New York Beauty

Way back in December, I received this “Surprise” package in one of my Island Batik boxes. I didn’t know which line of fabric it contained.

Along with the 1/2 yard cuts of Harvest Night, I received 2 yards of Wheat Leaves Latte and 2 yards of Midnight Blue.

We were instructed to make a “New York Beauty” quilt.

P.A.N.I.C.

YIKES!!!! Google “New York Beauty” and you’ll see why I was in a panic!

EQ to the rescue! They have plenty of blocks to choose from. I chose to do a Checked Arc Beauty. Then, in order to have enough fabric for the design I chose, I foolishly chose a 9″ block. If I had been wise at the time, I would have chosen a 12″ block. But, I might have run out of fabric making those 9 blocks that run down the centre.

I printed out the pattern, taped the necessary parts together and started to sew. It took me over 3 hours to sew my first block. Oh my … what had I gotten myself into?

When I paper piece, I do NOT sew on the paper. This way, I can chain piece my pieces and use a regular sized stitch … and the bonus – I don’t have to remove paper!!! AND it’s easier to “unsew!”

When I was doing the curved seams … I pinned, pinned, pinned. I wanted those points to match up. And for the most part, they did! That was a LOT of pins for me to use – especially since I rarely use pins!

Here’s an assortment of pieces of one block …

I went to a retreat in March. I took my project with me … I only got 4 blocks completed on the weekend! Sigh!!! But, I must admit, I was busy visiting, taking pictures, eating, visiting, eating, taking pictures, visiting and only sewing in between!

Once I got home from the retreat, it was pedal to the medal and the quilt top was done.

This quilt told me it needed a simple, fairly skinny border which finishes at 1 1/2″. The dark border is “Midnight Blue” and the light border is “Wheat Leaves Latte.” Both of these fabrics are foundations that are available at any time.

To sandwich the quilt, I used 505 Spray baste and Hobbs Batting 80/ 20. It hung on the design wall for several days while I decided how to quilt it. There is a LOT of stitch in the ditch and some 1/4″ outlining … it took awhile to quilt! Aurifil Thread #2370 (Sandstone) was used. Schmetz Needle microtex chrome 70/10 was used for the quilting. The scrappy binding used each of the 20 fabrics.

Here is a close-up of the quilting. And yes, I like this thread so much, I’ve almost used a cone and a lot of a large spool! (Not all on this quilt!) I hate having to unthread my machine to wind a bobbin – that’s why I like to have the extra spool – just for bobbins!

I didn’t have enough of the Wheat Leaves Latte for the backing … SEW … I cut what I had in half diagonally, put it up on the design wall and measured what the distance was between the 2 pieces. I took some of the left-over pieces and made the center strip. Then I had a backing that was big enough – and pretty as well!

Here is a closeup of the quilting on the back:

There is a give-away!

Island Batik has a give-away! You have the opportunity to win a fat-quarter bundle of Jewel Carvings or Nightshade! Both lucious collections! Follow the rafflecopter instructions below!

a Rafflecopter giveaway https://widget-prime.rafflecopter.com/launch.js

Visit Elizabeth

Visit Elizabeth at Epida Studio. She received the same surprise bundle of Harvest Night as me. I can’t wait to see her New York Beauty!!! I bet they look totally different. But I need to wait until she posts to see it!

Thank you!

Disclosure: The fabrics, batting, thread and needles were generously supplied by the following companies: Thank you, Island Batik  Aurifil Thread  Hobbs Batting & Schmetz Needles !!

Blog Hop Schedule

Everyone is making New York Beauties this month! Be sure to visit each of them. You are in for a lot of fantastic eye candy! Here is the schedule:

June 6:

Gail Sheppard, Quilting Gail
Elizabeth DeCroos, Epida Studio

June 7:

Reed Johnson, Blue Bear Quilts
Andi Stanfield, True Blue Quilts

June 8:

Sandra Starley, Textile Time Travels

June 9:

Jennifer Fulton, Inquiring Quilter
Mania Hatziioannidi, Mania for Quilts

Juneย 10:

Blog Hop Round-Up Week 1 and Giveaway

June 13:

Jennifer Thomas, Curlicue Creations
Maryellen McAuliffe, Mary Mack Made Mine

June 14:

Pamela Boatright, Pamela Quilts
Anorina Morris, Sameliaโ€™s Mum

Juneย 15:

Michelle Roberts, Creative Blonde Gifts
Lisa Pickering, Lisaโ€™s Quilting Passion

June 16:

Denise Looney, For the Love of Geese
Connie Kauffman, Kauffman Designs

June 17:

Blog Hop Round-Up Week 2 and Giveaway

June 20:

Claudia Porter, Create with Claudia
Brianna Roberts, Sew Cute and Quirky

June 21:

Gail Renna, Quilt Haven Threads
Preeti Harris, Sew Preeti Quilts

June 22:

Megan Best, Bestquilter
Leah Malasky, Quilted Delights

June 23:

Suzy Webster, Websterquilt
Emily Leachman, The Darling Dogwood

June 24:

Blog Hop Round-Up Week 3 and Giveaway

June 27:

Jane Hauprich, Stitch by Stitch Custom Quilting
Brenda Alburl, Songbird Designs

One who sleeps under a quilt is covered by LOVE!

Happy Quilting!    
Gail 

59 thoughts on “New York Beauty

  1. Pingback: Sunday’s Thoughts | Quilting Gail

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  3. Pingback: End of Week One New York Beauty Blog Hop and Giveaway!

  4. I can relate to the challenges of making a NYB block. I noticed that one of your pins looked like it was run over by a sewing machine. I have done that too ๐Ÿ˜ฆ
    The end result is beautiful and the back is just as lovely!!!

    Liked by 1 person

    • Thanks, Preeti!
      I went back and looked at the pic of the pins and I didn’t see one that had been run over … but I admit, it has happened to me more than once!
      I love doing pieced backs with the diagonal! ๐Ÿ™‚

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  5. I am just WOWED by your quilt Gail, and how fast you got it done, because oh, probably 15 years ago I started one…and yeah those blocks take FOREVER. Now that I, too, have learned how to paper-piece without sewing through the paper, I really should pull it back out and make it. I am amazed that you got this done so quickly, and manage to do other things as well. It’s just beautiful, a real heirloom. And I love the back! – I must remember that diagonal cut for when I don’t have enough fabric (which happens fairly regularly).

    Liked by 1 person

    • Thank you, Sandra!!! Your compliments mean a lot to me! And yes, paper piecing without sewing on paper is a game-changer! I’d love to see YOUR finished NYB in the near future (like in the next year or two! LOL!!!) ๐Ÿ™‚

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    • Thank you. I must admit, NYB was never on my bucket list! If it wasn’t for the Island Batik challenge, I probably wouldn’t have done it! I’m glad I did, though! Happy Quilting! ๐Ÿ™‚

      Liked by 1 person

  6. wow this is gorgeous. you did a fabulous job. this will be so fun to remember what you went through when you made this. thanks for sharing and inspiring. my favorite quilt shop is: Pieceful Gathering Quilt Shop with Carrie Quinn and Katie Reed (owners) Fox River Grove Illinois

    Liked by 1 person

    • Thanks, Jantyl!
      It thrill me to hear that you love my blog!
      And batiks … I’m seriously in love with Island Batiks! There are a lot of new collections every year and the fabric is a dream to work with! LOVE it!

      Like

  7. It’s fantastic, Gail!! I love the back almost as much as the front! Your method of paper piecing without the paper intrigues me! Paper, ugh! That’s why I don’t paper piece! The thoughts of tearing out all that paper after you finish, not to mention the tiny stitches you have to use! LOL Your quilt is lovely.

    Liked by 1 person

    • Hi Brenda!
      Thank you for the complements! ๐Ÿ™‚
      I really really dislike tearing out the paper … I find there are ALWAYS little smidgens of paper left in the corners. I can 100% guarantee that there is absolutely no paper in my quilt! ๐Ÿ™‚

      Liked by 1 person

  8. Aren’t you glad you persevered and have a beauty of a finish:) I have 4 blocks of a NYB done and that was years ago, they are a lot of work!

    Liked by 1 person

    • Yes, Vicki, each block is a LOT of work – but worth it in the end! I challenge you to pull out your blocks and start working on them … you’ll be amazed at how much you can get done! ๐Ÿ™‚

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  9. Hi Gail! What a beautiful finish. I would have panicked when you said it took you three hours for one block. OMG! But that time investment was SO worth it. I look forward to seeing all the beauties this month! Nice job. {{Hugs}} and happy Monday to you. ~smile~ Roseanne

    Liked by 1 person

    • Thanks, Roseanne! I must admit, I do LOVE the finished quilt!
      All of the quilts promise to be spectacular! Each ambassador is so creative and none of us do the same thing! It’s always fun to see! ๐Ÿ™‚

      Liked by 1 person

  10. Gail, I just love what you did with the block and of course the fabric is fabulous. Guess I will have to install EQ8. The only problem with that is I know that I will spend a lot of time designing.

    Liked by 1 person

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