Vanuatu Turtle Appliqué Finished!

Vanuatu Turtle Appliqué complete

Vanuatu Turtle Appliqué Finished! – A Splash of Color Quilt-Along Update

Done! My Splash of Color Quilt-Along quilt top is constructed. The red border strip is added, the piano key borders are on, and the Vanuatu Turtle appliqué is laid out and stitched down. Both layers. Happy days!

The last time I formally up-dated you on this quilt for the Splash of Color quilt-along, I had all the major pieces constructed and the centre blocks pieced into one unit.

Vanuatu Turtle quilt progress

Then I decided this quilt needed a little push to get it done on time and out the way of some other projects. So I nominated it as my One Monthly Goal for my link up with Elm Street Quilts. By that point I had finished constructing the pieced part of the quilt top and had fused down the aqua turtle appliqué pieces.

Vanuatu Turtle Appliqué stage 1

Since then, I have been working very hard on this project. And now I have finished sewing down the aqua Vanuatu Turtle appliqué layer, fused on the red overlay and just this morning, finished sewing that down too! So, that means my quilt top is finished. 🙂

Vanuatu Turtle quilt top finished

The current link-up for the Splash of Color quilt-along at Busy Hands Quilts requires that I have a finished flimsy quilt top to enter. So we are good to go! With 19 hours to spare! As I pointed out in my One Monthly Goal post, this last minute thing really has got to be wound back a little……

Vanuatu Turtle Appliqué Progress and Process

Anyway, I thought you might like to see some pics of the progress between the last update and the finished top, so here are the highlights.

Vanuatu turtle appliqué layer one
Stitching down the first layer of the Vanuatu Turtle appliqué.
aqua Vanuatu turtle appliqué finished
Aqua layer of the Vanuatu turtle appliqué finished
Vanuatu Turtle appliqué second layer
Laying out the red Vanuatu Turtle Appliqué pieces
Close up of raw edge appliqué
At the moment, my go-to appliqué technique is raw edge appliqué.  Fast and furious for busy mums! I free-motion straight stitch around the edge of each piece 4-5 times to secure them well for everyday use.
Vanuatu Turtle appliqué layer two
This morning…. mild relief as I hit the last appliqué piece.
Vanuatu Turtle appliqué finished
Finished!

Here’s the back. I simply use the batting as the stabiliser for my raw edge appliqué when I can, so currently this quilt has the top and batting layers but no backing.

back of Vanuatu Turtle Appliqué
The back of my raw edge appliqué

Next job…. piece a backing and get this quilted. Any suggestions on a quilting motif? I think perhaps some sort of large simple swirl/wave curl pattern in grey might be in order. I certainly don’t want to add to the complexity of this quilt any further.

Have you seen the other completed quilt tops in Myra’s Splash of Color Quilt-Along? I have enjoyed this exercise immensely and I’m going to get a finished quilt to keep…… Not something that happens at my house very often. I only Start quilts to keep. I usually Finish quilts to give away! Anyone else out there with this problem?!! I suspect I am in good company…… let me know. 🙂

Linking up with: The Quilting Room with Mel, Cooking up Quilts, Love Laugh Quilt, Sew Can Do, Freemotion by the River, Sew Fresh Quilts, Needle and Thread Thursday, Wednesday Wait Loss, Midweek Makers, Confessions of a Quilt Addict, Busy Hands Quilts, Crazy Mom Quilts. 


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11 Replies to “Vanuatu Turtle Appliqué Finished!”

  1. Amazing, I’ve been searching for ideas for a turtle quilt for a friend and this is the most striking by far. Great work!

    1. Thanks Joc. That is high praise indeed. Good luck with your turtle quilt. 🙂

  2. Lovely, lovely quilt! Yay you, getting the quilt top done with time to spare! At this time of year, it’s amazing to me that anyone gets anything done so you are a hero. Thanks for linking up to Wednesday Wait Loss.

  3. Fabulous quilt design, and wonderful execution. I like the curvy gray quilting idea – maybe something that looks like the tide coming into shore? Or just waves on the ocean? I know it will be terrific.

  4. Nice work! I really like how you did three layers on the turtle to really give him depth. Thanks for sharing your process!

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