Saturday, December 12, 2015

Magenta Magic by Janet Knapp finished.

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Okay, for those of you following me on Instagram and Facebook, you have been waiting 10 weeks for this reveal.  No, it didn't take me ten weeks - I had trips in between and plenty of down time (meaning I am juggling a lot right now), but the quilt itself was on the frames for 10 weeks.  So, ya - I am glad to finally have this quilt finished.  Before you ask - I won't tell you how long this quilt took me.  Sorry.  That is between me and my client. ;-)

This quilt is called Magenta Magic by Janet Knapp.  This is an original design and is beautiful to say the least.  The pattern is not available, so please don't ask for it.  ;-)  You will be able to see the quilt in quilt shows starting next year.  Yay!

I asked Janet to write up a little something about her quilt for you, so here it is in her own words:

"Being encouraged for many years by my husband to design my very own quilt I finally began my process.
     Starting with a very large sheet of graph paper, a draftsman's ruler,  a #2 Futura drawing pencil and Pink Pearl eraser, I began my adventure.  I have always liked stars, lots of angles, drawing lines, fussy cutting, reading Jinny Beyer's books, the opportunity to take her class on color - I was truly motivated to design this quilt.
      As I designed the center block, I envisioned an entirely different quilt.   Possibly spikes  going out in all directions ...certainly not 1 block and 12 circles (each made up of 92 pieces of fabric),  foundation piecing the entire quilt and adding endless yards of piping.  Unfinished, I set my design aside and set out searching for fabrics.  Once I found Paula Nadelstern's great line of Luminosity fabric I purchased yardage of each color choice, after trial and error decided on the magenta/gold shades and then filled in with others.   The border design was great fun to do - however I had only intended to do a pieced border around the center block.   One rainy day at our cabin I found myself doing endless border pieces and thus...more borders.
    This has been a 10 year adventure.  However, throughout the 10 years I have completed several other large quilts and always going back to my designed quilt to finish yet another circle or another border piece.  This entire quilt has never been far away in my sewing room."


Me again, isn't that amazing? 10 years in the making.  My 10 weeks doesn't sound so crazy now. 

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This quilt top was one that I wasn't totally sure what design I was going to quilt before I put it on the frames. So, I just went for it.  I used 2 layers of batting for this quilt.  One layer was Hobbs cotton/wool blend and the other was 80/20 cotton/poly blend.  I love the combo of those two batts.  I used Kimono Silk thread, colors 365 and 304.  
 
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You can see how the batting really makes the detail in the quilting pop.  I had a great time quilting these small piecing areas.  The goal was to enhance the piecing without taking away from it and I think I accomplished that. 

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You can see the fullness in the batting in this picture.  The last row is the only row that I went ahead and saved the lighter thread for the end.  Throughout the top 3/4ths of the quilt I switch thread to finish the row before I advanced the quilt. 

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The center of the quilt was very fun to quilt up.  The design came together so nicely.  I wanted the center star to be enhanced with more points.  The square border is mimicking the outside border squares.  I try to pull designs in from different parts of the quilt to make them all work together. 
The center cross-hatching is perfect with the half inch squares, which can also be seen in the star blocks as a border. 

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Fabulous. I love how each of Janet's star blocks are different because of how she used the fabric.  Amazing talent and patience.

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Isn't that texture just amazing?

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I love being able to mix straight lines with traditional quilting designs like feathers.  It brings a softness to the quilt, but not too much.  Look at all that piecing - can you even imagine putting this quilt together?  Ah, not me - I will just quilt it. ;-)

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I really enjoyed these borders.  I used my purple disappearing marker for the marking in this quilt. I did go through about 4 markers though because of the dark fabric - it works pretty well at the beginning of the makers life, but will get lighter as you use it.

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Soft feathers with straight lines.  Love it.

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Isn't this border fantastic? 

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I look at this and just love it!  I also love that I am finished.  hehe!

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I can't get enough of this texture.

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The back is awesome enough for a whole cloth quilt.  It turned out fabulous.

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Love.

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Almost as good as the front.

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One more showing the amazing texture on this quilt.  It is so beautiful.  I love it and can't thank Janet enough for letting me work my magic on her "Magenta Magic."  

I hope you enjoy this quilt as much as I do.  In the meantime, it's December!  What the?  Where did the time go?  Christmas is just around the corner - hopefully I will be back on this blog before then to wish you a Merry Christmas!  In the meantime, you can find me on Instagram and Facebook.

18 comments:

Jen said...

Magnificent. Stunning. Beautiful work by both of you.

~Diana said...

Holy cow that's gorgeous! You are so talented~as is the quiltmaker :)

Sewgirl said...

Really beautiful work Judi. The quilting really enhances this piece...as does all your quilting. Thanks for sharing!

Leeanne said...

I'd say you and Janet make a fabulous team!!

Gemini Jen NZ said...

I'm so pleased you have so many photos of it as I loved studying each one - such beautiful piecing and your quilting is just gorgeous -well done to both of you, good things take time and this was worth it!

susan said...

This quilt is jaw dropping wonderful. I love the fabrics, the dramatic color scheme and the quilting is fantastic, like everything you do. The part that I find mesmerizing is the border pieced design. I have never seen anything like it. So unique and so, so beautiful! Thanks for sharing this delightful quilt, hope to see it in person some day along with lots of ribbons!

littlexiegirl01 said...

Your quilting takes my breath away!! You are soooo talented!

Kelly Cline said...

Seriously incredible! The texture really is hard to stop admiring! Once again, you brought a quilt top that was already fabulous to a new, spectacular level!!!

Sue Kaiser said...

Wow, that is really great!! I hope I get to see it in person someday.

Susan Lawson said...

Amazing work Judi! I have scrolled through the pictures several times and your work is beyond words. The quilt is stunning and put over the top with your quilting! Hope I can see this in person in upcoming shows this year.

Patty said...

The quilt is beautiful and very regal looking. Would be so interested if it became a pattern. The quilting is SPECTACULAR!! You continually outdo yourself!

JoyceT said...

Jaw dropping. You are an inspiration!

T Holzer said...

Wow and incredible and thanks for sharing!

DonnaDD said...

Judi, I love how your quilting enhanced Janet's piecing and design. From a distance you see all her wonderful choices, and up close you see yours. What a work of art. I would love to run my hand over it-just to feel the texture. Thanks to both of you for sharing your art, Merry Christmas.

Rebecca Grace said...

Ooh, congratulations to you, Judi, AND to Janet! This quilt is truly gorgeous. Yes, I think you nailed it with the perfect quilting to complement without upstaging the piecing. I love how this is in some ways a very traditional quilt, but with a very modern balance of negative space for the quilting to show off. The result is a very interesting interplay between the piecing and the quilting, like a conversation, almost. I think it's very successful and wish this Magenta Magic the best of luck in next year's shows. Meanwhile, Merry Christmas to you, Judi, and to your husband and your little ones. May the presence of Christ restore the peace in our hearts that we all so desperately need.

Linda R said...

Wow! Another absolutely amazing quilt. The design is beautiful and your quilting puts it over the top. Congrats on another masterpiece!

Dondi M said...

This quilt is almost beyond words. I don't know if I could let anyone ever use it. I had a beautiful comforter I put on a guest bed that was used by a foreign student as a study bed. I found black insoluble ink all over the top that I could not remove. I'm very careful now about which beddings I use with which guests. When this student comes, I use old comforters from Ross for her. If ink appears, I don't care.

I think you two are a perfect combination. I'm still in the "Get it done" mode with my quilts rather than the masterpiece mode. Maybe someday I can slow down and savor each stitch. I love what I do, but it isn't perfect. It's very good, but not perfect. Your work is exquisite.

Dawn Hendrix said...

WOW.... always AMAZING!!! WOW