Sunday 31 January 2016

Pick Up Sticks is Finished

     I'm really excited to share this finish with you!


  

     I finished the quilting on the Pick Up Sticks quilt around noon on Friday.  As it was sunny out when I got the trimming done I hauled the quilt outside to the backyard to take some pictures.  It's been so cloudy this winter that I thought I should take the pictures while I could.


     My journey with pick up sticks blocks started at the Toronto Modern Quilt Guild where we made blocks for a block lotto.  Those blocks were made with Kona Snow as a background. I had so much fun making the blocks that I asked the members of my local modern group if they wanted to make blocks for a comfort quilt project.  The blocks construction originally came from a book by Weeks Ringle and Bill Kerr but I'm not sure which one.
     The group decided to make blocks with varying grey backgrounds and bright sticks.   The 10 members of this group made enough blocks for two large lap quilts.  The first quilt was made entirely of pick up sticks blocks.  I took the leftover blocks and added the blue sashing to make this quilt.


     I used the quilt to practise free motion quilting on the sashing.  First I quilted in the ditch around each block.  Then I practised a large wiggle in the sashing.  I followed that up by quilting an echo with the walking foot around the pick up sticks.


     I finished the binding around 5:00 pm and took the quilt out for a last photo before the light disappeared.  This was my first time machine stitching the binding on both the front and the back of the quilt.  I wanted to learn this technique as I will be binding lots of quilts for the guild's donation program over the next few years.  The backing fabric which you get a peek at here is from my stash.

     The pick up sticks quilt finishes at 52" by 66".  It will be donated to the Interpersonal Violence unit at the local hospital and will be given to a survivor of sexual assault.
It was my One Monthly Goal  for January and my first finish for quarter one of a Year of Lovely finishes. My original post can be found here. I'm linking it up for One Monthly Goal with Heidi at Red Letter Quilts, with Beth at  Cooking up Quilts for Main Crush Monday and at TGIFF with Leanne at Devoted Quilter

27 comments:

Cheryl said...

Beautiful finish! Great quilt and a great cause!

Little Black Cat Quilting said...

It turned out absolutely wonderful! You did an awesome job and what a good cause to donate this lovely to. :)

Quilter Kathy said...

Such a fantastic finish Lisa! Way to go! Someone is going to adore this comfort quilt!!

Yvonne from Quilting Jetgirl said...

Congratulations on the lovely finish and catching the sunlight! Machine binding is a great skill to have for some quilts. I hope the quilt is well loved - you certainly put a lot of good energy into making it for someone. :)

Quiltsmiles said...

Wonderful cause and a nice quilt. Love that you experimented with those new to you techniques of machine binding, and the different quilting designs. Nice to meet you.

Marly said...

This is a wonderful finish for a very worthy cause. Well done!

Kate said...

It's a beautiful finish for a really great cause. Congrats on meeting your January OMG.

Ruth said...

It's beautiful. I really love this quilts colours and will be a great gift.

Shelina said...

Congratulations on a gorgeous finish! I like everything about the quilt - the fabric choices with the gorgeous colors, the beautiful quilting, the neat binding, the pretty backing, and the beautiful photographs.

Tish Stemple said...

Congrats on finishing! The quilt is beautiful and your FMQ looks great. All that bright white snow makes for a great backdrop. And I'm sure whoever receives it will feel all the love that went into creating.

Soma @ inkTorrents.com said...

Beautiful quilt and such a great cause! Well done!

-Soma

Beth @ Cooking Up Quilts said...

This is such a happy quilt, with the bright sticks and that calming blue sashing. You did a great job with the quilting and finishing Lisa. It's so fun to see it finished! Thanks for sharing on MCM.

Liz said...

This is such a great quilt, Lisa! I love the bright, colourful sashing!

Alycia~Quiltygirl said...

I am so glad you shared that quilt - it is so pretty! Love the quilting you did too!

Mary said...

Lisa, this is an AMAZING quilt, and I love how the photography echoes the pick-up sticks. I'd like to make my own version of a quilt like this someday. Take care, Mary.

June D said...

What a lovely finish indeed! The additions to the blocks and the decisions you made for the quilting really add to the effect. Congratulations!

Kaja said...

Fantastic finish - congratulations! And how nice to know it will go where it's needed.

Anja @ Anja Quilts said...

It's beautiful!! Love the snow photos. Great job.

TheItinerantChemist said...

A fabulous quilt for a worthy cause - what could be better? :)

Linda said...

Just fabulous! I love the squiggly quilting. I might have to steal that idea sometime!

Preeti said...

Congratulations on the finish, Lisa. Bright and Happy :-)
http://sewpreetiquilts.blogspot.com

Leanne Parsons said...

This is so bright and cheerful! I love how the bright colours pop against the grey background. Thanks for linking to TGIFF :)

Sandra Walker said...

Oh Lisa, I love the shots of this quilt against the snow! And the one on the deck railing, so striking! As is that large wiggle in the sashing. Yay for a finish and what a wonderful thing to do, to donate it to a place where you know it will help to ease terrible pain and suffering.

Izzy said...

I love the blue sashing you used! This is a wonderful gift! Great finish. :-)

Lara B. said...

That turned out beautifully Lisa! I lover hoe the grey background in the pick up sticks blocks makes the sashing appear to glow. The photos you took outside are so fun.

Jess @ Elven Garden Quilts said...

Oh Lisa, this is gorgeous! I love the blocks, and you've done a wonderful job with the quilting, the texture is lovely.

Thank you for participating in the 2016 FAL, on behalf of the global 2016 FAL leaders :o)

Sandra Walker said...

Ha! I'm back...wonderful to see this quilt for a second time, and NOW I know where you got the pattern! I feel a DREAMi (DRop Everything And Make it) moment coming on...