T.G.I.F.F. - Yoshi - The Journey

With this huge finish under my belt and a host of posts, I thought it only fair to finally link up with T.G.I.F.F. once more as well as put together all the links in one post for easy reference.

This is for those of you keen to (re-)read the whole journey. Thanks for taking the ride with me.

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5
Part 6
Part 7
Part 8
Part 9
Part 10

Happy sewing, friends!

Yoshi 10.0

Starting in the afternoon and with breaks in between, I toiled away on the binding last Thursday and managed to finish all but the final corner in this picture until 11 p.m. My bed called and I called it a day.

Last stitches on a Friday morning.

Yoshi pre-washing.

This is the first time that I didn't pre-treat the fabric for a quilt. I considered it way too much fabric to bother with washing and ironing when I'd have to iron so much during the cutting process. I was somewhat anxious but it all turned out well. The wash didn't kill Yoshi, all seams held up, and Yoshi didn't really shrink that much. If he shrank at all. I didn't measure and it's barely perceptible in the pictures. The creases on the left and right are due to Yoshi drying on a laundry rack.

M was absolutely excited when he got the quilt upon my arrival in Berlin. He got a card for his birthday in early January with pictures of the layout and what I'd already achieved to reveal what he would soon call his own but I'd omitted the egg to keep it a surprise. I made it big enough for a newborn photo session, too. He adores it and my sister loves the idea, too!


Happy sewing!

Yoshi 9.0

With the quilt top finished it was time to turn my attention to the back. Time to cut more pixels, albeit smaller ones - 5,25 cm² as opposed to the 7,25 cm² of the front.

I forgot  to take step by step pictures of the process, but once more I divided the layout into manageable quadrants (four of 7x8 pixels). After two more days of piecing I had this backing. My adhesive spray gave out on the last centimetres. Crazy. It was as good as new as I'd only used it to baste the Viking baby quilt before. Worth it, though. I can't (and don't want to) imagine basting a monster like this with pins.

Another two afternoons were dedicated to slowly quilting a grid of 30 straight lines in the ditch every two pixels. Sometimes less, sometimes more organised.

I chose invisible thread to blur with the fabric and hide any amiss quilting. Yoshi is my biggest quilt up to date, roughly 1,8 m x 2 m (~ 72'' x  80'') and I was slightly worried that I might not be able to control the quilt well enough or find enough space under my machine, but all worked out nicely.

Time too cut away the excess fabric and batting...

...and get an idea of what it looks like on a bed.

I also prepared my binding that evening and attached it, even began to stitch some of it down by hand whilst watching telly - can you guess what I watched from the picture?. I saved most of that for the next day, though.

... to be continued ...

Happy sewing!

Yoshi 8.0

I'm back once more as I'm back in Berlin for my final exam on Thursday (crossed fingers appreciated muchly). Don't get me started on the internet situation back in Bavaria... Things might change soon. Trying not to jinx things by spilling the beans too early but important changes are certainly afoot. Aaanyway, feast your eyes on Yoshi pictures over the next couple of days!

After our extended Christmas holiday with the family, we finally, reluctantly, went home and I focussed on the big Yoshi Quilt. The first two days were dedicated to assembling more pixels and finishing quadrants 7 to 9.

On the third day, after a sneak peak and reassuring layout check, I put the quilt top together and spray basted it onto the batting ... and realised just how big the quilt would be.

 

 

... to be continued ...

Happy sewing!