Friday, May 16, 2014

Blogger's Quilt Festival :: Unlocked {Small Quilt Category}

It's always a bit of a dilemma choosing what quilt to share in the Blogger's Quilt Festival. After glancing through my most recent quilt finishes, I decided on the one that felt like the biggest accomplishment, Unlocked.
You may recognize the quilt's blocks from Tula Pink's City Sampler book. I had the pleasure of sewing them along with the City Sampler Quilt Along3 blocks a week. Each just 6" finished, I stored the blocks between my book's pages, and every few weeks, plopped them into a grid to see how I was coming along. {Here's a tutorial to make a similar grid.}
So basically, this quilt was alot of "make and wait" - no pressure to put it all together for over 9 months! When it was finally time, I opted for a 'no sashing' version of Tula's "Gridlock".
Much of the fabric used in this quilt was from Tula's lines, though there are plenty of stash solids and a few other coordinating prints. For the back, I recreated  Block No. 16 as a backing, with Parisville Eye Drops as the focus fabric. I tried quilting one huge spiral for the first time, using Aurifil's Tula Pink Premium Collection#2843 (palm leaf). A very pale green, it blended perfectly throughout the quilt.
I finished with a faced binding, which I thought added to the artsy look of the quilt. And once complete, Unlocked was whisked downtown to meet up with an appropriate city skyscape. 
Besides being colorful and striking, this quilt is one of my favorites because of its journey. I love quilts like this - sewn in community, a fun and unexpected layout, and new techniques tried, if not mastered. That all makes for a very happy finish in my book.

Quilt stats:
Finished size60" square
Fabric: majority of fabric by Tula Pink, with several coordinating prints & solids
Thread: Auriful 50wt #2000 (light sand) for piecing; #2843 (palm leaf) for quilting
Quilted by: myself, using a walking foot 
Helpful tutorials: tutorial by The Quilting Edge for the spiral quilting;
OPQuilt's tutorial for the faced binding; 
creating a block grid

My previous entries in the Blogger's Quilt Festival:
Crazy Rainbow, 10/25/13
Absolutely Mod Pop, 5/19/13
HST Love, 5/17/13
Hopscotch, 5/19/12
Mango Revisited, 10/28/11
Supernova, 5/13/11

Spring '14 Blogger's Quilt Festival - AmysCreativeSide.com

41 comments:

  1. Where do I go first, the circular quilting the blocks and how they mesh together and then it dawned on me that I'm working on those same blocks. (although not many done at this point) I want to keep the way you've put them together. I love, love, love it!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Great choice for the festival. It's great to see it again!

    ReplyDelete
  3. This has beautiful written all over it!

    ReplyDelete
  4. I have this book and some Tula fabrics. I imagined it to be a much bigger quilt. It does take a Lot of 6" blocks to make a quilt. Good Job getting it made. thanks for sharing the grid idea. I use my EQ7.

    ReplyDelete
  5. It really is such a beautiful quilt and the quilting just sets it off perfectly!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Hi Debbie! Your quilt is one of my favourites, too! It has everything I love in quilts! x Teje

    ReplyDelete
  7. after seeing and being inspired by your beauty!
    thanks so much for all your inspiration and also for the info on the grid. It will really help me.
    Jo

    ReplyDelete
  8. I love it Debbie - love it, love it, love it!!

    ReplyDelete
  9. What a great choice for the festival. It's beautiful, Debbie!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Awesome to see this one again. Definitely a huge accomplishment.

    ReplyDelete
  11. fabulous! love the colour transitions and the quilting lines.

    ReplyDelete
  12. What a stunning quilt! I adore circular quilting too, but can't imagine all of that turning, turning, turning under my needle. I think my shoulders would have a fit too! I wish i had a magic wand that could do it for me. Adds a ton to your already beautiful piecing and color choices!

    ReplyDelete
  13. I didn't realize that each block was so small! Your use of colour and fabric is just outstanding. Thanks for including this one in the festival!

    ReplyDelete
  14. Debbie!! STILL my most favorite quilt of all time!! It gets better and better every time I see it!

    ReplyDelete
  15. Girl! You always make fab quilts! I still LOVE this one!

    ReplyDelete
  16. I hope you have this beauty in some prominent place in your home. It deserves some kind of lifetime achievement award, it's so epic. It has to make you beam with pride that you really made this, yes? It's a winner no matter what.

    ReplyDelete
  17. This quilt is gorgeous! I love the colours. I have been collecting Tula Pink fabrics to start a City Sampler quilt. I finally bought her book a couple of months ago. :) You did a great job on this!

    ReplyDelete
  18. Love it! Nice bright colors and great job with the circular quilting.

    ReplyDelete
  19. Still very beautiful!
    We start a City Sampler QAL in Germany as well and I always show your quilt to the ladies that need a little push to join- works well ;-) !

    ReplyDelete
  20. I love that you didn’t use any sashings. The blocks and colours blend so beautifully! Gorgeous quilt and quilting!

    ReplyDelete
  21. Wow - I was surprised that this is a small quilt! It is more stunning every time you share it and the quilting is fantastic!

    ReplyDelete
  22. I so want this quilt, it is calling my name it is that gorgeous!

    ReplyDelete
  23. Yes indeed it certainly was a BIG accomplishment Debbie. So well done and quilted. Love the pic with the city in the background.

    ReplyDelete
  24. I can't believe it's been so long coming - it seems only yesterday you started posting the blocks....

    It's absolutely gorgeous. Very high impact!

    ReplyDelete
  25. Very cool quilt and the circular quilting is wonderful! :)

    ReplyDelete
  26. Stunning quilt. I saw the Tula Pink book the other day. I knew I should have bought it but I spent so much at the Malvern Quilt Show. I entered my very first finished quilt in the small quilt category too. Not quite as good as yours though, lol.

    ReplyDelete
  27. I have not seen this book or pattern. Did you plan your color scheme ahead of time or just work from stash? It looks fabulous. I bet your workspace showed it! The circular quilting couldn't be more perfect. I love it!

    ReplyDelete
  28. The colors you used are so pretty! I love how you quilted it. It's gorgeous.

    ReplyDelete
  29. I loved seeing your stunning quilt again! That last photo!!! Woo!!

    ReplyDelete
  30. Very fun sampler quilt! Just gorgeous.:)

    ReplyDelete
  31. Wonderful quilt for the show! I love seeing this quilt again. Every viewing reveals a bit more of its beauty.

    ReplyDelete
  32. This is a perfect quilt for the festival. I love seeing it again, it is full of colour. Your version is still one of my favourites!

    Leanne

    ReplyDelete
  33. Beautiful colors throughout this! It almost looks like an Allison Glass quilt because the colors are so saturated and vibrant. :) I also LOVE the back, what a clever idea to take the block and make it back-sized!
    Wonderful. :)

    ReplyDelete
  34. gorgeous gorgeous quilt! I have the book and was planning to make it with the Gridlock layout... no I'm thinking no sashing! I love the faced finish, it looks fantastic. Brilliant qult!

    ReplyDelete
  35. Wow! I love your beautiful quilt! The colors, the quilting, the journey....just lovely! I am participating in a Tula's 100 Modern Blocks QAL, I am soooo inspired, Thanx!!

    Nini~
    niniandthesea.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  36. i like the layout you chose. i was supposed to do the qal too but life got in the way, so i'm getting it together now, which is fine because now i have Acacia and Fox Field lol so when i was thinking of layout i wanted the Gridlock but without sashing. i think it looks awesome, and the size is better too i think

    ReplyDelete
  37. Stunning- this is a work of art.

    ReplyDelete
  38. Amazing quilt ~ that last photo with the Space Needle in the background is fab!
    And, all the information about this quilt is amazing ~ I'm inspired!

    ReplyDelete