The Eagle has Landed!

Posted byCarol AndrewsPosted inDrEAMI, Quilting, What’s Going OnTags:, , , , ,

I’m finally finished my quilt for a very dear friend. I learned a lot making this quilt; to listen to the longarm and how it feels and sounds when everything is perfect. I learned that unquilting takes days to undo what can be done in an hour. 😉 I also learned that having the perfect background for applique work is crucial. When I found this wide backing fabric from the Whispering Pines collection from Northcott Fabric at my LQS it made my decision about the background easy.

I was determined to make the Eagle using a pattern by Cheryl Phillips of Phillips Fiber Art since the eagle has a special place in our lives. Cheryl was wonderful to work with since I didn’t have time to wait for snail mail from America.

I didn’t quite get the eagle perfect but my oops don’t show as much unless you are a quilter. I didn’t have enough fabric to remake the section I erred on so it went in as is. I just told myself it was a design feature 😢

Once I had determined where I was placing the eagle on the background I trimmed the blue sky fabric away careful and did a turned edge applique to join him to the background.

I had a real adventure/experience quilting this one on my longarm. It’s only the second quilt I’ve done. I wasn’t familiar with the sound or feel of the machine so didn’t catch it when the thread started nesting on the back until I had finished one whole pass on the frame. The unpicking took me 3 days because I was so nervous about damaging my fabrics.

I did FMQ to outline the ridges and trees. It was so much fun to do!

I’m still learning which thread the Avante likes and which it doesn’t!

I was thrilled when I got to the end of the quilting and had to take a picture before I removed it from the frame.

Once it was squared up I machine stitched the binding to the front and got ready to enjoy some cuddle time while stitching the binding to the back by hand.

I had found the perfect flannel wide backing at my other favourite LQS so cuddling in to the softness was not a hardship at all.

I had enough of the Moda grey fabric left from another project to make my binding. I wanted a subtle neutral and it worked.

This morning I was up before the sun and finished burying my threads so I could get the quilt delivered first thing.

Finished size 86” x 104”

Fabrics used were:

  • Northcott Whispering Pines wide Backing panel
  • Moda Marbles
  • a variety of brown scraps from my stash
  • Prepackaged queen size flannel backing

Would I do this quilt again? Definitely! In fact I can think of another person I care about that would find this pattern to be a meaningful quilt. First though, I do need to get caught up on a few projects before I can consider doing this beauty again.

This quilt does qualify as a DrEAMI in my mind. When I got the news about our friend I knew I had to make him a quilt. I didn’t get it finished while he was in hospital, but it is on his bed to welcome him home today as he has now been released from hospital. 👍

Thanks for reading my post! 😊 Carol

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Published by Carol Andrews

I have been fondling fabric and creating things with fabric and fiber for as long as I can remember. My children had homemade clothes, blankets, canning and quilts most of their lives. Now I create goodies to share! Hope you enjoy viewing them as much as I enjoy making them! When I am not creating with fiber or fabric I keep busy with Dear Heart, kids, grandkids, great grandkids.

23 thoughts on “The Eagle has Landed!”

  1. This is gorgeous! If you would not have told us about your quilting nests, we would have never known, stunning! And as a new longarmer, I did the very same thing as you. Don’t beat yourself up, you are learning. You just are learning the curves that come at you out of nowhere. It won’t be long, and it will be a distant memory (At least you did not make three full passes of 10 inches and realize that your tension was loopy on the backside. It took me three days to rip out those stitches) 😉

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  2. It’s beautiful, Carol, and whatever the problem is, I can’t find it. This will be so loved. I don’t think it took you long at all from when you started!

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  8. Beautiful job , Carol! I hear you on the pain of HOURS spent ripping out stitches that took only minutes to stitch. Been there, done that. More than once! Sigh… I’m a slow learner.

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    1. Thank you. It was definitely a learning experience and now I know to listen to the sound my Avante makes. Hopefully I won’t have too many of these learning experiences before I know the machine and what she likes. 😉

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  9. WOW! It’s beautiful! And that background fabric is absolutely perfect! I love how you accentuated the trees. This is stunning.

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  11. Pingback: I Love Thursday #63 – Quilt Schmilt

  12. Gosh Carol this is one of the most gorgeous quilts I’ve ever seen! I love that fabric line and it is the perfect background for the eagle, such depth and richness! I don’t see your oopsie, but I like that you called it a design feature. 😉 I enjoyed reading about your process of getting used to the Avante, and I understand exactly what you mean about learning the sound of it when everything is going right!

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    1. Thank you Linda. This quilt was for a very special friend and I think it is my favourite of all the quilts I’ve made. I really enjoyed finishing it myself and love my Avante especially when she tells me something isn’t right 😉

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