Thimbleanna

Yo. Yo.

Yipee! The YoYo quilt is finally finished!

It was a bright sunny day when we took pictures of the quilt and sadly, bright sunny days don’t always make for good picture taking. We hung the quilt on the outdoor quilt holder swingset at MeMum’s and I waited almost two hours for the sun to go down past the roofline of the house. I finally had to give up, snap the picture and get home to make dinner for TheManoftheHouse. Sorry for the shadow — pretend it’s not there.

Thimbleanna.com: YoYo Quilt

While we were waiting on the sun, MeMum and I had fun taking pictures in her guest room, on her beautiful antique bed. She wanted to put some of her dolls and teddies on the quilt, so we had fun playing around.

Thimbleanna.com: YoYo Quilt

I’ve mentioned before that Ms. Barefoot Daydreams was my total inspiration for this quilt.  It’s been almost 6 years since I saw her red yoyo quilt and then, a year later, she made her black yoyo quilt.   They’re just gorgeous and I knew I wanted to make one.

Thimbleanna.com: YoYo Quilt

These quilts are a lot of work and I’m amazed that Ms. Barefoot made more than one. I could see making another one — but it will be awhile LOL.  There are 868 yoyos in my version.  I figured I could make 12 – 15 yoyos in an hour, so that’s about 60 hours making yoyos.  And then it took about an hour to sew down 10 yoyos, so that’s about 86 hours to sew down yoyos.  Add to that the time it took to sew borders, draw the big yoyo grid, pin baste, machine quilt and then bind the foundation quilt.

Thimbleanna.com: YoYo Quilt

It was fun work though.  I really enjoyed watching movies and doing all the handwork.  I’m feeling a little lost now without a handwork project, I need to plan something soon.  It took about seven weeks to sew all the yoyos to the quilt.  After all that time and apparent kitty naps when I wasn’t home, the quilt required a bath.

Thimbleanna.com: YoYo Quilt

I held my breath when I put the quilt in the wash on gentle cycle.  I was afraid those yoyos would fall apart but, happily, there were no thread incidents.  Unfortunately though, there was a bit of color running (in spite of fabric pre-washing and two color catchers in the wash).  The color running is faint though, so it’s nothing I can’t live with.  The yoyo fabric on the left, in the picture below, was the culprit.  And the fabric on the right is my favorite fabric.  It’s hard to tell all scrunched up in a yoyo, but it has pretty little calligraphic letters on it.

Thimbleanna.com: YoYo Quilt

And just to prove that spring has finally arrived here, we took a picture of the quilt with MeMum’s pretty daffodils. Luckily, spring has been late in arriving this year because now, there is a LOT of yardwork to be done.

Thimbleanna.com: YoYo Quilt

So, I’m a happy camper — I finished the yoyos just in time.
Have a wonderful weekend!

XOXO,
Anna


77 thoughts on “Yo. Yo.”

  1. Wow, finished already ~ I’m so impressed! And it’s a real stunner! Too bad about the color bleed, but it sounds minimal.
    I love the slight 3-dimensionality of the yo-yos.

  2. What a labour of love! Congratulations Anna, your quilt is absolutely stunning. So glad the bleeding was minimal, otherwise it would have been tragic. (I usually use at least a whole packet of colour catcher when washing a bigger quilt, sometimes even two)

  3. Oh my Anna. I can’t believe you made that. Well, seeing your other work I can, but wow. I am in awe. It looks absolutely beautiful. If I were standing in front of it, you’d get annoyed, because I wouldn’t be able to stop looking at it. :) You are amazing. A priceless heirloom for sure. Well done and bravo!!

    Debbie

  4. Wow, very pretty and very impressive! So much time too. I usually think it is best not to think about how much time some of my projects have consumed. Just wondering, it this yoyo quilt heavy?

  5. It truly is beautiful Anna, you should be well proud of yourself , most definitely an heirloom. I have to say thought that the dolls kind of freak me out , scary faces shudder x

  6. That is one glorious quilt. It’s certainly beautiful on your mom’s bed. Yes, it’s quite an heirloom.

    Btw, the mallards up and left Goodman’s workplace with their young in tow the day him to get a picture. Phooey on that, but they are safely on their way to wherever. :)

  7. Congratulations Anna!!! What a stunning quilt! Loooove all those red yoyos! Definitely worth all the hours of hand stitching! Beautiful!

  8. how do you keep doing this to me?!? i am totally at a loss for words (yeah – Ms. Big Mouth – speechless)!!! but this isn’t a word-kinda-quilt – it is a feeling one, and there are tears in my eyes (no, i’m not a big baby … well … maybe a little bit) when i look at all those moments of your Life represented in this beauty.

  9. Anna, Anna, Anna, the quilt is absolutely amazing!! Oh, my gosh, what a labor of love. Hmmm, it would look fabulous in my guest room……..????

  10. Hey! You did it! Congratulations! It is beautiful! It is addictive, isn’t it? Almost makes me want to do another one. I just finished hand quilting a small quilt and I feel like I must start another hand project. Ba ha ha ha. We’ll see.

  11. It turned out absolutely beautiful! And we aren’t nearly as old as we thought we would be when you finished it! :-)
    I really think you should make another one….

  12. The quilt is absolutely stunning. I love the red and white that you used, it really makes the yo yos pop doesnt it.

  13. Gorgeous Anna and finished, what an accomplishment. I know what you mean about always having some sort of handwork going….love handwork!

  14. well done Anna. its turned out just gorgeous…a true heirloom really! and im pretty sure you weren’t actually complaining about the sunshine here in the Fort, right? no need for sunshine issues today…

  15. Oh my…it’s just gorgeous. The hours spent on it were so worth it! There’s a special place in my heart for red and white quilts and this one is a stunner, that’s for sure! Good job there Anna!

  16. Kris of dandelion quilts

    Holy yo yo that was a ton of work. It is beautiful. I bet your glad you finished it. I suspect I will leave that off my yo to do list although it is very pretty.

  17. Anna LOU!!!!! I adore it and it’s my color, it will look perfect on my bed! LOL
    Seriously it is beautiful. xoxo

  18. Amazingly beautiful—but all those hours? Agh! Don’t think I’llbe making one of theses, but, if you ever tire of it I would be willing to offer it a good home… I’m generous like that!

  19. Holy smacks there Woman – that’s amazing and beautiful. I love red and white and I think yoyo’s are so much fun and that makes for a great combo you’ve got there. Quite a feat of accomplishment you’ve gotten done this winter – YOU ROCK CHICKY

    Hugs – Mrs. Farmhouse

  20. OH! OH! It is magnificent!! That is a lot of work but it is most definitely worth it. Your work is beautiful. Now, as always, you have inspired me. Thanks for sharing!

  21. Whoo-hoo! Congratulations on a beautiful quilt completion! Better hide it when Jewels is in the house! Love it!

  22. i don’t think i’ve ever wanted to punch you in the head before this. no, i’m happy for you. truly. it doesn’t bother me that i only have 1/2 of my yoyos done and you’re done with your quilt.
    it’s beautiful anna.
    stunning.

  23. There is something I just love about this yo-yo quilt. Maybe it’s the colors. But it is just wonderful! I can’t believe you got them sewn on so evenly. If I tried to make the grid, I am sure mine would be wonky and running up or down hill. You know how those yo-yo-s can misbehave.

    You might have inspired me to add one of these to my list. Then again, I may lie down until the feeling passes…lol.

    Congrats!

  24. Oh! Anna! It’s amazing! I just love it! What a great accomplishment! Well done. I hate it when the bleeding happens. I just washed a quilt I made for Amanda for Market, and the d*** red DMC floss ran! ARGH! I could just scream.

    Anyway, I just love your quilt!

  25. It si just gorgeous! A serious labor of love. Handwork is my favorite though I tackle small projects like pin cushions! You are inspiring. Cheers!

  26. It is so beautiful. I think a 2 color quilt makes such a statement. It really is a work of art. You should be so happy with it all. Love the photos. They are perfect.

  27. This is absolutely stunning. Wow, so ambitious with such a gorgeous payoff.

    This is really stunning, I’m going to share this post with my Mom. She’ll also be equally impressed.

    So glad I popped over to see you.

    Take care,
    Lisa

  28. So very lovely, Anna. I thought I was done with all my crochet squares. But no. I decided they needed another round. So the count is back on. Me: 16. Squares: 48. I don’t know when they will get done. I am distracted by some felty goodness right now.

  29. I am sunk, its just gorgeous and i I think I must add it to my list. Well at least I have to finish the HexyMF first..or can I have both going at once?

  30. I have said it before, and I’ll say it again: What an incredible job you have done with the yo yo quilt. AMAZING!

    And just for the record, you will never, and I repeat NEVER see me make a yoyo quilt :-)

    I take my hat off for you!

  31. Thanks for keeping us up to date with the family. How cute are the goslings! I wonder if they’ll come back there when it’s time to lay more eggs.

  32. Don’t despair! If you’re allowed to occasionally look on the internet at work you can watch a number of nests with momma, daddy and eggs/chicks on allaboutbirds.com We’re currently watching the herons sit on their nest of five eggs in Ithaca, NY and waiting for them to hatch. Just the sounds of nature in the background is very soothing. Congratulations to you and mother goose!!

  33. How did I miss this post!
    I’m sooo behind on my blogging life.
    your quilt is a real winner, Anna!
    I just love it and I know you do too.
    How traditional and fresh it is and look wonderful on the antique bed with the dolls.

    Hooray Hooray for you!!

  34. That is beautiful!! Then I went back to barefootdaydreams and looked at hers. That black and white one–I can see how you hyperventilated!! I might have to make one, too!

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