Friday, December 5, 2014

Saltwater Wedding Quilt Finished!

I am linking this post up to the Bloggers Quilt Festival at Amy's Creative Side. Visit and vote here.

This quilt has been rumbling around in my head for a year and a half, since my DS Ryan married his love of many years, Kim.  We all went on a cruise in the summer of 2013 and then they got married on the beach at Cocoa Beach.

First, Ryan and Kim got to pick the colors, and then I showed them lots of pictures for style.  The quilt was loosely based on the pattern for a baby quilt called Flowers in the Sunshine by Sweet Jane on Etsy.  But we wanted a larger quilt, so essentially I began collecting fabric by quadrupling the size and fabric requirements.  Sometimes collecting fabric for a project is hard to stop, so I ended up with lots to chose from.   :-)


As I started the piecing process, I realized I wanted large motifs in the quilt, so worked out a plan to have four; a seahorse, a starfish, an anchor and a dolphin.


But I couldn`t leave out the octopus which was the featured character in Saltwater. So, he got pride of place as the large central motif.   For the octopus image, I traced the octo from Tula’s line, then kept enlarging and simplifying it (knowing I was going to have to stitch down every tentacle).


The other images I just pulled from the internet or my imagination and then enlarged.  All fabrics were backed with a fusible onto which I drew the pattern in reverse, then cut out.  They were fused to the white fabric and then stitched down before being pieced into the quilt.


I was waiting for a sunny day to get outside to take pictures, and once I got out, I kicked myself for not taking pictures when it was cloudy with more diffused light. So, these will need to be retaken.

After finishing, there was a lot of time spent snipping threads so they would not show through the white. And then it was off to be quilted (by Quilted Works in St. George, UT).  I love the swirls they did - reminds me of ocean water and looks especially nice with the backing print, Sea Debris from Saltwater.  The binding is scrappy leftovers.


Quilt Stats:  
Finished Size: 86 x 78”
Fabric:  Saltwater by Tula Pink (with bits of Les Amis, Luxe in Bloom and others) 
Backing: Sea Debris, Saltwater
Batting:  Hobbs 80/20

Easton, Kim, Ryan, Lauren

Although it’s been a year and a half since the wedding, (and over 8 years that they’ve been together as a family) this is the first wedding picture I have posted.  




Cathy maroon

11 comments:

  1. There must be something in the air about making quilts for our children! My #2 son and daughter-in-love have requested that 'mom' make them a king-sized (!!) quilt in tones of white. I'm (gulp) not a 'sane' quilter, so it's a daunting prospect!

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  2. visiting from crazy mum quilts. Love love the quilt. Great wedding photo

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  3. What a beautiful quilt! Lovely.

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  4. Very cool quilt, I love all the applique sea animals.

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  5. What a lovely keepsake Cathy. Beautifully done!!

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  6. Totally gorgeous! So nice that you have such lovely memories attached to it.

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  7. Hi Cathy! Whitney from Loop, Swoop, & Sew. LOVE the quilt!! I can tell how much time and thought you put into it. Love the colors. I've always liked Saltwater, but don't have any because that was a bit before my quilting days. That applique octopus is to DIE for. SO cool! I'm sure your family will cherish it for years to come.

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  8. Oh, Cathy! How perfect is that for a quilt to memorialize a beach wedding! I love the motifs. It was definitely a quilt worth waiting for!

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  9. Popping in from the festival to praise your quilt - its just wonderful! I love the combination of your applique and the design and those colors are so soothing and just perfect. They must be tickled to pieces!

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  10. I love this! The combination of the piecing with the big applique blocks is just beautiful. You created some awesome motifs!

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