Friday, January 9, 2015

Surrounded by snow

Hi all! Wow, is it cold! Even for Wisconsin, it's really cold. I thought we were supposed to be thawing out by now, but we're not! We're getting a lot of sunshine, though, and I'm loving that after virtually all of December was gray.

So, this week I have a fun finish to show you. I finally, finally put the binding on Burgoyne Surrounded! It's now a finished, snuggly quilt!


This quilt turned out beautiful, but it was so hard to photograph! I don't know what possessed me to try to photograph a white quilt in the snow on a sunny day.


It was really, really hard to get a good picture! It didn't help that it was 4 below zero (-20 C), either. No fussing with placements when it's that cold out! At least it shows off the quilty texture. And it amused some dog-walkers who were out when I was trying to photograph this.

Closeup!

 I love all my quilts (okay, most of my quilts), but I really, really love this one. I think I love it so much because it percolated for so many years. Plus, it used up a ton of solid scraps and 1 1/2 inch squares. Those bins are almost empty for the first time in a long time. And have a look at the binding--orange! I'm surprised too. I was going to use a stripe, but believe me when I tell you that it looked pretty bad. The only solids that I had with enough yardage for binding were orange, blue, or pink. At first I was disappointed that I only had those colors, but now I really love the orange. I think it sets things off perfectly.


About a week ago Bernie at Needle and Foot had a small giveaway to celebrate 51 posts and 51 followers (you go, Bernie!) and I won! Look at the beautiful package I got:


 Tea, candy, and sparkly tissue paper! Thanks Bernie! And congratulations again on your success!

Everyone have a great weekend. I am spending my weekend at a conference in Chicago, right on Lake Michigan. (I am obviously not on the site selection committee. I might have gone with Miami or Phoenix in January, not Chicago.) It's sure to be very educational, and I suspect there will be a stop at a quilt shop on the way home!

Hope you get a few stitches in this weekend. Stay warm!

[At the risk of being a complete downer. . .
On a completely different note, I want to add to my friends reading from France:  Je prie pour les victimes de la tragédie à Paris. Et je prie pour qu'elles reposent en paix, et que le Bon Dieu peut consoler tous ceux qui pleurent leurs morts. Vive la France.]

Linking to Sarah at Confessions of a Fabric Addict and Amanda Jean at crazy mom quilts

22 comments:

Heather Graves said...

Beautiful - I love white quilts like this! There's a couple of great quilt shops in Madison and Belleville that might be on you way back from Chicago! Stay warm

Windy Hill Happenings said...

What a beautiful quilt and wonderful use of color...set with white = perfect!

Jayne said...

Beautiful quilt! I certainly can see why it is your favorite! Beautiful!

Ramona said...

I love this quilt! The solids just pop on the white background. Gorgeous! And kudos to you for photographing it outside in your weather!

a maidenhair fern said...

Wow! What a crazy beautiful quilt. Must have taken for ever, but worth it all now!!

Anonymous said...

Mari, this might be my favorite of your quilts. It is gorgeous. The orange binding was a good choice. Pictures outside at -4 degrees..... not a choice I would make!! Hope it warms up for you soon.
I keep seeing all of these gorgeous quilts using solids. That needs to be added to my list. I have hardly done anything with solids....

Marilyn said...

Love how you took a traditional pattern and made it so bright and modern! Kudos for your persistence in photographing it. Dare I say we reached 85 degrees in Southern CA day before yesterday?

Alison V. said...

Absolutely gorgeous!

Sheri said...

You did a great job with your photography! I enjoyed seeing all the texture. The quilt is gorgeous and the orange binding seems to suit it just perfectly!

Rachel said...

Very pretty. I like the orange binding!

Ирина Авгученко said...

Extremely nice quilt! Love the colours!

Marla aka YaYa said...

What an accomplishment! I love the orange binding.

Ann said...

Really pretty! I like the rainbow colours you chose.

Terri said...

That is not a downer to wish France well. Ditto from me.

Love your quilt, and the striking poses it assumed. So pretty and inspirational. I've only seen that pattern made up in browns and reds, I guess symbolistic of the name. The pattern is too pretty to be stuck with such a name. I like your version so much. Thanks for sharing it with us.
Hugs

Quiltn Mama said...

What a lovely quilt!

Hollie @ Just a Mom who Sews said...

Looks like I wasn't the only crazy soul taking quilt pictures today. ;) I really like the orange binding. It looks perfect!

JanineMarie said...

Good for you braving the cold for a cool snow picture. Your quilt looks great in that setting, and I love the orange binding. I was not so brave, but discovered that the winter light indoors was pretty good for photographing in front of my storm door. Someday I'll try a snow picture, but it has to warm up a bit first!

Jennie @ Porch Swing Quilts said...

Beautiful quilt and great photography. I've been wanting to make one of these quilts.

Kim B. said...

Your quilt is absolutely beautiful - you're brave to photo it in THAT kind of cold!

and we here in France appreciate your thinking of us.

Chris the Quilter said...

I keep coming back to this quilt

So fresh and bright against the snow!!

gibbygoo56 said...

I adore it! I am loving the white with those jewels laid across it in pattern. Beautiful!

Leanne Parsons said...

So beautiful! And I love the orange binding on it.