Live a Colorful Life Quilt Diary: 2021

Showing posts with label 2021. Show all posts

221. Bauble

I purchased the fabric for Bauble at Stitch Supply when I was in Wisconsin for my annual quilting retreat. the fabric was Cozy and Magical by Maureen Cracknell, and I found the free pattern online on the Art Gallery website.

The blocks were fun and easy to make.

Add a selvage whenever you can!

Title: Bauble

Design by: Art Gallery Fabrics

Date Completed: 2021

Size: 48" x 60"

Quilted by: Darby Myers

Gifted to: Aaron and Christa Wiens

220. Rose's Tattoo

I'm a huge fan of Berene Campbell of Happy Sew Lucky quilt designs. I've purchased many of her patterns over the years. When she started releasing blocks for what would become the Tattoo quilt, I purchased each one, knowing I wanted to make the quilt. I didn't have a recipient in mind at the beginning, but by the time the final pattern had been released, I knew I wanted to make it for our niece, Rose. Her favorite colors are fall tones, and I knew this would be the perfect quilt to make for her.

My initial fabric pull. I thought maybe the brown essex linen would work. But ultimately I chose something else.

The first block was "truth." I already knew at this point that the background fabric was perfect.

I worked my way through the blocks. I kept count of all the pieces along the way. The grand total: 1,798!!

I used one of my very favorite plaids for the backing.

When it was completed and quilted, Mark and I took it on a tour around Fresno, looking for photo ops at some of the local tattoo shops.

In the summer of 2021, we made a trip to Salem, Oregon, to deliver the quilt in person. Rose told me she had the perfect place for an additional photo op, but she was so right! Everything about it was perfect--from the size of the opening to the colors and the eyes.

We love Rose so much. She embodies the words on the quilt. The fact that the flowers running across the heart in the center are roses was an added bonus.

I think she is pretty happy with the quilt too.

Title: Rose's Tattoo

Pattern by: Berene Campbell

Date Completed: 2021

Size: 63" x 72"

Quilted by: Darby Myers

219. Grand Prismatic

Grand Prismatic was inspired by the Grand Prismatic spring at Yellowstone National Park.

I was given a copy of the Pollinate quilt pattern designed by Kitty Wilkin and published by Karen Tripp. We had just returned from a trip to Yellowstone and I was inspired by the boiling mud pots and many springs and geysers in the park. So while a lot of quilters were doing lovely "rainbow" versions, I headed off in a totally different direction.

I knew I wanted to use a variety of Oakshott cottons and a lot of other fabrics that "read" as solids but had some texture or gleam/glisten to them.

The center medallion, the one replicated the Grand Prismatic spring itself, was definitely the most fun.

There were a few times when the quilt spoke to me about fabric choices and said "absolutely not"--I tried a print that was too busy or not the right color. A lot of fabric auditions simply did not work. I'm so glad I listened.

When you do an English paper pieced project, pulling out all those papers is a big job. Mark volunteered and I was happy to hand that part of the job over to him.

Once it was ready for quilting, I had a very specific vision in my mind, especially for all the white parts that represented the bubbling mud pots. Dawn Haldeman gave me everything I envisioned, and even more. Each pool and spring in Yellowstone is surrounded by a wooden walkway. I had used a very subtle fabric around each "pool" to mimic the same thing. Dawn quilted all the "walkways" with the pebble motif, and all the bubbling mud pots had bubbles and swirls.

On our trip to Yellowstone, I purchased a tea towel to save to the back of the quilt. And then in a stroke of luck, I was able to find some Yellowstone fabric. In a weird twist, while many of the springs, geysers and pools are part of the Yellowstone map fabric, Grand Prismatic, one of the biggest and most famous, is not part of the map.

I'm so happy that I stuck to my vision of the Grand Prismatic spring. There were times when I thought it would either be epic. Or an epic failure. But I'm thrilled with it.

Title: Grand Prismatic

Design by: Kitty Wilkin, published by Karen Tripp

Date Completed: 2021 (entirely English paper pieced)

Size: 55" x 64"

Quilted by: Dawn Haldeman

218. Vintage Revival: Summer Sampler 2021

Although I have purchased the summer sampler by Lee Heinrich, Faith Jones, and Kate Blakely nearly every year, I have never completed one. The summer of 2021 was an exception.

Each Monday a new block was released, each by a different designer. I pretty much stayed caught up all summer.