The biggest TA DA!

At the end of June I showed you my Ruby quilt top all sewn together.  Strictly speaking this top has a number of Bonnie and Camille lines in it - Ruby, Marmalade and Vintage Modern - but it will always be known to me as my Ruby quilt.

Anyway, I took one look at that quilt top laid across my bed and thought "there's no way my quilting skills could do justice to a quilt top of this size in my most favourite ever fabrics."  Enter a fleeting thought of sending it to Trudi for some long armed magic.  Fold quilt top up and continue to have fleeting thoughts of sending to Trudi all day long!  Quick em to Trudi and a plan was set in motion.

Best quilting decision ever!

My quilt came back a little while ago and I have been trying to bind and label it so I can show it off you.  Ready to see the quilting magic of Trudi?

Ta da!  I could stare at this quilt ALL day.  No joke.

Here's a close up of the swirly flowery pattern she quilted.  I'm not sure what Trudi calls this but I think I'm going with 'Flower Power' because of the floral-esque look coupled with some mussel type paisley thingies - so, flowers + muscle = flower power. Random thinking, but if you fancy this design on your quilt tell her to do it like mine!

You get a clearer picture from this photo of the back.

I know it's very fashionable to piece a backing for our quilts these days but very often I just like a plain backing, and it was definitely the right move for a quilt which was long arm quilted.  The quilting shows up so beautifully when unbroken by the patchwork of fabrics as it is on the front, and it sort of feels like two quilt for the price of one!

For me, long arm quilting isn't an option for every quilt but I will NEVER regret sending this one off for some Trudification.  She made the whole process so easy and such fun by surprising me with sneak peeks of the work in progress on Instagram.  Honestly, I had been so teased with pics that by the time this poor man arrived

I was practically giddy with excitement and almost mugged him!

On a personal note, I have been very affected by the return of my quilt.  In a million years I never expected to have such an emotional reaction to it and am not sure I can fully explain it.  I have met Trudi and she is the loveliest, most generous person and we have talked for a number of years through our blog comments and now IG.  She feels like a friend.  She is a seriously talented lady, you can see that for yourself, and it feels like such a privilege to have had her work on my quilt top.  So much so, that she's a part of the history of this quilt that I love so much and I've recorded that little bit of history on the label too - tempting as it is to let future generations think I did this amazing work myself!

So there you have it, my biggest "ta da".  Thank you lovely Trudi for working your magic and bringing my quilt to life.

Seriously folks, if you ever wonder about whether to send your quilt for long arm quilting and can afford to - just do it.  Trudi's a busy lady but book your quilt in ahead of time and relax knowing your quilt couldn't be in better hands.

This quilt finish is also a FAL finish for Quarter 3.  Doesn't feel quite right to claim it since Trudi did the hard part so I won't enter it in the draw at the end of the quarter but I can still most definitely declare it as a finish from my list!