Thursday, October 31, 2019

Scrap Dance Tango Finish

Scrap Dance Tango
This quilt started as a mystery project by Carole at From My Carolina Home. I started working on the quilt in February of 2016 because my friend Gillian gifted me with over 200 scrappy HST blocks which were the perfect seeds to grow this quilt. What a goldmine! I loved making the first blocks and had fun photographing them in the middle of winter.
Although the blocks were sewn together by the end of that year, the quilt top needed to sit in storage to be curated. Just like cheese needs "affinage" and wine needs "maturation" to become their most delicious versions, (my) quilts need to be ripened to perfection over time. They rest in the "temperature controlled UFO closet" until they are adequately cured for the next step! *snort*
This quilt required about 3 years of aging to be ready for the quilting to begin! 


 prepping the binding
I spent hours and hours on machine quilting this project, starting with a grid and then free motion quilting the blocks and the border. I quilted feathers in the border because I'm teaching a quilting class in December and wanted some  practice. The feathers stitched with red thread on the red border almost made me blind. Even though it was a challenge, I stuck with the red thread because I didn't want the border quilting to detract from the great border print design.

Note to self... I used 2" binding strips on this quilt to ensure I had enough fabric, but I don't like the look as much as when I use a 2.25" strip.

Drum roll please... a finished quilt!

Some quilty details...
*this quilt has Warm and Natural batting, which is my favourite for machine quilting (but is NOT fun to hand quilt)
*thread for piecing and quilting is always 50 weight Aurifil (no affiliation, just an avid fan)
*total number of scraps used - 2,264!
*finished size is 54" x 65.5"

Linking up to One Monthly Goal... yippee! 
So excited to meet my goal this month!

Also linking up for the first time to Cheryl's celebration called Favourite Finish!

32 comments:

Laura said...

The beautiful quilt aged just the right amount, Kathy! It looks terrific! :)

gailss said...

A beautiful quilt and great finish....you must feel elated to have this wonderful quilt done and now to be able enjoy it! Love your quilting pattern and fits perfectly with this quilt.

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

you are so right I hate that batting to hand quilt also. I think the quilt turned out great - kind of looks like a Bonnie Hunter quilt in a way doesn't' it.

Cheryl's Teapots2Quilting said...

Great finish! Warm & Natural batting is getting harder to find now that Joann's doesn't sell it anymore. At least Walmart does. Now to order me a roll of it soon.

Barb said...

Wonderful finish! Doesn't it feel it great to have a new quilt!

Chopin - A Passionate Quilter said...

Beautiful quilt! Lots of hard work! Great job Kathy! Hugs

MissPat said...

Aged to perfection as they say. Beautiful finish. I have two unfinished Scrap Dance quilts, one a flimsy and one still just blocks. Of course, I also have a bunch of other unquilted flimsies. I don't have a closet for aging them, though. Maybe that's my problem, haha.
Pat

Alison V. said...

This is absolutely gorgeous!

Sarah said...

What a great finish! Your post did make me giggle too. Happy Halloween.

JustGail said...

You made a beautiful quilt! I'm hand quilting using W&N, and find spots where I have trouble getting the needle through. I wish I had known before using it!

Elaine Adair said...

Yeahhhhh (cymbals crashing!!!) DONE to perfection, with your splendid color sense! It's lovely, traditional yet fresh and lively. Finished!

Louise said...

Clearly, the key is the temperature control of your UFO space! Because this one is perfectly curated. I need to check the climate controls in my studio now! Congratulations on a delicious finish :)

Cynthia@wabi-sabi-quilts said...

The three years in hibernation... then WOW, what a beautiful finish. So gratifying I'm sure! Love the border!

QUILTING IS BLISSFUL, DI said...

A beautiful finish --so waiting for it to 'cure' was a good idea!!!!
luv, di

Gretchen Weaver said...

Beautiful! She's a keeper and your got finished before the next mystery! Happy Stitching!

Carole @ From My Carolina Home said...

Super finish, looks fantastic!! Thanks for linking to my blog!

Ellen said...

Gorgeous finish Kathy - aged to perfection!

Deb A said...

Woo Hoo! Congrats on a fabulous finish. Great job and love how the scrappy quilt came out. I got the book prize in the mail today! Thanks so much for picking my number to win the prize.

Chantal said...

Wonderful! I love it! I so regret not joining in this mystery because that quilt is just gorgeous. Congratulations on this wonderful finished. ;^)

kupton52 said...

LOLOLOL....you made me laugh out loud! I may have to borrow your idea of quilt ripening! Oh my...I just laughed again. (Confession---my own Scrap Tango is not finished yet either...my blocks have been "maturing".)

Karen said...

Those seeds from a friend certainly grew into a wonderful scrappy style quilt you can be proud of.

Vicki W said...

It's very pretty!

Kate said...

Gorgeous quilt! Congrats on finishing off another well aged and curated UFO!

diamondc said...

Kathy: What a lovely quilt.
I love the little clips, I use them for my cross stitching finishing when needed.

Catherine

Patty said...

This is beautiful! Thanks for linking up with Elm Street Quilts One Monthly Goal and congrats on your finish.

Karrin Hurd said...

Beautiful quilt, congratulations on your finish!

Deanna W said...

So pretty and finished...one of my favorites that you have done this year!!

Tracie @ Riceford Streams said...

Wow, your quilt is beautiful and worth waiting for. I also have a few quilt tops maturing in a temperature-controlled storage closet.

Pamela said...

Beautiful finish! I totally agree about the warm and natural - it is terrible to hand quilt! But for machine quilting it is wonderful.

Sharon - IN said...

Completing " adequately cured" UFOs! Love it! And it is gorgeous! Congratulations on letting it age to perfection, and finishing the lovely quilt.

Cheryl said...

Beautiful finish! I love the scrapiness!

Cheryl's Teapots2Quilting said...

Nice finish!