up; I'm waiting for a 2nd roll-up to arrive in the mail to finish the body of it. Note Wilson squatting on top of my printer. I don't know how he managed to be in every picture...


I played with the photo to see what it will look like once I make the other half. The question now is, should I finish it off without borders and make a 60" square child's quilt or add borders and make a full or queen size bed quilt?

Or...

I'll be gradually adding posts about my older quilts but that's what I have going on today.