Saturday, October 2, 2010

shhhh! it's a surprise!

I just finished maybe my favorite quilt ever.



I made this abstract landscape for Rob, who has mentioned a few times that I make things for everyone else but had yet to do something just for him. It took me awhile to figure out what to do, but his love for the mountains inspired me. Anyone who knows us in real life can attest to the fact that Rob is happiest when he is out on a trail. It doesn't matter if there is snow, rain, mud. He's out there enjoying every bit. He has shared this passion for the outdoors with me and our kids, and for that I'm so grateful. Rob is the best husband, the best father. I'm lucky to have him.


Quilting details-- The quilt measures 28" x 27". I made it entirely out of shot cottons, save for the few pieces of Kona Snow and Aqua. Most of the fabric came from my scrap stash. I started the sky at my sew-in day last weekend but completed the rest in the last 24 hours. (Rob is away at a conference, so I was able to stay up extra late to get it done!) The mountains were pieced in sections and appliqued onto the sky, then the rest was improvisationaly pieced as I went along.  I took extra time with my quilting since there were so many starts and stops in the middle. I made sure to hold my thread ends and wove them into the quilt, so the back is as neatly stitched as the front. I also didn't square it up until the quilting was done, since the shot cottons are so thin and flimsy. Here's a photo of the top before it was quilted:


On the surprise part-- I'm 99% positive that Rob doesn't read my blog, and I just couldn't wait to post the photos! This is destined for his office at work, but I'll be hanging it up to enjoy here until he returns home.

28 comments:

SandyQuilts said...

Fabulous ... congrats. One thing is for certain your quilting made the quilt. I hope you'll post your DH's reaction. It's really fabulous.

Jodi said...

Wow, it's beautiful! And what a difference the quilting makes! It adds so much depth and definition - fantastic job you did!

Angela Nash said...

That's wonderful! Looks like I'm going to repeat what the others said - your piecing is very cool, but I'm always fascinated by the HUGE difference good quilting makes. The move from basically 2D to 3D gives a quilt life.

You did a fantastic job.

Rachel at Stitched in Color said...

What a perfect gift! I can imagine how amazing it looks in person with shot cottons. It's very, very striking even on the computer.

What Comes Next? said...

that is a fabulous quilt! Did you sketch out your design and then use patterns for the various sections or was it more of a "guideline", and free pieced? Your quilting is just perfect on it!

Poppyprint said...

Bravo Krista!!! It is really, really handsome, I bet Rob is going to absolutely love it. But, don't be surprised if he has an advance viewing...I didn't think my husband read my blog either...guess what???

Ariane said...

I love it!!! It's just gorgeous!!!!!

teaginny said...

AMAZING!! I love this. So creative and beautiful.

Anonymous said...

This is absolutely perfect.

Dianne said...

Very Group of Seven feel to this piece - Harris comes to mind. Very nicely done! And I concur the quilting is perfect for the piece and really makes it sing. Your man will be delighted I am sure. I found your blog through the "other" Krista and am so glad I did. I love your posts and your work!

Unknown said...

Krista this is stunning! He will absolutely love it... I have no doubt...

simply perfect.

(by the way, I got the parcel... THANK YOU)

Anna said...

this is just AMAZING!!! you are so inspiring. I love it and can tell it comes from your heart and that is so important. :)

Leslie said...

this is so amazing. i love all the different quilting you used on it. he is going to love it

Kadybug said...

Beautiful! Love how it all turned out.

Micki said...

This is really stunning! I love it!
Micki

Dani said...

Wow.

Wow.

Wow.

That is amazing. I adore the colors. And the quilting is brilliant.

Bra-vo, lady.

Holly said...

It's gorgeous! I'm sure your husband will love it!

momto2wasd said...

That is so beautiful and inspiring! Wonderful!!

Anonymous said...

wow! I'm so impressed. It's absolutely stunning! I'm sure Rob will treasure it.

Rebekah said...

This is amazing! It's definitely one of my most favorite quilts of the year! I love how you added so much detail to this. So incredibly inspiring!

Terri said...

what a wonderful surprize for your husband. You did a great job, very inspiring! I would like to try something like it sometime.

Sherrie said...

What a beautiful quilt! It really captures the feel of Alaska! I'm in Iowa now, but spent 3 years up at UAF. LOVE Alaska! Discovered you via Noodlehead.

Gumbo Lily said...

I'm so excited to find your blog. You're amazing!

jody

Louisa said...

Wow! That is the most amazing quilt that I've ever seen! Beautiful!

paisley and lace said...

Love it! Reminds me of Gee's Bend quilts which are my favorite inspiration. I am making a circle quilt right now, and am determined to finish it so I can move on to more of this type.

Renee said...

I just wanted to tell you how much I love this quilt! I found it via Pinterest, and it inspired this quilt I made: http://sparrowlanequilts.blogspot.com/2011/12/landscape-quilt-finished.html

Bless said...

This is a beautiful quilt. I found it when I did a search for "mountain quilts" and followed the links via Pinterest and QuiltStory to your blog. I was diagnosed with breast cancer two years ago and a friend told me to visualize it as climbing a mountain and I decided to make a "mountain climbing" quilt. I couldn't find a pattern that I liked for a mountain, until I saw your quilt. I have adapted your pattern and I will post a link to this post in my blog, when I finish the quilt and post pictures. I hope that will be OK with you. Bless

Bless said...

Hi, Krista, I hope you get this message. You wanted me to notify you when I am ready to post a picture of the quilt I made, adapted from your mountain quilt. I am not quite there, yet, but wanted to contact you to let you know that I will be posting a picture of my quilt in my blog, in the near future. Hope all is well with you. Bless