Esmeralda

Have you met the princess, Esmeralda?

Here she is.

Esmeralda!!!

I am in love with her.

Esmeralda...aah

Shines & Shimmers

Me: Look, look, these point meet so perfectly.
Paul: Uh Huh.

Me: Love when that happens.
Paul: These points seem a teensy bit off

Me: Who told you to look at that one? In any case, that is a reject.
Paul: Hmmm. So not all points are perfect.

Stacked

Cut

Shuffle

Me: They are better than before.
Paul: Before? You have made this before?
Me: Yes, it is the same design as Mom' Quilt that I made last year.
Paul: Oh the pink/orange one.
Me: Yes

Match

Pinned

Pure Joy of meeting points

Paul: You had a very royal name for it.
Me: Raanihaar, meaning The Queen's Necklace

Staying Organized

Paul: What is this one called?
Me: Esmeralda.
Paul: That is a mouthful
Me: This quilt has been a handful and then some

Square to 8.5"

Cutting Corners :-D

The magic happens here

Squared again

Paul: Handful? How?
Me: It is queen-size, and has a thousand pieces.
Paul: Wow, that is a lot. But still fit for a queen?
Me: Yes, but the colors are softer - not a queen, may be a princess.
Paul: A Princesses' Necklace?
Me: Yes, but that does not have the sound effect. I chose to call this one Esmeralda.

100Blocks!!!

Paul: How did you come up with that name?
Me: I was just thinking of impressive sounding royal names - Desdemona, Esmeralda, Ophelia, Arabella - that are not too common. I like Esmeralda the best. Further, the quilt has shades of emerald green, so Esmeralda.

Design Wall - What would I do without you?

Press Seams Open

Paul: May be you should have spent more effort on matching the points than naming the quilt.
Me: You are banished from Esmeralda's court.
Paul: Is that so?
Me: Till the time you are summoned to fulfill your duties as the quilt holder-upper.

Finished Flimsy!

The fabrics are from Moda's new fabric line - Wild Nectar by Crystal Manning.

I wanted fabrics with a good contrast against the white background. Otherwise it would have been difficult to see the intersecting circles. Therefore, I did not use the two prints with beige background.

Turquoise Border

(But they are already in the next project. Details coming later. Watch this space.)

As much as I love the peach, emerald and gold together, I am convinced that it is the Bella Turquoise border that brings the whole quilt together.  What do you think?

Moda Grunge Pool

The backing is 108" wide Moda Grunge Pool. It is absolutely lovely.

Turquoise, Pool and Admiral Blue - One Happy Family

The quilting is super-simple.
Quilted two inches apart, using my walking foot and one of the decorative stitches on my Janome.

Trimmed & Labelled

Binding in process

The binding is Bella Admiral Blue and I believe it works beautifully.

A pop of binding

I was a bit concerned, that some of the light peach fabrics may not stand out enough from the background, but my fears were unfounded.

So gorgeous!!!

Everyone (I mean everyone) has loved this quilt - quilters and muggles alike. So obviously, I have been showing it off :-)

The illusion circles

The 99 blocks are arranged 9 by 11. The border is about 3.5" .
The finished quilt measures about 80" by 96".

Esmeralda on the Green

Feeling Shy?

With sunlight filtering through...

Although I took over 200 pictures by myself, I wanted just one picture showing the whole quilt - top to bottom - and that proved to be challenging. Even with Paul's help, on a nearby playground with a dozen clothes pegs, Esmeralda struggled to break free. Here are some pictures from our breezy attempt.

Thank you, Paul!!!

Aah the Breeze

Almost still

Taking it down

And Rekha, my buddy at work, is a fabulous quilt model. Look how she owns it.

Thank you Rekha

Beauty

Getting close

Paul: So who gets to snuggle with Esmeralda?
Me: Whoever is worthy.  We shall see.

Now that I have completed this humongous beauty of a quilt, admired here, shown her off and taken 300 pictures, there is nothing more left to do.

Just kidding :-D

I am going to play with the scraps. What I do with them is the stuff of my October OMG. 

Here is a glimpse.

October OMG

I will be linking with all my favorite linky parties. I do look forward to your thoughts.

If you love Esmeralda, and want to make the quilt or a few blocks, please go to the Moda Bake Shop for the complete tutorial, fabric requirements and lots of process pictures.

Curry Favor

Have you ever dated someone who, you knew in your heart, was completely out of your league? 
I did.

Say hello to Curry Favor... 

When I saw this Fresh Connections quilt pattern, I knew that this would be a very challenging project for a newbie like me. But the design was so attractive, I was TEMPTED!!!

The pattern was FREE. It was DETAILED. And I was ready for the next challenge. ALMOST.

I was also nervous and therefore I proceeded with utmost caution. I agonized over the fabric choices. After mulling over several days, I decided to go with the following colors:

Fabric Strips, numbered!!!

1.    Carrot (CT)

2.    Maroon

3.    Apricot (CT)

4.    Brick (CT)

5.    Orangina (CT)

6.    Red (Kona)

7.    Curry (CT)

8.    Yellow

9.    Crimson (CT)

10.  Rosewood (CT)

Most of these solids, the white and the gorgeous autumn border fabric came from Connecting Threads (CT). 

I organized them (see picture above) and kept them organized like it was a religious thing. After they were cut to the specified sizes, I put them back on the design wall where they belonged. 
As I proceeded with the cutting instructions, I worried - What if I cut all the fabric and then the blocks don't come out correctly. Wait, may be I should make one block, first. Here is the first block.

First Block, untrimmed

Trimmed First Block

Wow! it looked so beautiful, I love this block. Completing this one block gave me the reassurance I was looking for. I cut up all the fabric and proceeded with gusto and caution (a lot of caution). 

Preparing the Corners

I cut several at a time

Assembly Line...

I did a little at a time. When I felt tired or sleepy, I stopped. I followed the instructions to a fault. 
According to the pattern, I pressed to the dark side. When it came to joining the blocks, the seams, pressed to one side was an obstacle. It would mean too much bulk towards the colored fabric and too little towards the white – causing the seam to slip resulting in offset seams.

I LOVE how this is coming together...

I had to fiddle with the seams, turning them this way and that as I tried to make them nest and gently coax the fabric to do my bidding. As a result there are a hundred turned seams in the back (good thing it is hidden). This is something I have accepted. 

Pinned...

Making seams match - By hook or by crook

Look at this picture above. I allowed the white fabric to fold a teensy bit to match the red seams. Yes, it is not an ideal situation. But it will be indistinguishable once it is quilted and washed.

If When I remake this pattern (in a different color way, most probably), I will press the seams open. Yes, I love how this pattern comes together. I am sure I will make it again. 

Piecing in Progress

In the end, it was totally worth it. I believe this experience gave me fresh appreciation for matching seams. I am sure I am now better (marginally at least) at following complex patterns and matching seams. 
Were my fears unfounded? 
No and yes. 
Because I was nervous, I paid attention to every step. And because of that added care things fell in place, almost. A little bit of apprehension is a good thing. 

Autumn Glow from Connecting Threads

 

The border fabric, Autumn Glow from Connecting Threads, is my absolute favorite.

The whole process of piecing the top seemed laborious as I held my breath while sewing and then heaved a sign of relief when I opened and pressed.

Spray Basting

It took a while to baste this beauty...

Quilting in process

Rolled sandwich to manage the bulk

I quilted with my favorite squiggly stitch on my JANOME, following (trying to follow) the lines of the pieced pattern and continuing to the end of the quilt sandwich. The backing is flannel and the quilting makes a zig-zag pattern on the solid brown.

Flannel Backing

I used a very bright orange to bind the quilt.

Bright Border, Eye-Popping Binding

Here are the good things about this pattern

1.    You have to make only one type of block - it is complicated, but it is only one. 

2.     There are only 12 blocks in the whole quilt (not 36, 48 or 92).

3.     Once you organize and cut the fabric (making sure it is organized), it goes together quickly.

4.     The directions are very good, with many helpful pictures.

Binding - Stitched to Back, Squiggly Stitched to the Front

There are two things that I would have added to the instructions.

1.     Press the seams open

2.     The size of each block is about 17”

If it included a way to make it larger, that would be priceless. Unlike most other quilts that are based on a square block, it is not just adding more blocks that would turn this into a queen size quilt. One would have to figure out exactly which four colors, the correct order and the placement to make the next block.

For the level of detailed instructions included, I am VERY surprised that it is a free pattern. Thank you Windham Fabrics and a very big thank you and hugs to you Jean Katherine Smith. Here are a few more pictures.

Border Makes it POP!!!

Interlocking Squares Design - Pure Genius

Love these warm colors!!!

Pattern Detail

This is my 16th finish of 2014. My dear friend Jake helped me pick the name, Curry Favor.

Labelled!!!

Curry Favor - My 16th Quilt of 2014

What started apprehensively and cautiously ended successfully and beautifully. Yes, Curry Favor is my best work so far. 

Is there a quilt pattern that you have been eyeing and wondering - Can I make this? Is it too hard? Please share your thoughts. I love hearing from you!!!