I am quite proud of this quilt. The pattern is by Bonnie Blue and is called Belle Meade. The quilt top calls for 656 half square triangles. The fabric I used is a combination of French General (for Moda) collections: primarily Rural Jardin, but including Rouenneries and Lumiere de Noel.
My friend Thelma, from Cupcakes 'n' Daisies made this quilt as well. The quilt was one that we both wanted to make, but had put off due to the rather formidable number of units it entailed. We talked it through and figured if we both worked on the project simultaneously, we would be able to encourage one another throughout the process.
We decided to make our half square triangles all through December and get started on assembling the blocks in January, with a finish deadline of early February. Woo hoo! We did it! Please do go check out Thelma's version of this quilt. She used the same fabrics as I did, but chose a different finishing technique for hers.
I wanted my quilt to be as large as I could make it, and also chose to emphasize the red. To achieve those goals, I picked a red print for my setting triangles, and added a 6 1/2 inch outer border of the same print. I liked the idea of adding in a narrow (1 inch finished) containment border of tan to kind of bring a stop to the craziness of all those half square triangles.
As you can see, this will be a great top for my queen size bed, with plenty of generous over-hang on the sides.
If you ever consider taking on a fairly challenging project, think about working along with a friend on the same quilt. Working with someone else can encourage you to stay focused and on task. Set manageable, mutually agreeable deadlines for your progress, and the result will be a fabulous quilt that you may not have tackled otherwise.
Have a fabulous weekend, Friends! I know I will be able to relax—I earned it!!
67 Responses
Congratulations Nicole, your Belle is lovely!
It was such fun sewing along with you, we MUST do it again!
All I can say is WOW – that is absolutely gorgeous. Congratulations on such a quick finish – if I were to try to tackle this it would take me months, if not years.
It’s beautiful!! The containment border really does it’s job on this quilt, I often add them myself when adding that extra border.
What a great accomplishment so early in the year, good for you!
OMG. Nicole that is just WOW. That red made that really pop. I love it. Great job.
Just beautiful! You and Thelma amaze me with all the sewing you accomplish! Both your quilts are stunning 🙂
Donna
Breathtaking! Love, the beige skinny border. It makes the red POP! One of your best. I’m on my way to look at Thelma’s. Congratulations on an awesome finish.
Mary
Love it!!! Congratulations on a beautiful quilt.
a real beauty your belle !! ;))
congrats !!
greetings
kat
It’s beautiful, Nicole.
Wow! AMAZING! Well done! Give yourself a pat on the back and spend the next half hour feeling duly proud!!
APPLAUSE, APPLAUSE!!!!!!!!!!! Belle Meade is beautiful and you were so right to choose to have your setting triangles and outer border match with the tan containment border so perfectly set off the center! Well done!
Enjoy feasting your eyes on this glorious quilt as you take that well earned relaxation break.
Popping over to Thelma’s blog to see her wonderful creation!
Hugs!
Beautiful!!! You did a mar…vel…ous job!!! Love the colors!!! Red is my favorite ……
It’s gorgeous! And an amazing accomplishment to make so many HST’s!
I love how you expanded it. It looks like that extra border was just meant to be (like when you did something similar with your version of Elizabeth).
It is just lovely!! Congratulations on your finish. It is a real gem.
That is fantastic and both quilts are awesome!! Woo-Hoo!!
Wow Nicole Belle Meade is beautiful! I love the red setting. You girls did a fabulous job!
I love French General anything, so that quilt is absolutely stunning. Both of you did a fantastic job.
Wow!
That is fabulous! Congratulations!!
Woo hoo indeed! I know what you mean about quilting with a buddy. That’s how I got started. My two friends and I quilted once a week at one of our homes for years. Now two of us still do it. I don’t know if I’d get anything done otherwise.
That quilt is definitely a “WOW”! Congratulatons!
A proud finish indeed! You did great, Nicole. It’s so beautiful. Great job. Love the little tan containment border as well. This looks so pretty in this fabric line. A big huge Congratulations!!!
What a fabulous quilt! I love the red border!
You should absolutely be proud–that is GORGEOUS!
Wow! Love it! Great job!
Very nice. Good work. And congratulations. Working along with someone is certainly good encouragement.
It turned out just stunning, Nicole, just as you imagined it would! And having a friend to quilt with, even miles apart, is just the best! Congratulations on getting through all those cutting and piecing and switcheroo sessions 🙂
Oh so pretty!
absolutely stunning. You and Thelma have done a great job on these quilts. you continue to inspire and motivate me. have a great weekend
What a great idea, to work on a project with a friend to help you along! Fun too! Love the quilt……well worth the effort :). You certainly deserve a nice restful weekend.
Well, no wonder your January didn’t have finished projects… you had this wonderful quilt “up your sleeve”… It is just beautiful Nicole. Stunning and well worth the zillion HST’s you suffered making!
Congrats Nicole on finishing your Belle Meade! It is absolutely stunning. I just love the red in this quilt, you can not go wrong with red
Wow!! It is BEAUTIFUL! Who needs curved piecing when a thousand half square triangles can be made with triangle paper??!! ;0
Wow!!! Its absolutely gorgeous Nicole! I am so excited to see this! And especially since I adore these fabrics,and red is my favorite color. I MUST make this quilt!!!!
Congrats on a job well done!!!
Your quilt is absolutely gorgeous! It looks so good on your bed. Congrats on a beautiful quilt!
Congrats on your finish! Is is very lovely.
it’s beautiful — I love the mix of colors. and congratulations fort staying with all those triangles!
That looks beautiful on your bed! Congrats on your finish!
Your quilt is just beautiful!
BEAUTIFUL! Love the red!
Looks great. I love these French General fabrics and now I love this pattern too. Great borders!
SUCH a wonderful quilt! It continually amazes me how fast you can get these things done! Hopefully one day I can be that fast with my quilting projects.
You never cease to amaze me with all the quilting you can accomplish! The quilt is just beautiful, as per usual!!
Exquisite! It looks great on your bed.
Lovely! I have the kit from Bonnie Blue but haven’t done anything with it yet.
Fantastic Quilt! I just love what you’ve done with those fabrics! They’re some of my favorites too.
Magnificent. The quilt top looks fabulous.
Nicole, you made this quilt spectacular with YOUR fabric selections. Stunning! Makes me want to buy up every bit of French General left at the shop….to add to my collection already at home!
Oh my, Nicole, I am in awe that you finished such a detailed quilt so quickly! This would have taken me several years for sure! I’m making a quilt for my sister’s birthday, but it is very simple compared to this and I know I won’t finish it by March 28. Your quilt is stunning and you do such beautiful work! 🙂
Beautiful!
I think the idea of working with a friend on the same quilt pattern is a good idea. A friend & I are working on Barbara Brackman’s BOW and it is helping.
You should be proud-this is an heirloom! All hose HST’s would have made me have nightmares.
Beautiful. Borders are perfect. Good job.
Belle Meade turned out so beautifully. I’m a softie for reds. I like that you used that red for the the border AND the setting triangles. The insertion of the very narrow inner border between the two is a nice, crisp contrast to the soft, flowery fabric designs. Very nice.
Now I’ll go see what wonders Thelma has done.
Belle is Beautiful! I love it. Excellent job, so inspiring.
It’s perfect Nicole!!! I want it!!!!
In a word – beautiful! I love the red setting triangles, and the way you did the borders. Absolutely beautiful.
That is one is a keeper for sure. Love the red color for the borders and setting triangles.
Beautiful work! Congratulations on finishing such a huge undertaking!
I love all the French General fabrics.
Great teamwork! Woohoo!!!
So gorgeous! Both of you deserve to be very proud of your beautiful quilts.
Congratulationd on finishing this beautiful quilt. I love the fabrics and colors. Great job.
What an amazing quilt! I’ve never made a bed-sized quilt, and yours is making my mind go into overdrive. Don’t be surprised if I have one in the works soon.
It’s definitely more fun to work with a friend on a challenging project. It doesn’t seem so much like work!
The quilts are both gorgeous
It looks fantastic!
Simply beautiful!
Very nice. Love the red!
Congratulations on such a big finish! It was fun to see yours and Thelma’s “together”!
It’s been such fun watching you and Thelma make this together! It’s gorgeous! Love the red. Love the containment border.
It’s truly beautiful. Congratulations! I love your idea about working on a big project with a friend!