It’s time for a happy dance as last night I finally finished my hummingbird quilt…
Last time I showed it to you I was waiting, rather impatiently, for the border and binding fabric to arrive.
As soon as the postman came with a squishy I set too to get it finished. I decided to make a 3″ border in green so it would hopefully follow on from all the squares being multiples of three inches. Once it was stitched I could press and sandwich the quilt.
The backing is a creamy patterned cotton, it’s in gentle stripes but luckily I don’t think they are so noticeable that I had to worry about them being straight along the edges. I pinned it to the lounge floor and spray basted the wadding and the quilt top.
I decided to keep the quilting fairly simple with diagonal squares which I hoped would work well with all the half square triangles. I did debate for quite a while where to start as the lines would be on every other square. In the end I decided to centre it on the star in the middle, so all the points of that star are quilted. I stopped just before each hummingbird, stitching a square into the block if it fitted. At the beginning I used a hera marker to draw the diagonal quilting lines, especially on the 6″ squares, but in the end I just eye-balled it! It quilted pretty nicely, though there are a couple of little tucks on the back.
I felt it still needed a bit round each bird as some of the blocks were just too big to leave without. I decided to use my free-motion foot to stitch in the ditch around each bird. It nicely gives them a bit of relief too. I thought the detailed pink bird would be pretty tricky, but actually it was fairly straight forward to go round all the feather tips, easier than the straight lines on others!
For the border I stitched a sort of three leaf pattern on every other seamline with an arc inbetween, it worked well, not too difficult and looks effective.
Once the quilting was complete I trimmed the edges and stitched the binding round. I always hand-stitch the binding down on my quilts, it takes a while, like a couple of evenings, but I can sit and relax and let my mind wander! I think it gives a much nicer effect.
The last stitching to do was to embroider a label on the back with the quilts name and my initials. Every quilt needs a name, it took me ages to get into the hang of this but I quite like naming them now, it sort of comes to me as I’m stitching! This one is called A Quiet Charm. I learnt whilst making the quilt that the collective noun for hummingbirds is a charm. This was also my first attempt at a ‘low volume’ quilt, as in quiet, soft colours, nothing jumping out or contrasting too much, apart from the hummingbirds.
This quilt is for my niece, she moved house with her husband in the spring and now she’s expecting, so I’ve a baby quilt to make next! This quilt is for the guest room where there is hummingbird wallpaper.
I’m really pleased with this quilt as it’s the first one I’ve designed myself, obviously the hummingbird patterns were bought but otherwise I sort of made it up as I went a long. I like the effect of the low volume fabrics too. This was the nearest I could get to a whole quilt photo, I stood on a stool in the conservatory to get the natural light but the ceiling wasn’t high enough!!
thecraftycreek 
Your niece will feel the love, very charming.
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Thanks Lisa
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That’s beautiful Margaret, I love the blue hummingbird, top right. I’m sure your niece will treasure it
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Thanks Sam, he is rather lovely 🙂
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It really is a charming quilt. Love the “quiet background” and use of traditional blocks. I really like the way the viewer has to look hard at the background to see how you have used them. THe humming birds are beautiful.
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Thanks, I’m really pleased with how it’s come out
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Beautiful work!
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Thank you
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What a fabulous gift to give to your niece! She knows that you love her!
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Thanks Laura, she’s worth it 🙂
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A lovely finish! The gentle colours and the vivid flicker of the hummingbirds make a beautiful contrast. One of my favourites!
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Thanks Kate, it’s always good when a plan comes together 🙂
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It is indeed a charming quilt. (Isn’t it delightful that the collective noun for hummingbirds is a charm?!) Your niece will feel very blessed to snuggle down under it.
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Thanks Anne, I do like collective nouns, though I do wonder where some of them came from!
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this is a real masterpiece!
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Thanks Claire, I’m really pleased with it
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It turned out beautifully, I love the border color!
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Thanks Kathy, it’s a lovely calm shade of green
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It’s really lovely Margaret. If I were your niece I’d be looking for the occasional excuse to take a nap in the guest room 😙
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Thanks, it’s worked out well 🙂
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Very beautiful!
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Thank you
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Just fantastic! I hope your niece appreciates all you did for her!!
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Thanks Kerry, I’m sure she does 🙂
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Hello Margaret, your Hummingbird quilt is exquisite, I think you’re so clever to design it. Your niece will love it. Regards Mandy xx
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Thanks Mandy, I think she will love it too.
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Gorgeous quilt. I especially like the soft background – it lets the bird blocks really stand out.
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Thanks Karla, I’m really pleased with how it’s worked out
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A lovely finish. Those birds are gorgeous! Your niece will love it.
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Thanks Sarah, I think she will love it too 🙂
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Your Hummingbird quilt is a masterpiece! How perfect for it to live in a room where hummingbirds fly around on wallpaper. A most gorgeous finish!
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Thank you, I’m really pleased with it
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Very sweet. The feathered wings of the hummingbirds are amazing!! 🙂
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