Friday, August 3, 2012

String Ring Quilt Top Finish

I met my goal of getting the scrappy string ring quilt top finished this week ~ woo-hoo!

Thanks to your helpful input as to how it might be finished, I went with a bit larger corner triangles (which form squares on point, in lieu of sashing), finished the outer squares into the border, did a scrappy string border, followed by more of the crosshatch fabric in an outer border. I did have just enough of the crosshatch fabric to squeak out the last border, with only inches to spare.

I am very happy with how it turned out!  As to the quilting of it, you know what?  I am not going to quilt this one myself.  Rather, it will be packed off on a fabulous quilting vacation somewhere, destination to be determined.

It feels like there's not much more to say that hasn't already been said since I started this project early in the year.  To briefly recap, the inspiration was a vintage quilt in a Gwen Marston book, noted here.  The scraps used were various blues, greens, creams, reds, and grays—colors I seem to gravitate toward instinctively, as they are all around me here in the Wisconsin countryside.

I enjoyed the stress-free piecing of the string "strata."  I usually made 4 different strata of strings and cut 5 wedges out of each one for a total of 20 wedges per ring.  Then the fun began when reassembling the wedges into rings (Dresdens).  It was always a cool surprise to see how they came back together!

It was so much fun to work with the beautiful and diverse scraps, many of them shared by friends from their stash.  That makes this quilt all the more special!

Linking up with Sarah today.  There's always lots of good stuff to see over there!

26 comments:

Sara said...

It is very beautiful! All of it, is so much fun to look at:) So how will you get it quilted now I wonder?

Elizabeth said...

Oh, my heck! I love it! It came together so beautifully. You do amazing things with fabrics. Those colors are so great, the little corners triangles/squares-on-point are SO perfect and the scrappy border ties it together so nicely!

Would you mind sending me on a fabulous quilting vacation somewhere? It seems like I am getting absolutely nothing done this year. I haven't sewn since Tuesday this week. Busy time at work.

Anyway, LOVE it!

xo -E

Mina said...

Wow, thats really beautiful.

Pokey said...

Hip hooray for goals met, and a beautiful quilt top to go with it!! I loved your crosshatch background so-o much, I put out feelers everywhere until I found some, and bought 10 yards of the too cool stuff. Yep, you'll see something from it at my house...someday. I do so love this quilt! Colors, black dot "diamonds", strippy border, e v e r y thing! This one gets Best of Show!
:-}pokey

Elizabeth said...

I love it! Your photos of working on it in the early stages inspired me to try some scrappy rings myself.
Thanks for sharing.

Unknown said...

Now this is a beauty! Much time and much love went into this! Love it! Hugs

Karen said...

YAY! Love how this looks! so great with the corners and no sashing...totally borrowing that :)

MomWaldsPlace said...

Wow, a book and a quilt, way to go!!!

Cherie said...

The quilt is looking good! I love how you added the extra border =D

Sarah Craig said...

I'm so glad you linked up with this quilt - it's absolutely awesome!!! You did an amazing job with this and I really want to try those dresdens, too - it's the first one I've ever said that about!! So here's a great big WHOOP WHOOP for you!!

Vicki @ DottyJane said...

I love that you extended the diamonds into the border! Love the crosshatch fabric, too. Ah, heck, I just love the whole thing!

Captain StitchyPants said...

That looks beautiful, a great use of scraps!

em's scrapbag said...

WOW!! Your quilt is remarkable. I love the grey background with the colors you chose.

Shelina (formerly known as Shasta) said...

This is beautiful. Definitely one to add to my to-do list!

Shay said...

Go you. That finish is da bomb! It looks amazing. I adore the background fabric and the border is fab!

Scrap quilts always look magical when they are finished.

ThreeOldKeys said...

what a beauty ... of course we all feel some pride of ownership ...

it's classy gorgeous fun!

Unknown said...

This quilt is just stunning. There is nothing else that can be said. I love it!

Ruth said...

What a pretty quilt and a great idea. Gotta try this out.

Kristen said...

It's beautiful!

Sharon said...

This is a great take on the dresden plate! Love the scrappy look

Anonymous said...

J'adore ce quilt!
Katell, France

Pattilou said...

I love this. The MODERN Dresden!

greelyrita said...

This turned out super!!! It's just perfect!!

greelyrita said...

This turned out super!! I love this quilt!! It's just perfect!!

Crystal Stanworth said...

That is so awesome!!

Carli The Quilter said...

Lovely color combinations in your choices.