Friday Finish: Summer Sampler Series Quilt

Crazy Mom Quilts' "Finish It Up Friday" link up has really become a big motivator for me to finish up some of my UFO's!  I got another one done this week, and here it is!  Be sure to hop over to her blog and see what others have finished!

This week, I finally finished the Summer Sampler Series Quilt that I started more than a few months ago.  I am so excited at how it turned out!  I also got to try out some Isacord thread for the first time, and I must admit that it's pretty fantastic!  After many broken and skipped cotton threads, I put in some Isacord thread that I just got a few days ago, and was able to sew non-stop, full speed for over an hour!  This made me very happy!  I'm afraid my machine's still giving me issues on the pieced bulky blocks, but the thread really helped a lot, and I got 'er done!  It sure feels good, as I LOVE this quilt!  It's also my first quilt with paper pieced blocks.  I've rapidly become very fond of paper piecing, and am already making more! 

I used "sharp stippling" throughout the quilt, partly because the neurotic part of me likes that it not only starts with "s"'s, like Summer Sampler Series (sharp stippling), but it also looks like S's!  I bet that's a first for choosing a stitch to use on a quilt LOL! 

As I get more and more quilts under my belt, I've noticed a distinct preference for certain themes and designs.  I once again used "suns" a lot, as well as spirals.  I can't seem to get enough of these.  Maybe it's because of the solar panels on our roof, maybe it's just because it's fun, and they work well with so many quilt blocks.  I also like the way the "rays", and the sharp stippling looks like fire, which is also a common theme in our household, as my husband is a wild land fire fighter.  Anyway, enough blabber.  Here's a few more details!  Enjoy!