Friday 3 January 2020

Ballet with Kaffe top is finished (and the Peacock Party)

I'm thrilled to say that I finished piecing my Ballet with Kaffe quilt on New Year's Day.





It still needs borders, but I was so happy to finally finish the English Paper Piecing. My inspiration fabric will certainly feature in the borders, and I do hope that I've got enough to use it as the backing too.

Inspiration fabric is on the right.

In the final few days I had to swap out some rosettes that I'd previously sewed in.  I hate doing that, but when the colours are wrong, they are just wrong and those rosettes just have to go. 

I didn't like the colour of the star circled in the picture below.  It looked too similar to the 10 pointed stars circling the big rosette on the right.


So I unpicked it and replaced it with the star shown below in the centre of the photo.  This new fabric hints at the mustard colour used in the big rosette on the right, but isn't as dominant as the aqua was.


I've surprised myself with how far I've come since I pulled this quilt out on 8 December.  In three and a half weeks I finished something that has sat in the cupboard for the last 10 months.  Why didn't I do it sooner?

as at 9 December 2019

I do think the motivation of seeing Millefiori Quilts Book 4 has certainly helped.  I still don't know of any copies of Willyne Hammerstein's new book for sale in New Zealand, but it will get here eventually.

If you'd like to know more about Ballet with Kaffe, you can read ALL my posts on the tab at the top of my blog, or by clicking here.


What have you been up to lately? Have you been sewing up a storm over the Christmas / New Year period?  Feel free to link up below and show us all what you've been doing - holidays or sewing.


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15 comments:

Frédérique - Quilting Patchwork Appliqué said...

Wow, I'm speachless... your blocks are stunning! Pretty fabrics, and a lot, a lot, a lot of little pieces!

Gretchen Weaver said...

This is beautiful! I've also put something away for months then pulled it out and finished it, then wondered why I didn't do that right away! I can't wait to see how you quilt this. She's so lovely, you've done an excellent job. Happy Stitching!

Béa said...

OMG it's absolutely wonderful ! Love it <3

Nancy @ Grace and Peace Quilting said...

Breathtaking!!!

Karen - Quilts...etc. said...

Beautiful Quilt! I have only seen the book you mention on the Quiltmania site

FlourishingPalms said...

Good for you to be so motivated to work on that, Wendy! But my, you are particular. :-) I wouldn't have bothered switching out those aqua-color pieces. I think your quilt top is gorgeous whichever fabric is in that spot. And I admire you for doing so much EPP. I've noticed that my fingers/hands are more sensitive to repetitive work, as lately I have been hand stitching cross-stitches across a vintage quilt. My fingertips are sore, and honestly, I'm already tired of doing it, even though I've just begun - and it's a huge quilt! I don't know how you persevere with all the hand quilting you do. I notice how difficult it is to quilt in the evening, especially as I'm using dusty blue pearl cotton on navy and other dark blue fabrics. Sigh. It's apparent that machine FMQ is best for me. I'm happy for you to be looking forward to the fourth Millefiori book. Those look dreadful to me. :-) But isn't that the joy of quiltmaking? We can all find something we like. Have fun!

Marie said...

OMG - what a fantastic finish, and all just before Christmas! Congratulations - it is another spectacular work of art.

meweatherson said...

Absolutely stunning, Wendy! I think you have another show winner on your hands. I'm always amazed at the speed with which you complete handwork--maybe there's hope for my La Passacaglia yet...

Anne / Springleaf Studios said...

Yeah!!! So happy for you that you finished the EPP. It's truly spectacular. The darks really set off all the bright colors.

Rochelle aka Bella Quilts said...

This is such a beautiful quilt. I think that whatever motivates one to finish a project is great. Sometimes inspiration takes a long time to kick in. Can't wait to see it with the borders on. I'm imagining you will be quilting it by hand.

Graciela said...

Hello Wendy, I always look at your blog but I never encourage you to leave comments, today I cheered up and I want to congratulate you for this wonderful work, my daughter lives in New Zealand, in Piha near Auckland, I went several times to visit her, now as we have grandchildren and she logically now has nephews and godchildren traveling here, we live in Argentina, I promise to visit you when I return there a very affectionate kiss from me for you and my most sincere congratulations for all your beautiful works, I also do Patchwork and now I'm starting to make by hand and I love it !!!
 


Hola Wendy, siempre miro tu blog pero nunca me animo a dejarte comentarios, hoy me animé y quiero felicitarte por esta maravilla de trabajo, mi hija vive en Nueva Zelanda, en Piha cerca de Auckland, yo fui varias veces a visitarla, ahora como tenemos nietos y ella por lógica ahora tiene sobrinos y ahijados viaja para aca, nosotros vivimos en Argentina, te prometo visitarte cuando vuelva para allá un beso muy cariñoso de mi parte para ti y mis más sinceras felicitaciones por todos tus hermosos trabajos, yo tambien hago Patchwork y ahora estoy comenzando a hacer a mano y me encanta!!!

Farm Quilter said...

Wow! That is definitely a quilt that most quilters would not even attempt or if they did, many would make it into a small table topper or table runner! It is truly a labor of love and simply gorgeous!! How are you going to quilt it???

dq said...

This quilt if yours is intricate, a lot of pleasant work, and amazing to look at. I can't hardly peel my eyes away. I can't believe it is a top, because it looks done!

Unbelievable!

Danette said...

Your quilt top is just amazing! This truly is a work of art!

FlourishingPalms said...

Wendy, I'm testing my comment ability. Thanks! Linda