a little sunshine
it's sunny and in the 60's today, a welcomed change from this past weekend's non-stop rain. I totally think that working on this quilt this weekend helped bring the sun around! I pieced it on saturday, quilted on sunday, and finished the hand binding this morning. I had a couple of goals with this quilt: a baby quilt that wasn't too babyish, balance a modern with a vintage feel, and totally surprise my friend. I'm hoping I hit at least two out of three.
I used the wonderland prints as the color inspiration and went from there (after many txt and email messages with rangsiwan and amanda!), mixing some very modern fabrics with the more subdued katie jump rope prints. I wanted to stick with primaries without it screaming pre-school if you know what I mean. I also played with the idea of a "charm quilt", throwing in the wonky nine patch blocks to make it more playful. I sashed the 9 patch blocks with some essex linen and left them wonky for some movement. I basically cut them down to size unevenly depending on how I felt the prints were moving (wow, that sounds crazy).
I kept the back pretty simple, piecing some essex linen (in putty) with some carolina chambray and "recess" by american jane. I thought this was the perfect print since the dots with the flowers has that modern/vintage mix I was looking for. I love how playing with fabrics can make a very simple quilt fun and modern. hopefully my friend will love it as much as I do and that it will fit in the baby's room. well, she has to love it because I hand sewed the binding! my shoulder hurts, but it's hard to beat the look of hand binding.
the only issue I had was the actual quilting. this was the first time I tried free-motion quilting and it was hard to get the tension just right. not on the top, but the back which really played with my head. I already get scared that the quilt will just come apart every time I was one for the first time and this didn't help matters. thankfully it just came out nice and wrinkly! I did notice the thread becoming slack randomly which would create a weird long stitch, which probably means it's time to take my machine in for service this week. it's almost been a year after all.
Comments
it's beautiful and playful and fun! i love it.
Posted by: Sara | March 17, 2010 3:04 PM
Wow, it's stunning ! I'm sure your friend will cherish it !
Posted by: SylvChezPlum | March 17, 2010 3:26 PM
It's gorgeous! Such rich colors.
Posted by: Oiyi | March 17, 2010 3:33 PM
Sooooooo amazing! Great colors, pattern, whimsy! Love.
Posted by: Kirsten | March 17, 2010 3:51 PM
It looks so amazing! You must absolutely love it.
Posted by: Monet | March 17, 2010 5:00 PM
I love the wonky block squares so much! And the binding is so pretty - that denim-y blue really works! Nice one!
Posted by: Lisa | March 17, 2010 6:24 PM
You did such an amazing job on this!! It's so lovely & cool at the same time.
Posted by: Leah | March 17, 2010 8:33 PM
Your quilt is beautiful, I am envious of your quilting ability. I am planning on starting my very first quilt come this april as a birthday present to myself, hope it is as beautiful as yours
Posted by: sarah | March 17, 2010 9:44 PM
It's gorgeous! I'm also jealous of your quilting skills. This quilt looks so impressive.
Posted by: Illanna | March 17, 2010 9:59 PM
Amazing! I didn't know quilts could be so cool.
Posted by: Trish | March 18, 2010 7:53 AM
love it!! the front.. the back.. all of it.. especially the american jane 4 in 1 print on the back!!
Posted by: jaybird | March 18, 2010 7:58 AM
This is definitely one of my favorite quilts from those I've seen recently. I love it!
Posted by: grumperina | March 18, 2010 9:18 AM
Love the quilt! It reminds me of the quilts my grandmother used to make - so bright and cheerful and totally untraditional. :-)
Posted by: Laurie | March 18, 2010 10:23 AM
Just love it! So colorful and whimsical -- truly an art piece.
Posted by: Jodi | March 18, 2010 12:24 PM
Your wonky 9-patches blend so well that I forgot that they were pieced! I had to look for them. Very cool (and thankfully sunny!).
Posted by: Seanna Lea | March 18, 2010 12:39 PM
It is AWESOME. I love it and I think you did a fabulous job.
Posted by: Stephanie | March 18, 2010 5:40 PM
I don't know why you are so hard on yourself about color - you have a wonderful color sense. What I really like about your quilts is your use of solids - they give the eye a place to rest and they allow the printed fabric a frame to be seen in.
Posted by: Lisa | March 19, 2010 1:27 PM
awesome, i must say.. but you already knew i love this!
Posted by: yaiAnn | March 20, 2010 2:24 AM
This is BEA-U-TI-FUL!!
Great colors and composition and the back is fabulous also!
Posted by: Victoria | March 20, 2010 7:30 PM
oh my gosh, it's stunning! i didn't even understand half of what you said, but i'm totally in awe of you.
Posted by: carrie m | March 22, 2010 9:05 PM
Love, love, love this! A perfect example of taking something simple and making it very creative.
Posted by: Cheryl Arkison | May 11, 2010 11:30 AM