Thursday, September 3, 2009

Vintage CQ...Flower #17

Busy, it has been so busy around here!

Multiply this by about 100 and you'll understand what I mean.
This particular harvest did turn into some great eggplant parmigiana last night...(no broccoli in it of course).

I got my Spoonflower swatches back!
Have a look...

The one on the left is from a picture of a detail of "Crazy for Flowers". It is printed on Organic Cotton Sateen. The one on the right is one of my flower mandalas printed on Bamboo/Cotton Rayon...and I much prefer that fabric. Both color-shifted towards yellow...so when ordering a full yard of fabric, care would have to be taken to avoid that.
But the quality of the imagery and color saturation are just great. And the Spoonflower folks are so nice, too.

My Vintage Flower #17 was inspired by some of these "circus dahlias" (my name for them).

Some dahlia breeder just went wonky, I think. But these are cheerful little guys.
And they inspired this...

The outer petals are angelina...the inner ones are silk ribbon..and there is beading in the center.
The leaves are actually cut out sections of some wonderful jacquard ribbon that Susan Elliot generously sent me a few months back. I just appliqued them on...
I wasn't sure what to put in the center and then of course....a spider! This was a black metal one that I had painted gold long ago....and he waited all these years in my bead drawer just for this moment.

Susan had requested a shot of all the flowers together...so here they are, slapped up on the design wall in no certain order....

I left the photo pretty large, so if you click on this you can get a better view.
I am really enjoying taking my time on this quilt, and like what is happening so far....

That's it for this week.
See you next Thursday!

31 comments :

Vicki W said...

Your vintage CQ is coming along beautifully! Love your Spoonflower fabrics too.

Judy S. said...

Nice, Allie. I love your dahlia, the real one and the CQ one. Nice composite too. (Thanks, Susan.) And oh, those veggies; they look yummy. So does the Spoonflower fabric!

Susan Elliott said...

Oh boy. The shot of all the blocks together is just fabulissimo!!

And, I got my spoonflower swatches back too. I'll show you mine tomorrow. I tried quilting cotton and decorator weight cotton -- loved the second one..I'm also beginning to wonder if a whiter background is the ticket?? Love all your work and your harvest. xo Susan

Cathy said...

Your quilt is just breathtaking! I've been wanting to see the blocks together; thanks, Susan, for suggesting it. Your dahlias are among my favorites of what you've done so far, although they're all so gorgeous. We're going crazy with harvest, too, but on a much smaller (thankfully) scale. Hugs, Cathy

Kay said...

I like the movement of this quilt with the circular design created by the piecing and then the flowers. I didn't remember that being so strong in earlier photos.

qwerty said...

That's looking sooooo lovely!

Walden said...

It is looking so wonderful!

Melissa ;-) said...

This is going to be so gorgeous! Well, it already is, really!

Possibilities, Etc. said...

These have been wonderful as individual blocks, but put together, they are breathtaking - made me smile!! The "blow-up" details are beautiful.

Summerset said...

It's nice to see the flower blocks all together - it really gives a better sense of the piece. The new flowers are very pretty, but the spider is fantastic! I remember seeing quite a few spiders and other creatures in vintage CQs. Maybe I'll do a spider for the garden.

Thelma said...

This is going to be a beautiful quilt Allie! Do you have any plans for your spoonflower fabrics,,so pretty!

Debra Dixon said...

I loved the black centers alone and now with the flowers they have a different look--interesting how embroidery changes a composition. Very pretty!

Barbara C said...

I hadn't thought of using Spoonflower in lieu of image transfers. I'm going to file that idea for the future.

Those blocks look splendid together. How gratifying it must be to see how many you've done so far.

Kerri said...

This is so amazing!

anne said...

I used your idea for a Round Robin. I made it much smaller, only 4 black stars. I'll embroider the central piece when it comes back. The other ladies will make the crazy quilt on the frame around it. When I have some pictures on my blog I'll let you know.

Thank you for the link to spoonflower, I didn't know about them.
I love the flower crazy you sent them.

Gerry Krueger said...

The quilt is spectacular and I am really impressed with all the different techniques and materials you are including...

Gerry Krueger
Spokane, WA

Lisa Boni said...

Allie, these are so gorgeous! I love seeing them all together! When I first saw the blocks, I wasn't sure about them, but the flowers really change the character of the blocks and turn them into a thing of beauty!

Conni said...

The fabric swatches from Spoonflower look great!

And your CQ quilt is looking like pure confection!

anne said...

Dear Allie,
As promised, here is the photo of my naked block for the RR: http://www.flickr.com/photos/brodanni/3889447580/
Thank you for all the inspirations I got from your blog.

Janny de Roo said...

So beautiful and great works.....I am totaly in love with it....!!

Susan said...

Allie,
Thanks for giving us a composite of all the flowers so far. It is so interesting how you have used so many different methods and materials for the different flowers. Just love it all!

Unknown said...

Jeez Al, That's stupendous!!!!

linda Schiffer said...

I really like your floral cq!! Amazing how little it really takes, when you come down to it, to make a glorious quilt. :) Beautiful flowers!

As a 'reformed' botantist, the flowers really speak to me.

:) Linda

JoWynn Johns said...

and like what is happening so far....

Oh boy, oh boy! So do I!!!

Shelina (formerly known as Shasta) said...

Your quilt is coming along quite nicely. It is beautiful.

Robin said...

Oooh! It's really fun to see them all together (thank you, Susan!)!!! Your dahlia inspired center may be my fave so far... Something about the way you did the two flowers with leaves in the center is so typical of one style of Hungarian satin-stitch embroidery (that I happen to love)... Busy? I think you require a new word... You could have a contest for a made-up word that is defined as busier than ten-thousand busiest busies. Hugs!

Shogun said...

I want to know how someone gets the job of dahlia breeder! Your CQ flower quilt is coming along so beautifully - it is fun to watch it unfold.

Patricia said...

The dahlias are beautiful. Love the picture of all the blocks together, my favortie is still the violets (being they are one of my favorite flowers). Your workmanship is so amazing.
Pat
Patricia Rose-A Potpourri of Fabric, Fragrance and Findings
www.patriciarose-apotpourri.com
www.patriciarose-apotpourriof.blogspot.com

tejeh dony said...

Hola un gusto estar en tu blog.
Precioso los trabajos que haces muy lindo.


Desde Argentina recibe mis saludos.

Deb Hardman said...

OMG Allie, you've outdone yourself! This is GORGEOUS!!

Granny Fran said...

Who makes that bamboo/cotton rayon? I'd love to experiment with printing some of my photos on it.
I like how the corner fans are becoming octagons when placed together. Looking great!