Thursday, September 1, 2022

The end of summer

 Hi everyone. I hope you are all doing well. I kind of fell off the grid a bit, didn't I? We have been having a family crisis, so I haven't had much time to stitch lately, especially on top of classes starting, but I did want to pop in and show off the last of the quilts I finished this summer. I have been able to escape from the drama just a bit and stitch a few things, and I finally finished the binding on this cutie:
 
 
Well, I'm pretty down right now, but seeing this quilt finished is definitely cheery!  All along while I was quilting it and finishing it, I thought of it as "the end of summer quilt," but its real name is Synergy, a pattern from our friend Preeti at Sew Preeti Quilts.It's a fun and easy pattern, and you can get it right HERE.


I quilted this on my quilty "playdate" with a Baltimore friend, and I used a panto called Seamless from Urban Elementz to finish it off. This panto is really easy and a lot of fun to quilt. It's very swoopy and swirly. I love the texture that it makes, and the exercise I got while quilting it. It's a real arm workout!


For the backing, I used a nice quiet gray with white polka dots. The front has so much color that I couldn't see using something bright on the back as well. The binding was done by machine and is the same fabric as the pink background. I think it looks good! If you have sharp eyes, you'll also notice that I added a small border all around the quilt, mainly to keep all the seams from popping. It helped a lot when quilting it.


If you look at the background of the pictures, you'll see a bunch of fallen leaves already on the ground. Yikes! I think it's been such a hot and wet summer that the trees around here are stressed and losing their leaves already. There isn't a bunch of color yet, but a lot of the trees are starting to turn. Doesn't that seem pretty early to you? I could do with some cooler weather, but all these leaves are falling waaaay too early for me.

So, there is another cheerful quilt to wind up the summer. It's Labor Day weekend here in the US, so everybody take some time to hug your family and maybe have a barbecue or something, okay? I will be doing the same!


Sharing at Finished or not Friday, Brag About Your Beauties, and the Patchwork and Quilts linkup at Quilting Patchwork Applique.

18 comments:

Sara said...

I hope the family crisis eases for you as the school year begins. This really is a fun color combo that lets that pattern shine. I admire quilters who can put unusual color combo together so well. Love it.

Hubblebird said...

I love the quilt Mari. Once again a happy sounding post even though you are having a few problems. You always seem to have such a sunny nature! I clicked on the link for Preeti’s pattern but it is going to a completely different site. You might want to edit that.

Susie H said...

Beautiful finish, Mari! That Preeti is so clever at pattern designing, isn't she? I really love the final picture with the matching petunias in the background. I hope things have settled down for you on the family front and that the new schoolyear will bring you some inner satisfaction.

Bernie Kringel said...

Beautiful finish Mari - Love the blues and oranges with that background.
Hang in there - Life sure can be difficult at times.

LIttle Penguin Quilts said...

I'm so sorry to hear you have some issues going in with your family - that can be so stressful. Your Synergy finish is definitely cheery - such pretty fabrics! I enjoyed seeing them close up. Have a restful weekend - sending you quilty hugs!

Quiltdivajulie said...

Sorry about the drama - never fun and always distressing. The quilt however is pure joy.

Quiltpiecer said...

I love it! It's so bright and cheerful. Wishing you the best and hope all goes well.

Nancy @ Grace and Peace Quilting said...

Very pretty!!! Love your quilting!!!

sue s said...

I hope things settle down for you. We have been working two years on resolving a family crisis. It's been draining. Your Synergy quilt is lovely! I like aquas and a raspberry color together a lot.

Ivani said...

Happy Labor's weekend, Mari.
Sorry to know about the family drama and issues, hope everything calms down soon. As usual another great finish. You sure is a great inspiration.
Keep calm and sew on.

Gwyned Trefethen said...

Great idea to contrast the zig zag of the quilt pattern with a swooping swirling quilt design.

Kathleen said...

I really love the unusual background! Hope the drama calms down soon. I really love the way the colors change this pattern up. Congrats on the finish.

Alycia~Quiltygirl said...

I think the new quilt name should be *Escape the Drama*
Sorry you have been dealing with that - but so glad you popped back in with a stunning quilt!!!! I love the colors you chose to do!!!
Happy Weekend!!

The Joyful Quilter said...

That turned out great, Mari. Congrats on your finish!!

Preeti said...

Sending lots of hugs and hope the family drama comes to a peaceful end. On the quilting front, I hope you continue making bold fabric choices to make dramatic and impactful quilts. I am available for quilt holding-upping help :-) Hugs.

Frédérique - Quilting Patchwork Appliqué said...

Your gorgeous quilt is calling for hugs and coziness. I love the bright colors, and these pretty quilting swirls. I hope you are doing well.
Thank you for sharing,
hugs

Jocelyn is Canadian Needle Nana said...

An absolutely beautiful quilt with such vibrant colours!Pretty quilting lines too. Happy Stitching from me!

piecefulwendy said...

Oh Mari, I'm sorry about the family crisis. I'm late commenting as I missed this post, but your finish is lovely. I haven't quilted my version of this quilt, yet, so I may give some thought to adding a border like you did.