Stepping Stones

This quilt took so long to tell me what it wanted, but look how it turned out!  I'm so very happy.  I had planned to have it done before my cousin's first wedding anniversary... but I missed that by nearly a month.  Sorry.  It's done now!

Quilting went quickly and I had already prepped the binding.  Took about five hours to quilt the whole thing.  When I finished, the ripples and bubbles made me think of water over rocks, like river stones - some grey, some colorful.  Their wedding vows included seven steps, so I decided to name the quilt Stepping Stones.  It felt right.

I first quilted the waves using a template, then added the wavy circles.  I was smart this time - I bought a big spool of sea-foam green thread, enough to quilt the whole thing without multiple trips to the store.  It went with everything, blending in with the blues, greens and greys, yet was a pleasing contrast with the white and golds.  The color pops in the sunlight (although the camera couldn't catch it).  I had debated between curves or straight-line quilting.  I'm really glad I went for the undulating pattern.

Can I say that I'm excited to have done my first ombre quilt?  I've always wanted to do something in that style. I really like how it goes from dark to light grey.  I'm pleased, too, that in the end I managed to keep six of the original fabric requests.  The backing fabric was a great choice as well.  It has a little bit if blue in it that happens to match some of the last blue fabric I bought for the front. 

I brought the quilt down to the Cape last weekend to hand stitch the binding and affix the label.  Turns out my cousin and his wife were down for the weekend as well.  I packed my camera as an afterthought, which was a good thing - the quilt didn't come home with me.  And I need my photos to keep before giving my work away.  Everyone loved it.  My uncle threatened to keep it (No!  You can't!  It doesn't have your name on it!).

I had fun shooting the quilt.  I love the first photo on the rocks at the beach.  The sunset gave me some nice light that captured the colors of the quilt best.  The clothesline in the back yard was better for showing off the texture of the quilting (although I had to hang it on it's side so it wouldn't drag on the ground). I am amused there's so much gold in the photo from the rusty wheel barrow, sandy ground and parched grass. 

I have the makings of several Homebase blocks that I had cut and partially assembled.  Maybe a table topper or a baby quilt?  We'll see what I come up with, but I can't let those lovely blocks go to waste!

Sharing with:
Freemotion by the River - Linky Tuesday
Sew Fresh Quilts -  Let's Bee Social
My Quilt Infatuation - Needle and Thread Thursday
Confessions of a Fabric Addict - Can I get a Whoop Whoop?