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Friday, October 25, 2013

Bloggers Quilt Festival Time



I had this little project started, when Amy sent out that email reminding us of the upcoming "Blogger Quilt Festival". Whew, I had to step it up, to finish in time for it.   Day and night, night and day, even on a trip to New Mexico to see the International Balloon Fiesta... My machine was with me, and running every spare moment! 

That being said, here is what I was up to...


My favorite Scrappy Quilt!
I know many of you know what it is. When I posted this photo recently,
I heard from quite a few of you, that you knew just what I was up to!
:-)
And right you were.
For those who needed another clue... Well, they swim in pods!
Yes they do!
Bonnie Hunters "Orca Bay". You knew it all along.
I downloaded all the instructions a couple of years ago, when it was a mystery quilt (it's now in Bonnie's String Fling book). Needless to say, it was no longer a mystery to me. The only real mystery was, when was I going to start on it!   LOL!!
Once I did, I was hooked.

From these crazy fun 3 1/2" squares pieced on phone book pages,


to the wonderful secondary designs that emerged as I stitched.


Just one problem, after cutting out and stitching 448 black and 448 white hour glass units, 350 black and 350 white triangle units, another 700 black (oh yeah,  you read it right), 112 black, 112 white, and 56 green 2 1/2"squares.
 Those 64 green 5-1/2" blocks that were string pieced and the 72 purple 3-1/2" ones...
I decided that I loved it so much, that it was going to need to be much larger than the  74.5 x 84.5 quilt it was.
Back to work I went cutting and stitching, not one more entire quilt, but two!
I can't even make myself do the math for all three now!
(tee hee)

You see, I wanted a big quilt. A really big quilt.
So big in fact that it lead to another problem.

My bed is a California King that sits very high off the floor. I wanted this to be a bedspread, but my long arm, can only accommodate about a 100" wide quilt, and that is stretching its capability. What to do, what to do???

                                       Remember those Orcas?
I dug out my old McKenna Ryan "Rhythm of the Sea" pattern for them.


With the use of my favorite, Quilt As You Go (QAYG) method, I was able to add extra borders, to this to get the width I needed. You can find additional posts on stretching a king size quilt, here on my blog!
:-)
It really ended up being a little bigger than what was necessary, but I wanted to keep enough of the design continuing on, under the border.




So there you have it, a super king size scrappy quilt!


                        The final size is 125.5" wide x 117" long. It's a biggie.
I am thrilled to say, the only fabric I had to purchase was the 12 yards of backing I used. Thanks to Bonnie Hunter, I was able to use up scraps for this guy!
It really is amazing just how much Bonnie has taught us, in maximizing the use of fabric scraps. 
Bonnie was in Denver the day this was finished. I so wish I had been in her class.
The waiting list was long, and I just didn't make the cut!  LOL, but I have my piece of Bonnie right here, and thrilled I am.
Hope you have enjoyed my journey thru Orca Bay.
You can see more from Bonnie at
She shares loads of free patterns on her site, as well as sharing all her scrap saving tips!  Check it out, I'll bet you have a quilt or two worth of scraps in you sewing room too!
:-)
 A very big thanks to Amy for hosting this wonderful hop. Where we all get a chance to see old friends, meet new ones and just relish in the eye candy, that everyone has to share.

Ahhhhhh...life is good!
:-)
Make sure you visit all the other bloggers participating! You won't be sorry!



32 comments:

  1. What a wonderful quilt you made. I'm speechless.!!!
    And so biiiig! Luckily for you that you have a longarm. Thinking of my small Pfaff, it would be impossible to quilt it.
    The pattern is just marvelous.
    Wish you a happy weekend, and enjoy your bedcover.... :-)

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  2. That is simply gorgeous. What a wonderful quilt. Thanks for sharing and keep warm.

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  3. WOW! That's the best reaction I have at this time of the morning! All that cutting really paid off - what a "wow" quilt.

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  4. Oh my, that is gorgeous! Those orcas were the perfect addition. I made this quilt but it's still a lonely forgotten top!!

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  5. Wow is right! The orcas are the perfect addition to this quilt. Love your colors. It looks beautiful on your bed!

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  6. That is awesome. The Orcas make it pop.

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  7. I LOVE LOVE LOVE it.... saw it on quiltville the other day, didn't know it was YOU!! are you doing the Celtic one?? I picked out fabrics but changed 2 colors :)

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  8. That is awesome! Love the green and purple color choices. And the orca's in the inner border are perfect!! Just wonderful!!

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  9. Having done the Orca mystery and getting it done 'on time' - which is very unusual for me - things usually get started then left - the work you have done on this super king size is absolutely wonderful, to say the least!! Beautiful does not cut it - a treasure to be sure. And yes, Bonnie is the queen of "if you've got it, use it!!" Love her. And LOVE vising your blog, it is total magic when I visit here. Always leave with good feeling, a tingle and the desire to make it happen!! Have a great weekend and I am also loving the Halloween projects this week!! Such joy and inspiration. And laughs, can not forget the laughs!! ;-)

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  10. I am at a lose for words. This is such an amazing quilt. The size is fantastic. The Orcas are so wonderful. I have run out of words to say how much I love this quilt! Great job with capturing the entire quilt on the bed.

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  11. HOLY...word I can't put on here! LOVE! I have this on my to do list, but have not figured out what colours I want to use (blue is NOT a fave of mine) I LOVE your colour choice and your border is to die for!you did Bonnie proud!

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  12. Gorgeous!!!!! Stunning!!! Love the colors...you should be oh so Proud of this one!!

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  13. Wowzer! That is one dynamic quilt. Well, it is also one very large gorgeous quilt.

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  14. OMG!!! Your quilt is stunning!!! It must be amazing in real life! Thanks for sharing!

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  15. The quilt is so beautiful...lovely work

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  16. Oh my - how beautiful. When I go to Albuquerque, I don't take my machine, I take my hand piecing and my knitting needles. I was there in September. The grandpa that lives there is the usual sitter for our 2 year old common grandson. He had knee replacement surgery and I got a frantic call from my daughter - could I come. You bet. My SIL suggested that I stay for the balloon festival. Nope, they needed their house back. He was sleeping on the couch, the 7 year old was sleeping with mom and I was sleeping in the 7 year old's bed. It was a little strange. I would love to go for the balloon festival sometime but two weeks is long enough at one time. I never thought I'd be able to be there that long years ago. I have a Bonnie Hunter bow tie quilt started from scraps. It's supposed to be scraps and cheddar. I think mine is orange and whatever. Actually I started using some charm packs that I didn't think I'd ever use. I think I have about 5 blocks made. They are really small. I'll have to make lots and lots and lots. I can hardly believe that you didn't have to buy any fabric except the backing. I know you are phenomenal quilter and this quilt is no exception. Absolutely amazing. I'm sorry that you didn't make the cut for the class. It would have been fun, fun, fun. I want to suggest to our guild that we try to get her to come. We have 3-4 nationally known speakers each year. Thanks for another great post.

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  17. You have really blown me away with this one. It is huge!! It looks amazing. I love the colours you have used and the orcas in the borders are perfect. And brilliant quilting as well. It looks wonderful on your bed. I really am impressed.

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  18. That is an amazing quilt! Wow, way to go! Congrats!

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  19. Very beautiful. It looks great on your bed. I love your colorway and the applique border really sets it off !

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  20. Holy cow - you are hard-core! Great work and an elegant solution to your size challenges!

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  21. That is a beautiful quilt! It is one of the many I love from Bonnie Hunter. I just did her Easy Street quilt. I plan on doing Jared Takes a Wife one of these days! Great job!

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  22. Your Orca border is so perfect with this quilt! The colors are gorgeous too!

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  23. Wow--the size! Wow--that everything but the back came from scraps! Wow--that you finished not one but two Bonnie mystery quilts (that's a feat in itself)! Wow--love the border/size solution and love the appliques against all the piecing! So to finish, just Wow! Beautiful work and enjoy the quilt!!

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  24. Oh my! This is wonderful! I love how you stretched the large size to fit your California King bed. I've yet to make a Bonnie Hunter quilt but this is tempting me to get started. :-)

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  25. Oh wow! I've seen a lot of versions of Orca Bay, but yours is hands down my favourite. I love your colours, and that orca border just kicks it up another notch. Gorgeous!

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  26. The most stunning Orca Bay I have seen. Adore the Orcas in the border. Has Bonnie seen your quilt?

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  27. Beautiful finish and I love the Orcas. I voted for you! I need to finish Easy street but I just watched Orca Bay.

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  28. Oh my, it's beautiful! Love the orcas too!

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Thanks for stopping by today. Your comments really do make me day!
;-)