pas de deux: the finale

I absolutely loved this adventure!

I thoroughly enjoyed exploring Rachel’s fabulous pattern, pas-de-deux-bom. There is so much scope for creativity and I’ve had great fun playing with colour and value.

It all began with a rainbow fabric pull, which certainly changed over the first few months as other sections were added. Following Rachel's excellent monthly suggestions, I fine-tuned things and made a point of adding in lighter shades of cream/pink florals to create some visual space and project a softer ethereal-like look!

Super happy with how these ensembles all look together now. It's a scrappy, sparkling quilt, and I think what really helped was the cohesive nature of the Anna Maria Horner’s fabrics which I mixed in with my other fabrics. The dark value elements jump out, while the medium and low value elements offer layers of pattern to explore as the eye continues to wander.

Texture is such a satisfying aspect of a quilt finish, don't you think? For the quilting I chose a clean, diagonal straight line, called Mirage. With so much to visual energy already on offer, this quilt didn’t need anything complicated. This simple edge-to-edge quilting pattern brings a hint of unity and allows the patchwork to speak for itself.
This wasn’t one of the most complex quilting requests I made of Leeanne, {from quiltmekiwi} but for me, who doesn’t enjoy machine quilting, it still seems difficult to pull off on a king size quilt. Hooray for quilting-by-cheque! 

The quilt back is a fabulous Tula Pink print, 'Wonder'. And for my binding I chose 'Social Climber' by AMH, the teal blue with its large-scale floral design breaks up nicely in the narrow segments of the binding. It's lighter than I would usually use, but I love how those intermittent roses draw out the 'pops' of citrus yellow in the main quilt. And {wink wink} it was really the only fabric I had enough of to bind this big quilt with! Finished quilt measures approx. 64" x 77". 

Now how about an even closer look ...

- my perfectly imperfect 'still point' ensemble, the trickiest one in the quilt!

- binding close-up

Linking up with Kelly for 'NTT' here and with Wendy for 'peacock party' over here

and with Cynthia here for 'oh scrap'

Until next time, Linda

what my Monday morning looked like

I've been quilting ... again!

Is it perfect? No 🙃. Is it done yet? Not quite 😂.

Today I'm quilting my 'pinwheels & stars' quilt, {see here for early details}. Unlike the quilt in my last post, this time around I'm spending a lot more time on the machine quilting, doing lots & lots of straight organic lines. {Just channeling my inner Jolene from blue elephant stitches with the quilting!} I didn’t realise it would be like a full-on workout though😂, but I'm getting close to finishing now. 

I used a selection of fabrics with a vintage inspired whisper palette in pink, mustard & blues, with little accents of raspberry.  The background is a selection of different whites, all of which give a tiny bit of movement and bit of a make-do look to the quilt.

I’ll save the glamour pics for when the binding is on! 

{wink wink} ... if I only wrote about finished quilts, I’d only get to post about 2 or 3 times a year! 

Have a happy week! 

Linda

scattered petals

This weekend I decided I'd relook at a few unfinished projects and try to move them further along. My 'scattered petals' quilt was 1st in the list. 

You may recall in my last post I mentioned Sujata Shah's book, Cultural Fusion Quilts, well I suddenly remembered an improv quilt I made inspired by a quilt in her book. I started this quilt back in September 2015 roughly following the 'windmills' guidelines. 

I made a bundle of practice free-form blocks - no ruler, no templates - enough to join them together into a small quilt!  

I used a scrappy selection of stash fabrics including Amy Butler, assorted solids (some cotton, some silk), along with a little bit of Kaffe and AMH. For my backing I used a lovely early soft green floral chintz. 

I did a bit of simple straight-line machine quilting to secure the whole quilt. I've been combining hand & machine quilting lately, practicality plus some obvious big stitch quilting adds a pleasing 'handmade' look to some quilts ... so I decided to start adding in some hand quilting using no. 8 perle thread ... but then {wink wink} my focus shifted elsewhere!

I've now finally added the binding, luckily, I still had the fabric here - a multi coloured stripe from Amy Butler. And I'll probably add some more hand quilting over the next few evenings, although I do remember reading somewhere this quote from Sujata herself ...  "Not every quilt needs to be heavily stitched. Some patterns need to have their own space to shine." ... just saying!

The quilt has ended up a modest 58" x 48" maybe a cozy one-person sofa size or a great new favourite blanket on a child's bed ... either way, it'll be perfect for another colourful donation quilt. Linking up with Cynthia for 'oh scrap' here

from my bookshelf

The March prompt for AHIQ is to share a favourite source of inspiration, {see the link on my R) hand sidebar} and I thought I'd share here too.

So yes, one of my main inspirations for quilting has always been books. And one of my earliest loved books was "Scrap Quilts" by Judy Martin. My copy is well thumbed and has been a great resource for block patterns and scrappy quilt ideas over the years. 

- I just love this bear's paw variation, yet to make my own version!

Like many, another favourite is Roderick Kiracofe's "Unconventional & Unexpected" book. While I find improv challenging, I never fail to be surprised by these extraordinary quilts made by US quilters during the last half of the 20th century.  The quilts are quirky, improvisational, and sometimes not perfectly made, but such a visual delight!

"The Improv Handbook for Modern Quilters" by Sherri Lynn Wood is another book I have spent many hours reading. It explores quilt making in a fun way, breaking free of the old rules, and encouraging unique improvisation. Just need to switch on my improv button & live courageously ...

And another book on my shelf is "Sunday Morning Quilts" by Amanda Jean Nyberg and Cheryl Arkison. This is a book that altered how I see my "style" and gave me permission I guess, to use every last bit of my treasured stash!  My Sunday mornings got a whole lot busier once I started down this road that's for sure! 

Lately though, rather than buying, I have been ordering quilting books from the library, like "Cultural Fusion Quilts" by Sujata Shah. It's "a melting pot of piecing traditions" full of bold & vibrant quilts... I think I've had this book out at least 3 times, I probably should have bought my own copy by now, I think! 

Surfing social media provides even more inspiration!

I love all that sharing ❤️ on quilt blogs & Instagram,

it makes me want to start new projects faster than I can finish them

- but I'll always have a soft spot for books!

And how about you, what inspires you most for quilt making?

a mixed bunch of pics

Yes, we are back home now. We had a great holiday in Australia, 12 days in Brisbane & Mooloolaba Beach. Temperatures 28°- 32°! It was so lovely to spend lots of time with our son & DinL #didn’twanttoleave! 

And now onto the quilty pics... This weekend, after catching up with holiday washing, I managed to get my strippy triangles quilt top all together! Super happy with this whispery pale palette. 

Finished quilt top measures 62" x 56". Next decision- to border or not to border? 

And I may have had a few fabrics jump into my shopping cart a week or so ago, and they arrived today. 

These Kaffe 'shiraz' stripes will be very useful I'm sure. 

I had a few books here to read this month, but only managed to read one ... The Tilt by Chris Hammer. I've been having a run of Australian fiction and loving all of them! Things here "down under" may seem the same and yet they are not... we do share the same language, but there are many unfamiliar words, and they seem to live outdoors so much more, because of course the country is huge, with wild and unpopulated areas. 

This is a super small-town novel, with a complex mystery which takes you through time to solve a decades old murder - with multiple narratives and timelines that leave you trying to work out how everything ties up...  and it was just utterly immersive!

Love to hear your comments if you've read any of the others.

Until next time, Linda

strippy triangles quilt: on the design floor

After nearly three weeks of randomly working on these triangle strips, I think I finally have enough HSTs to start stitching it all together ... but it will all have to wait now! 

Super excited, we are off to Australia for a long overdue holiday to see my son & his wife IRL after five - oh my, yes five - years! 

And I'll be very happy to soak up some of that Auzzie 🌞 sunshine too. What with cyclone Gabrielle, and the all the severe flooding, slips, power outages and horrific trail of destruction & loss for many around the North Island, it's been a real bummer summer miserable summer here!  

Back in a couple of weeks, Linda