Project Quilting - Apple Blossom Challenge Complete

It was a long, long road folks... but I finished. I don't think I have had this much drama with a quilt in a long time!! This one I have titled "Apples Do Bloom."



I don't know if people would be able to tell by looking at it that I had issues with the flowers, issues with the borders, issues with the quilting, etc. I was also feeling pretty discouraged as the week went along because it wasn't really turning out like I imagined or planned. But I persevered, and in the end... I actually really like it and I am proud of myself.

It measures 20" x 26" and is made from scraps that I rough-cut into odd shaped rectangles and stitched back together again. There are probably around 2-3 dozen fabrics and hundreds of pieces. This was one project where having the iron right next to the machine definitely came in handy.

I am happy with the border choice that I made too. It's a little unconventional, but I think it works. I also got to practice my free motion quilting (twice... I actually quilted with monofilament first, and then decided it missed the point if you couldn't see it, so I quilted it again in green.)



The leaves & the smaller flowers came out of my stash of floral arrangements that I took apart. The leaves were attached by machine, but the flowers were done by hand & beaded to the quilt.



I also hand beaded the center of the large apple blossom...


I really like the overall three dimensional quality of the quilt.


Well, enough about what I think... we'll see what the voting public (and the judges) have to say! There are some truly stunning entries this week, so I have no illusions of winning this time around. :)

What do you think about my little quilt?

Happy quilting!