quilting...the final frontier

A few weeks back I saw a photo of a quilt from the 1930's.  It was pastel stripes and quarter square triangles.  It was the kind of quilt that made me drop everything I was doing at the time and clear my studio to to make it my way. Given my love affair with Kaffe's Marquee stripes it wasn't long before I had a few blocks up on the wall.

I simply love these stripes and have been using them with dramatic effect in several projects of mine as well as our block of the month programs. The strong colours attact the eye and the changes midstream keep the imagination engaged as we seek to define what we are looking at. 
Piecing a quilt is often an almost thoughtless process for me as it spills out of my brain, through the machine and onto the wall.  The impulse to create overpowers all other impulses and mad sessions of cutting and sewing finally give way to a completed top.  Then what?  I really wondered how to quilt this and particularly since it is going to Quilters Companion...Eventually, using the Creative Grid 90 degree strip ruler I had all these quarter squares finished and it was time to consider quilting. 

Where do we start when we are so in love with our own work?  I started by turning to my favorite quilting book, Quilting with Style by Gwen Marston.  It is an oldie but goodie full of examples of traditional patterns that I can easily imagine coming to life.  Leafing through the pages I started to get an idea of how I wanted to see this quilt.  I didn't want the lines of the quilting to interfer with the lines of the blocks but I didn't want it to be obvious by following the lines of the fabric...One of my favorite design components is a secondary pattern.  So, once I had drawn up a few examples of lines I liked I met with Adri Van der Zel and we discussed my options.  She is a very creative machinist and I very much appreciated how she heard what I had to say and then gave me her input.  Her expert input was most welcome in deciding where the lines should go, where they wouldn't work due to seam joins.  I am a fanatic about not over quilting and Adri understands what I mean.

Adri's quilting services are available through the shop and I highly recommend her for thoughtful consideration of your next custom project....This quilt is called Dream Catcher and will be coming to a Quilters Companion issue in the new year!  k

 

Comments

[Sally]

This may be a repeat because I think I forgot to put in the secret code. I absolutely love, love, love the freshness of this quilt. A great use of Kaffe's fantastic stripes. And the quilting is just right for it. Thanks for showing the detail. But, the thought of all those quarter square triangles is daunting. What method did you use.

Looking forward to seeing it in the issue of Quilter's Companion.

[Lisa]

WOW! That is one fabulous quilt. I love the colors, the stripes, the quilting. Great job.

[Britt-Inger]

An awesome quilt and I love Kaffe´s fabric
And all the triangles, what a job, but they made the quilt to be outstanding.

[Cathy]

Ahh Kathy this is eye popping gorgeous!!! I will def be on the hunt for that mag next year I have to make one. Fabulous quilting too. xo

[Ineke Marijnissen]

Wow what a beauty
Ineke Marijnissen Holland

[Lynette]

Fantastic quilt - need to make this one

[Jane S.]

What a happy quilt! The colors, the movement -- I just love it!

[Roz]

The quilting is what would keep me up at night, studying its intersections with the stripes...

[Sal x]

That is gorgeous Kath. Inspiring post as always. Sal x

[Terri]

Kathy, it's absolutely wonderful! So colorful and so interesting. So unexpected. It's perfect.

[Michele]

Wow! I really love the way this turned out and the quilting is perfect for it. Not too little and not too much.

[Elizabeth E.]

Just finished a stack of grading and lesson prep and turned to my quilty blogs for some relief. And the first one up is yours, with this absolutely beautiful quilt! Is the first one for your next book (grin)? I love everything about it and like you, I really don't like over-quilting, so this is just lovely.

Perfect!! First a wild and woolley 21st birthday party and now this!

[Melissa]

I absolutely LOVE this quilt.Delicious. Divine. Looks good enough to eat. Kathy you really have sooo much talent. So inspiring following your creativity. I am going to have to quilt in my sleep and live to be really really old to finish everything on my wish list. Thankyou for showing us the beautiful work that is going on out there.

[Rachaeldaisy]

This quilt is a festive burst of happy laughter! The quilting is so spot on! I love the name too!!

[Amy]

Stripes are growing on me, but what I absolutely love is how it was quilted. Very good choices. I especially like how the quilting motif crosses over the pattern on the fabric, it creates another dimension.

[Vreni]

Oh wow, what a stunning quilt!

[Emily]

Love this bold stunning quilt!

[Patsy from California]

Simplicity and boldness combined in one quilt. Love your comment about overquilting. This is perfection.

[Juanita]

Lovely. lovely, lovely, the fiesta lives on!!

[Debbie Guihot]

Just the most amazing quilt.I want to cut fabric up right now.Its what I call a happy thoughts quilt. You can't not have happy thoughts when you look at it.

[Maureen from Ventura]

I love everything about this quilt! The color change in the stripes makes it even more interesting!

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