New Orleans House Project

Monday, April 16, 2012

New Orleans Sunflowers: Quilted and Finished!

I shared some pictures of my New Orleans Sunflowers quilt last fall - before I sent it off to be quilted.  Local long-arm quilter Cindy Braiwick always does an amazing job of quilting, so I was looking forward to her artistry on this quilt.  She did a wonderful job fulfilling my requests and still managed to insert her usual playful touches as well!
It's way too windy to hang quilts for photography today, so I improvised by draping the quilt on my porch furniture.  The porch worked pretty well, except for the pesky lovebugs that kept getting in the way.
I wanted to have flowers quilted in the baskets, to mimic the original quilting idea suggested by Anita Shackelford in her pattern.  Cindy quilted sunflowers in the triangles and cross-hatching in the basket base.
The sunflowers were quilted to mimic the sunflower petals and the flower centers were cross-hatched to mimic sunflower seeds.
Sunflowers and leaves in the borders.
Cindy scattered lots of whimsical touches throughout the quilt.  Here are two bees buzzin'.
A caterpillar
A hummingbird.  It's almost like playing a hidden objects game!

I need to stitch down the hanging sleeve and the quilt will be ready for display.  My hubby built me a new quilt hanging rack especially for this quilt.  Hope to have pictures soon!