Friday, October 12, 2012

finish it up Friday, 10/12/12

Welcome to finish it up Friday!
Today I'm happy to share my finished big big bento quilt! It uses the technicolor tidings collection (and lots of white), all from Connecting Threads. I love their stuff! I think I said this before, but I love that there is ORANGE in a Christmas line. It's perfect!
I did my concentric ameoba quilting on it. (LOVE!) White would have been an obvious thread choice, so I went with an ocean mist color. Since I used a very thin thread (70 weight) the color doesn't stand out too much on either the white or the bright colored fabric. I love that!
I bound it with some of the original Flea Market Fancy dots. I'll be so sad when I run out of them. They make perfect binding...and it's such a pleasant color green.
For the back I used 4 one yard cuts of dots (also from Connecting Threads, but these have been in my stash for almost a year) with some patchwork squares left over from the front. It was a concept that popped in my head and I had no idea if it would work or not, but the final results exceeded my expectations. Yay! I do love a pieced quilt back. Just another opportunity to play.
Aren't those dots just perfect with the patchwork?
The quilt currently lives at the end of my bed.  I've been using it for my 4th layer at night. (And it's only October! It's a darn good thing I'm a quilter!) It measures 72" square. I'm not normally a fan of square quilts, but they are growing on me. I blame/credit Cheryl.  :)

How about you? If you have a finish to share, please remember to link to a specific post. Then go ahead and visit a few other finishers and cheer them on. Thanks for joining me! Happy Friday!

71 comments:

Kat said...

What a fun quilt! It makes me a little dizzy, but in a good way :-)

I love your concentric circle quilting. One of these days I'll get brace and try that.

Have a great weekend!

Live a Colorful Life said...

This is such a fabulous quilt. Lots of LOVE here! and yes, I DO like square quilts. So this is what I do: I turn on the ceiling fan and then throw a quilt on the bed at night--trying to psych myself into thinking it is actually fall here...

Megan said...

That orange is fantastic! I absolutely love the quilting! Congrats on your finish!

ohiomom said...

I would be dizzy looking at that, but it is a cool concept. My daughter likes it :) I think the back would be great as a simple baby quilt pattern. I think I may try that very soon. I like the way the cross pieces add interest and separation in quilt. Nice piece indeed :)

Heather D. said...

Fantastic! Looking at the first photo I didn't picture how big this quilt actually is!! The circular quilting really adds another great dimension to an already very cool project.

Unknown said...

Beautiful, gorgeous colors: O)
Have a nice weekend ..

Rustic Barnyard said...

I have a HUGE finish, no blog post though. I started a queen sized quilt somewhere between 9-10 years ago. 5 house moves, 3 babies and 1 business closure (and ZERO money) later I finished it this week. We've been sleeping under it for 2 days. I LOVE IT!!!!

Erin Joy said...

LOVE the quilting ... very unique!! I adore SQUARE quilts esp for beds. Then I can rotate them so each side gets evenly worn. =)

Sonia B said...

Beautiful quilt (as always). I love the back too! Well done.

Joanne Lendaro said...

WOW!! LOVE IT!!!!

Purple Quilter Queen said...

What a great optical illusion! Beautiful job on the piecing and the quilting. Jenn

giddy99 said...

It's spectacular! Sorry if this is a dupe; Blogger is acting weird.

Rebecca said...

I can't wait to try the circular quilting? I like your "amoeba" effect.

Thanks for hosting!

tink's mom said...

Wow covers it. What a great looking quilt front and back. Great color choices for the quilting too.

Karen - Quilts...etc. said...

fun quilt, I like some of the fabric from Connecting Threads as well. I like square quilts, almost all of mine are that shape

Becky said...

I LOVE this quilt, and the optical illusion that it creates. It's way up on my "to make" list!!

Studio V said...

That's an awesome quilt!!

beth said...

What a happy, happy quilt!

Char said...

Beautiful quilt! I so agree with you about Connecting Threads fabric. I also have a collection of those dots and recently used the green as a backing.

Rachel said...

Looks so pretty! LOVE the quilting!

Svetlana said...

gorgeous!!!!! Love your amazing backing, too!

Anna said...

I love the back almost as much as the front. I really need to do more of that myself. The one and only time I have done it, I was really happy with the results.

Kelli Fannin Quilts said...

Oooh, I love this quilt!! :)

Cheerful Homemaker said...

That's gorgeous! It reminds me of an optical illusion :)

I had a couple of things I finished this week! One of which is a quilt! YAY!

Thimbleanna said...

Love it CrazyMom -- it's so bright and HAPPY!

Alycia~Quiltygirl said...

WOW!! I love it! It is wonderfully bright!! 4 layers already huh? Me too.... *sigh*

SandyQuilts said...

Oh my gosh it's lovely. What pattern is it? Congrats.

Teri said...

I love this quilt. And Connecting Threads, you can't beat their prices anywhere. I need to get quilting again.

Anonymous said...

Oh wow. I can't stop looking at this quilt. It's captivating.

Gra said...

Beautiful quilt!!!

Jeanette said...

Beautiful quilt, I love the binding too!

Elena said...

It's so beatiful! Congratulations!
Un beso,
Elena

Di~ said...

Oh My Word! Amandajean! look at that quilt! my eyes are goin' buggy! awesome quilting, awesome back, Wow! You're still the best.

bethanndodd said...

Lovin that quilt...all of the colors are so cheerful (I agree about the orange, how fun!) The quilting looks fabulous too! I think it's great that you didn't go with the typical white for it, makes it all that more yours. Thanks for hosting! Smiles~Beth

Quilter Kathy said...

I love everything about this quilt...the colours, the design, the quilting...all YUM!

Cheryl Arkison said...

I am such an evil influence... Bwah haha!
Wonderful finish.

Rene' said...

It's beautiful!!!! I love your concentric ameoba quilting design and the idea of using a very thin thread. Your pieced backing is brilliant. Oh to be so precise with my pieced backs ;-) Sorry I wasn't on the ball linking up last week but I did today....Enjoy your weekend!

Deb@asimplelifequilts said...

Your quilt is a real attention getter... it looks great over the end of your bed!

Kathleen said...

That bento looks amazing, and the pieced back is gorgeous. Def stealing that idea :)

Karen H said...

I love bento box quilts, and yours is so pretty. I love the bright Christmas colors. If I hadn't sworn off Christmas fabric, I might actually think about buying this line..... :)

Caroline said...

What a fun quilt! I have to admit that it was seriously messing with my mind. My husband liked it, too. :)

Maja said...

As usual, your work is great!
Dizzy quilt, but fine;-)

Jessica Christensen said...

Friday keeps coming around without me noticing it. So, no, I didn't finish anything again this week. But I love that you finished your Big Bento. It's cold around here too -- gonna be 26 tonight. So yes, an extra layer would be lovely tonight. :)

Margarita said...

Wow, that seriously makes me giddy, yet it is so simple. I wonder if it is only doing that because we are looking at it on a computer screen?

Suzanne said...

Do you think the front and back of your quilts fight when you are not listening about which side is your favorite? :-)

natalie christensen said...

Such a beautiful quilt! Love all of the fabric combos. Thanks for finish it up Friday:-)

Wonderbunnie Designs said...

I am ONE happy girl...I got my sewing groove back (finally!!) AND AND AND I just received my beautiful new "SUNDAY MORNING QUILTS" book in the mail today! YAY! I know what I'm doing with my weekend!

Anonymous said...

What a fabulous finish! I love it! I *almost* finished Gary's pioneer shirt for Halloween. Just the buttons & buttonholes are left to do.

Alyce @ Blossom Heart Quilts said...

Eek, my eyes!! That quilt is playing all kinds of optical illusions with my eyes - how brilliant!! Looks amazing!

Ginette said...

Love this quilt!! The back is just as nice as the front!! Awesome finish!

Gari in AL said...

I so love your bento. And I love the colors, especially the orange. I live in SO AL and have only begun to use one quilt at night and even then have to kick it off (and on) throughout the night. But it is so nice to have a newly quilted quilt to sleep under.

Denice said...

It looks kinda like an optical allusion. I love it! The backing is great too. When you do the big circle in the quilting do you mark anything or do you just go for it? So awesome.

greelyrita said...

I'm sorry to add to such a long list of comments. I noticed your perfect mitred binding corners. I was one of the 'runners' for the quilting judge at our local fair. She mentioned that she wants to see these corners sewn shut. I never do that unless they're not behaving. When they're perfect, they can show off their un-sewn-ness. Of course, all the corners are done, or none. What do you think?

Denice said...

It looks kinda like an optical allusion. I love it! The backing is great too. When you do the big circle in the quilting do you mark anything or do you just go for it? So awesome.

Mary Jo said...

This is an amazing quilt. Wow, what it does to the eyes. Lovely back too.

Tiffany said...

I REALLY love this quilt!

Clair said...

It's always nice to get a quilt done. I started one last week and have lost momentum.

Lucy | Charm About You said...

Fabulous! Its so trippy looking it almost doesn't look real! Very cool :)

April (Polkadot Sparrow) said...

This quilt thrills me. You did a great job! It has inspired another quilt block for my Sampler quilt. I wanted to do something that was reminiscent of a Gee's Bend quilt and I think this block does that. :)

Angie said...

This quilt is totally fabulous---love the colors, the dots, the quilting, ALL of it! I am getting ready to quilt a quilt and I'm going to give your amoeba quilting a try. :) Thank you so much for so generously sharing all of your talent, ideas and quilt love with all of us. You are just a fantastic soul.

Tiffany said...

Love the quilt! It has such gorgeous colors!

PunkiePie (Jen) said...

I love it! It looks 3D. I have that pattern and have yet to make it. I think you've convinced me to pull the patern out of hiding and check it out.

charlotte said...

Just wanted to thank you for this linky party. I haven't had a finish to link up yet, but I am loving the inspiration of looking through all the ones that are there. So much fun!

Laura said...

Cute, cute, cute and I LOVE the back! Seriously, that is one of the coolest quilt backs I have seen :)

Katherine said...

Such a happy quilt! Lovely finish Amanda Jean. Beautiful pieced back - those dots and piecework go together like cake and ice cream... sweet and delicious. ;o)

Mama Pea said...

I love everything about this quilt. Everything!

Bjwalsh101 said...

I like the back better than the front and the front Rocks!

Kris from Duke Says Sew What said...

Beautiful! Can you do that quilting with a walking foot?

Anonymous said...

I love this pattern, just made one inspired by yours :)
Greetings from Iceland

http://www.missbee.com/catnap/2012/10/nafnateppi-frh-namequilt-continued.html

Chara Michele said...

Love this quilt!

tammi said...

I love this quilt! And the back is fantastic.