I've been thinking a lot about cottons, ever since I made that class sample last spring. I love cottons!
So I decided to make an actual bed quilt out of cotton (mostly; a few silks just have to sneak in there) in a combination of crazy and sane quilting techniques. There will be bars of crazy piecing alternated with bars of striped cotton fabric which will no doubt end with applique on them.
I got started today.....
As always, I begin with the "blanks" of foundation fabric on the design wall. Here they are placed between the striped fabric bars.I'm not sure if I'll keep those striped fabrics or not...but I've been saving that Kaye England border print in the center for years and really do want to use it.
It is more or less determining the color scheme of the quilt (though gosh it looks washed up in this picture. The background is actually much more yellow.)I pulled my fabrics and the scene below is the harbinger of the tornado that will soon be my sewing room.
Ahhh....I do love this part.Then I just jumped in and started piecing. I'm thinking there will be lighter valued pieced bars in the center, darker toward either side. So I started with the softer, lighter colors.
I really do want to emphasize more of a flat surface in this quilt, in a departure from the 3-D work I've been doing for quite some time now. I don't know why! So I am keeping the texture in the fabrics to a minimum.This will have very basic seam embroidery....
...and maybe even some machine quilting in the striped bar areas.I have to psyche up for that though. You know how I feel about machine quilting. Yuck!
(I'll think about it tomorrow, at Tara.....)
But meanwhile I have some happy days of piecing ahead of me... ;-)
That border fabric is beautiful and a great jumping off point! This will be a lovely rich looking piece! Can't wait to see it progress!
ReplyDeleteNow come on, machine quilting has its place! This will be a fun project. I will watch with amusement! I am embarking on another interpretation of a Madonna. You may recognize some old friends (CQ blocks).
ReplyDeleteLove that border print! This should be quite a project, Allie!
ReplyDeleteOooh, will be watching this one with great interest! Love that striped floral!
ReplyDeleteThis reminds me of a quilt I saw in Omaha years ago in the display that Cindy Brick did at the CQ Conference. I am not sure but was it in the Crazy Quilt book by Penney McMorris? I think it was a tile quilt. Anyway, it reminds me of that. As always, love your work and hope to someday meet you and learn your secrets! Keep up the great work.
ReplyDeleteKerri Murphy
What a wonderful idea. It will be fun to watch this. Will you embroider the strips before piecing them to the whole cloth strips?
ReplyDeleteYour inspiration fabric is simply lucious!!!! The colors and pattern are so rich and I love the floral with the birds!!! YUM!! I love your Crazy vs sane quilting!!!
ReplyDeleteIt will be such fun to watch this quilt evolve !!!!
It is so very refreshing to see that ohters studios turn into tornado wastelands !!!!
Good to know I am not the only who become chaotic when feeling creative!
ReplyDeleteYou have happy days of piecing - and I have wonderful days of looking forward to watching it!! I love the way this one is looking so far.
ReplyDeleteWhat a beautiful stripe - I think this will be lovely when done.
ReplyDeleteso glad you are finally using that border print...the colors are gorgeous! i love it when i finally find the perfect project for a fabric ive been hoarding :)
ReplyDeleteits fun to work on something different once in a while too...i look forward to seeing your progress on this one (but then, i always say that about your work :)