Tuesday, May 12, 2020

Temperature Quilt Finish

Is it possible to be thrilled to have finished a quilt, but be so tired of working on it that you almost don't like it anymore? That's how I feel about my 2019 temperature quilt.
2019 Temperature Quilt, 72" X 84"
Starting in January, 2019, I made each block according to daily high and low temperatures recorded at a Wunderground.com weather station belonging to a homeowner who lives on a street behind my house. This is the color key I used, though this version didn't happen until summer, when the temperatures got higher than I anticipated! I began with 20 colors, but by mid-summer, I added the three colors at the top of the range for a total of 23 colors. Every color is in the quilt.

These four-inch Drunkard's Path blocks, cut using a Classic Curves Ruler, are arranged in a vertical "snake" layout, and hand-embroidered with the month number on the first day of each month.

The direction of each convex curve is based on the previous day's high temperature. If the day's high temperature increased (from the previous day), the convex aimed up; if the day's high temperature went down, the convex aimed down; if it stayed the same, so did the convex, though the direction of the convex alternated. Confused? It made sense to me as I did it, and made these wonderful half-circles; quarter-circles; three-quarter circles; and waves.

Quilter's Dream Wool batting and more than 20 colors of Aurifil 50-weight thread were used for quilting. 

Thread colors in the top and bobbin were changed to coordinate with the rainbow ombré wideback by Hoffman. 

For quilting, I used my Bernina 770QE with the #72 ruler foot to ruler quilt all the straight lines and curves with Fine Line rulers, and Sew Steady echo guides. I filled in with free motion quilting.

After quilting for hours and hours, I stopped to figure out how much time I was spending on it. 

I determined that each 4" X 4" block took approximately 15 minutes to quilt.

Between changing thread colors; un-quilting and re-quilting the occasional curve or circle; and burying threads, 15 minutes is probably an accurate number. Multiply the time by 378 blocks on the quilt, and I spent 94 hours quilting. That feels about right. It was a lot! It gives me a perspective on the Peter Byrne's 2020 QuiltCon Best of Show with 150 hours of domestic machine quilting! See it here. 

Since the number of days in 2019 didn't work out to a complete quilt top, I added "temperature key blocks" along the right side of the quilt. Each color is machine-embroidered with the degree range it represents.
 

The unquilted white convex curve is the label. 


Binding on the sides is the Hoffman rainbow ombré, but I cut out the green section and replaced it with an aqua ombré. The top and bottom binding colors are solid orange.

A happy finish!
Linda

27 comments:

  1. SUCH an accomplishment! With your quilting, it's just stunning, Linda. So much thoughtfulness in every detail!

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  2. There are quilts and then there are QUILTS! Amazing. A year long thoughtful piecing project finished with an epic quilting job (and great backing and binding BTW) is a very special quilt. Take a break from it and look back again in a few months and it will bring back all the love and talent you put into this beauty. Congratulations Linda on a fabulous piece of art.

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  3. This is really stunning. Maybe you will earn “best of show”also. It certainly is deserving. Yes, I am confused as to convex up and down. It thought is was PacMan ��

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  4. So very beautiful Linda! I can totally understand your relief/happiness at having this one finally finished. Very worth every minute you spent with the quilting!

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  5. This is a masterpiece Linda! I understand how you might be tired of it right now but you should also be very proud. All the work that went into creating such a wonderful quilt was worth it and I'm sure will come back to you in many ways as it gets into shows. Best temp quilt I've seen. Truly.

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  6. I adore this quilt and I'm sure with a little distance you will too (again). It's such a vibrant quilt and the colours play amazingly together. I I can't believe that you spent so many hours just quilting it, but of course it shows. Will you enter this quilt in any shows? I really hope so as it deserves to be seen by many.

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  7. Not sure if you are NUTS or a saint to use 20 thread colors to quilt..... I figure the label on this quilt is huge in order to document what the colors, etc stand for. It is a great quilt and will give a genealogist fits to document the weather, etc.

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  8. WOW! Linda. So much thought has gone into this quilt. If it's not a prizewinning quilt, I'll eat my hat!! I'm sure a magazine will want to print it. Love all your quilting. Very well done Linda. I know what you mean about working on something so long, you almost don't like it when you're finished, but it's truly excellent!

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  9. Oh my goodness, this is just wonderful! Love the ombre effect that goes along with temperature changes. I admire anybody who can stick with a project that takes so many hours. I would get bored and just want to pack it up! So big kudos to you for you for sticking with it. It's absolutely beautiful, Linda.

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  10. It's one of the BEST temperature quilts I've ever seen. LOVE it!!

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  11. Now that is an amazing quilt! Enjoyed reading the explanation. Thanks for sharing!

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    1. Thank you very much for saying so, Theresa. Glad you enjoyed reading about it. (You’re a “no-reply commenter,” so I’m sorry I couldn’t directly reply to you.)

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  12. Your quilt is wonderfull. Your ideas, your colors, the curves, your quilting, it's amazing. Not enough words in my english vocabulary to say my admiration!!!

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  13. Wow, Linda- the back story of this quilt is nearly as interesting as the quilt itself! Don't forget to add in the time spent embroidering each day's data- I'm a slow stitcher, so I appreciate the detail you have added with this.

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  14. Wow! This not only a beautiful quilt, it's interesting. I see so many quilters start these each year but rarely do I see finishes. The cold to hot to cold transition is really beautiful. I'm so inspired by this I may copy it. It might be fun to do from solstice to solstice, don't you think? Going to start watching and recording weather stats to get in the habit from now till June 21.

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  15. You have quite an accomplishment! I did a temperature quilt, only once, as it is quite an undertaking! I love how you added the increases and decreases in daily temperatures. It really creates some lovely movement in your quilt. Your quilting is also pretty amazing!

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  16. Wow. It's a terrific quilt, and the quilting is stunning! I can't imagine all the thread swapping.

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  17. I Love the block you choose for this quilt!
    I have one going for this year with a block in a block and my own hand dyed fabrics.
    I am using a white square for the start of each month and a full moon embrodery where it falls and the a solstice and equinox sign where they are needed.

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  18. Quilter are nuts, but we know that. Look at what a beauty you have created!! It is just breathtaking. Yes of course you are sick of it because we are so picky about our work. Also, the minute we start a quilt, we have 5 more in our heads that we want to create. Please go ahead and let it be and cherish the accomplishment. This is truly a work or art. It deserves to be entered in a contest one day!!!

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  19. Sounds like an intense quilting experience but worth the effort!! Lovely!

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  20. Although it was a huge time intensive project I really like the way it turned out

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  21. It’s just beautiful. Glad you finished it.

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    1. Hello Merry! You’re a “no-reply commenter,” (you haven’t shared your email address in your Google profile) so I am unable to thank you directly for you lovely compliment. I generally finish the quilts I begin, and this is definitely one I didn’t want to allow to languish unfinished. I’m happy with how it turned out. Thanks so much!

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  22. What a lovely quilt. I appreciate all the effort you put into this. I am just starting a temp quilt for 2022 but will be using flying geese. Congratulations on your finish, it truly is spectacular.

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  23. Wow...Great job! I am working on one for the year that I was born...in Michigan. Using flying geese but seriously thought about the drunkers path block after seeing yours and a couple others ....On a side note, I spent 14 years living in the desert and knew right away your had to live there too...Glendale Az was where I was and I would recognize those temps anywhere....I love it. I hope you will again soon...

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  24. Now I see that you are in FLorida...so you dont just have the heat...you have the humidity....Humm that migh make and interesting quilt too...High temp, low Temp and humidity....atleast for Michigan and Florida where we have both...Not so much in the desert...it is just hot.

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  25. Hi Janet! You are a "no-reply commenter," so I can't directly email you to say "thank you very much!" It's so nice of you to say such a nice thing about my 2019 Temperature Quilt, and to share how you're going about making one for yourself. I guess you found out pretty quickly that there are many ways to approach making a temperature quilt. In fact, if you're a member of the Modern Quilt Guild, you can watch a webinar that I helped present (along with two other MQG members) about how to go about making a temperature quilt. Everyone has such great ideas! And there was a wonderful display of temperature quilts at QuiltCon 2022 in Phoenix, so we got to see even more ways to go about it. I hope you have lots of fun making yours!

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