Tree of Life 2013 finish

Somehow I skipped posting these photos of my completed Tree of Life quilt last year. It's obvious from all the photos that it was actually completed in late summer/early fall - when the grass was still green and the breezes still warm. These photos are a great cheer to me today in these early days of February when it is snowing (again!) and I'm seriously contemplating running away from home until May!

All the details about fabric choices and quilting designs can be found in here and here in prior posts. The quilt measures 83" x 83", and the design was inspired by two quilts made by two different designers: "Tree of Life" by Edyta Sitar (pattern in her book Friendship Triangles) and "from little things, big things grow..." by Sarah Fielke (free pattern from lecien.com.

Here are some close-up photos of the custom quilting...

Can you find the little guy hiding in the tree trunk in this block?

I really love the texture Carol gave all the tree trunks. Look at that knot - a little bit of whimsy adds a lot of fun!

Here you can see the aqua/white striped flange I added before the final border, and the "water-ripple" quilting over the setting triangles...

I'm going to call this guy the Keebler elf :)

Carol did some amazing micro-stippling in the dotted areas surrounding the tree trunks...

And one last final shot...

Photo credits to my talented friend Kelly - an awesome quilter, designer, and photographer. Thanks girl!