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Friday, September 28, 2012

United Scraps of America - Grand Finale

The United Scraps of America quilt is FINALLY finished.


 If you are keeping track, I started the process of creating this quilt back in February, when I picked through my scraps of fabric {thank goodness, I am a fabric hoarder} and deliberated over which piece would go with which state.


Then, over the next month, I hand whip stitched EACH state into place.  And, in the process, I may or may not have developed carpal tunnel syndrome :)


For months after, I held onto my quilt.  I had put so much work into it, it was hard to hand it over for quilting.

Last month, I did just that. I finally put it in the capable hands of The Queen of Quilts, my mom.


And, in her very capable hands and her professional long arm quilting machine, she stipple quilted...


a tight and detailed free motion design...


around the entire United States...


into each detailed groove of each detailed state.


Then there was a matter of quilting the states themselves.


So, she outlined each state, changing the color of her thread to match the color of fabric for each state, just as I had done when I whip stitched them.


The precision of which she outlined each state is barely visible from the front of the quilt


but, when you turn the quilt over, you can appreciate the detail she was able to achieve.


Even though, I am fully aware of what the Queen of Quilts is capable of, there are still projects, like this one, when I look at it in complete awe of her talent. 


Since I have already started on a second United Scraps of America quilt, I have this one listed in my Etsy shop for sale along with some other homemade gifts like these.


I am very fortunate to have many special and meaningful quilts from the Queen of Quilts.  So parting with the United Scraps of America will be easier curled under this beautiful quilt.


77 comments:

  1. Oh my goodness! I am in awe....amazement...wonderful...and feeling a little green with envy. WOW! I absolutely love your quilt. You did an amazing job piecing it together and your mother....loss of words...stunning! You both do amazing work. I so wish I could do something like that...I've always wanted to learn but haven't had the opportunity. LOVE, LOVE, LOVE IT!

    Holly

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  2. OH MY!!! that is absolutely a-m-a-z-i-n-g!!! All the details and thought that both of you put in the quilt process. What a great job!

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  3. Okay I saw this in my feed and said -- that is so amazing...just like Daniela above me. :) You are so talented, Amy! WOW! The fabrics that you chose are so beautiful. Alaska and Illinois are my favs!

    I think you need an Etsy shop girl! ;)

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  4. Wow... That is stunning. Nice job, friend!

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  5. That is amazing. Truly... that would have taken me ten years to complete. Nice job, both of you!

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  6. Wow this is awesome. I have never seen anything like this. You do amazing work.

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  7. oh wow!! you are so talented but i know now where you got your talent from...your mom - aka - THE QUEEN OF QUILTS..

    that looks awesome!!

    huggies***
    smartmomma

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  8. This is an amazing quilt! Both you and your Mom are so talented! And productive! You have done so many great, energetic posts lately. Must be all that free time now that Grace is in preschool! Keep up the good work!

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  9. Oh woooow!! The quilt looks absolutely amazing!! This has got to be one of the coolest quilts I've ever seen! You're mom is amazing! Are you using as wall art or do you have other plans for it?

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  10. omw! how amazing! i can't believe you hand stiched each state, and your mom's talent - WOW! it is beautiful and sure to be an heirloom!

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  11. Beautiful! I absolutely love this. You did an amazing job!

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  12. Holy moly! Just gorgeous! You both do amazing work.

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  13. Wow... you and your mom are unstoppable quilting combo! The whole quilt is amazing and I just love all the sweet fabrics you chose for the states. What a beautiful heirloom for your sweet little Grace! I am sure she has some rock star quilting talent too~
    xoxo
    Amie

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  14. That's so cute! You guys must have a lot of quilting skill!

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  15. Oh my gosh! It's adorable--and what an undertaking! I can't believe you whip stitched all that by hand. I would have given up long ago. And I am probably going to have carpal tunnel someday, too...I think it goes with the blogging/crafting territory. :) Have a great weekend!

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  16. Amy that is fantastic! Hand stitched, wow. I love this! Gosh that must have taken forever any wonder you have carpel tunnel, totally worth it though!

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  17. Wow! I don't even know what else to say, it's gorgeous Amy. You are amazing!

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  18. That is outstanding!!!!! I'm gobsmacked (a little English saying meaning I'm speechless, which I am). A treasure you will have for years. Amazing!!!

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  19. Wow, mama done good. Real good. What can you have her quilt for you next?

    ~Bliss~

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  20. This quilt is fabulous! So much hard work and time, yet a great piece you'll have for years to come.
    Mary Alice

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  21. I am in complete awe of both of you, that is truly amazing. It should be in a museum somewhere. Just incredible.

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  22. This is an amazing piece of artwork! You and your mom are so talented! Foudn you through C&L link party. xoxo

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  23. Wow! That is incredible! I can't believe you hand stitched all of the states, and the job that your mother did with the quilting is amazing! That's a quilt to save as an heirloom!

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  24. Wow!! This quilt is so beautiful!!! I love everything about it.

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  25. OH. MY. WORD. Amy, don't your EVER tell me again that you are not the seamstress I am! That is just so beautiful and amazing! I wouldn't even dream of attempting that - I would quit before I even started! LOL! That had better get featured everywhere!

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  26. Wow, Amy this is stunning! It is so beautiful and special. I love that it was a collaborative effort on you & your Mom's part. I even popped on over to her Facebook page and "liked" her :)

    What a treasure of a quilt you have there!

    :)

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  27. It's just beautiful! Worth all that hard work!

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  28. Amy,

    That is truly amazing! AMAZING! You and your mom are a true force to be reckoned with ...

    :)

    Linda

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  29. This is truly a masterpiece, in the hands of two very, very talented women. Please tell us what you're going to do with it--it needs to be displayed! Thanks for visiting me and commenting on my Balboa Island pictures! ~Zuni

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  30. This is my first time to your blog...and here I sit AMAZED at this lovely work of art. Seriously so pretty---you are so talented!

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  31. Wow! This is truly incredible! I totally agree with Zuni - this really needs to be displayed somewhere!

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  32. Amazing! You are both so talented. This is really just so cool. How wonderful to have someone so capable and gifted to take over on the quilting. It is a show piece for sure!
    Liz

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  33. Stunning, what creativity and talent! Love the fabrics you used. Really a great map and how tedious to hand stitch. Thanks for sharing your inspiration with Sunday’s Best – you helped make the party a success!

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  34. Amazing! What a great job. :)
    ~Liz

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  35. Absolutely amazing. How big is the finished quilt? It's hard to tell from the picture.

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  36. It's AMAZING !!
    Absolutely gorgeous quilt :)

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  37. This is amazing! I pinned it. I'm going to follow & hope you join me for my new creative meme that starts on Friday at Diana Rambles. I found you via the Sugar Bee Link Party!

    Diana
    Diana Rambles
    Bento Blog Network
    Link Rink

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  38. Still lovin' it! Thanks for sharing at the All Star Block Party!

    Holly

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  39. Amazing! Such a beautiful quilt and I can tell it was made with love and took a while to make...wanna make one for me?! ha! Great work!

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  40. This is amazing! I am complete admiration of your patience ad ability to create such an amazing quilt. And the quilting looks fab as well! Thanks for sharing!
    Rebecca
    Heronscrafts.blogspot.com

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  41. Oh my gosh, I cannot even believe how awesome that is! And you did it by hand?! Geez, you're amazing. :-) Thanks for sharing at The Fun In Functional!

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    1. I'm just stopping by to let you know I featured this today on my blog! Congrats! You can check out the feature and grab a brand new Featured button here: http://practicallyfunctional.net/2012/10/the-fun-in-functional-link-party-20/

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  42. I absolutely love this quilt. What a labor of love! Amazing job.

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  43. I'm a fabric hoarder too! This is absolutely stunning! I love the texture that was created from the stipple quilting. If my quilting skills were better I would totally attempt this.

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  44. Gorgeous, what a great way to use scraps and create a work of fabric art! Stephanie

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  45. Oh, my gosh - what an amazing quilt! You are so creative and talented. GREAT job!

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  46. Amazing! What a gorgeous quilt. My oldest daughter and I are studying the US in our current unit (we homeschool). A quilt like this would be so much prettier than our current map/atlas we use. The detail you put into this is fantastic! My daughter saw the picture with the close up of New York and immediately said, "How cute, the big apple," when she saw the fabric. Amazing detail you did!

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  47. Wow!! So beautiful! An amazing work of art.
    Thanks so much for linking up at I Gotta Create! <3 Christina

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  48. Amazing! It looks like a lot of work, but it turned out beautifully!
    Thanks for sharing at Terrific Tuesdays.
    Rachel
    adventuresofadiymom.blogspot.com

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  49. Amy,
    Come by on Monday and grab my starfish featured button for your blog (it's under my header)...just gotta share this wonderful quilt.

    Blessings,
    Linda

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  50. You are featured this week on Busy Monday! Stop by this afternoon to grab a featured button from the button box. Pinned! Thanks so much for sharing on Busy Monday and hope to see more great ideas soon!

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  51. I am absolutely in LOVE with your quilt! Ok, ok and a little jealous because I still haven't been able to finish even one. :-) I'm going to have to break down and take a class I guess, since no-one in my family has ever done it. Beautiful!

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  52. Congrats on the feature at Coastal Charm. This quilt is remarkable!

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  53. Thank you for posting on Saturday Show and Tell! I hope you'll be back this week with more!
    -Mackenzie
    http://www.cheeriosandlattes.com

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  54. Wow!! What an amazing job!! It is beautiful!! You may have inspired me to try one. I would love for you to share it at Sharing Saturday some time!!

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  55. Wow! Amy, this turned out SO gorgeous! Definitely worth all the hard work...it's fantastic. Thanks for linking up!

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  56. This turned out amazing!! And i cannot believe you hand stitched each state!!! Thank you for stopping by and linking up at our Stop, Look, and Link party this week! Hope to see you next week! <3 Ps. YOur blog name rocks!!

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  57. So beautiful!! This is the most clicked at Sharing Saturday this week, so you will be featured! Thank you so much for sharing at Sharing Saturday!!

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  58. That is amazing! That you stitched the whole thing and that she changed thread for every state...wow!

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  60. What more can I say than amazing. You hand stitched each state? Wow! Thanks for sharing your inspiration with Sunday’s Best – you helped make the party a success!

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  61. Amy,
    This came out beautiful. Your work is wonderful. Thank you so much for sharing with Wednesdays Adorned From Above Link Party last week. This weeks Link Party is opened at
    http://www.adornedfromabove.com/2012/10/almond-sugar-body-scrub-and-wednesdays.html
    from Wednesday until Sunday.
    Hope to see you there.
    Debi Bolocofsky
    Adorned From Above
    www.adornedfromabove.com

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  62. That's a HUGE sewing project!
    MammaNane

    SergerPepper.blogspot.it

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    1. Ha! I know. By the time I got to Montana, I realized exactly how big it was and by then, I just couldn't give up.

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  63. I'm back again (from the CSI Project). As soon as I saw the little square, I remembered your amazing quilt. It was fun to look at it again. So much detail and so beautiful! I host a link party now and would love to have you link up!
    Take care,
    KC

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    Replies
    1. How sweet of you to comment again. I really appreciate both of your very thoughtful and kind comments. Thank you so much!

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  64. Wow! Wow! WoW! I am impressed. And off to figure out how you did this!

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  65. Love this! Coming over from the CSI project.

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  66. This is fantastic! I showed my son that it's for sale and he really wants to buy it. I wish we could!

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I am head over heels you took the time to leave me a comment.