Live a Colorful Life Quilt Diary: charm parade

Showing posts with label charm parade. Show all posts

227. Jettstream

Jettstream is a collaboration with Oakshott Fabrics. I rewrote my Charm Parade pattern to specifically use a fat eighth bundle of Oakshott called Jett.

It's "sister quilt," Color Commotion, uses the same fabric, but the center squares are each a different color rather than black. I actually like this version better as I think the black calms everything down a little.

The Charm Parade block is a simple one and gives you the opportunity to play around with color. It then creates a secondary design where the blocks come together.

I put the extra blocks on the back, including a couple from Color Commotion. Also, notice the cute label.

When we were in Mendocino, California, in July 2022, we passed a temple and knew it was perfect as a backdrop.

Oakshott Fabrics added these photos to their website:

Title: Jettstream

Pattern by: Me (Charm Parade variation)

Date Completed: 2022

Size: 40" x 50"

Quilted by: Darby Myers

Gifted to: Judy Kulekjian

226. Color Commotion

Anyone who knows me at all from a quilting perspective knows that my favorite fabric of all time is Oakshott shot cotton.

I have been privileged to correspond fairly frequently with the owner of Oakshott, Michael Oakshott himself, who is extremely generous. He gave me a deep discount when I made an MCC quilt one year using Oakshott, and when I place an order I will often find "surprises" that he has included.

He contacted me earlier in the year about a possible collaboration using a bundle that is slated to be called Jett.

He sent a bundle of 12 colors, with the color threads going one direction, woven with black in the other direction (the warp and weft). One thing I love about Oakshott fabrics is that their dimensions are all larger than the quilting cottons we buy here in the US. For example, we purchase fabric by the yard, which is anywhere from 40" to 44" wide, a fat quarter is about 18" x 22" and a fat eighth is 9" x 11". Oakshott is woven by the meter and is 54" wide. So their fat eighths are a generous 10" x 27" and fat quarters are 19.5" x 27".

I had decided that my Charm Parade pattern would once again work nicely with these fabrics. Each block would have four different colors, with a consistent "lattice" strip of black to tie everything together.

I made quite a few blocks before I realized that Michael had sent me a generous amount of fabric.

I sketched the layout to see what it would take to make 20 blocks, cutting the fabric to the exact dimension that would be sold as a fat eighth, and realized I was short the fabric needed to cut the center square. By the time I realized this dilemma, I had made all the blocks. What should I do?

I decided that the easy solution was to remake all the blocks and use black in the center of each block. And I decided I liked this version much better anyway.

Then I decided to go all out and add a border to this one. I had this cool batik that had a lot of colors that were in the blocks. Ugh.

I switched it to black. Ahh...so much better. If you are wondering what the color is in the black border--I had Darby quilt with colorful variegated thread--just to add a little more "color commotion."

I had some great fabric in my stash for the backing. Also, a cute label.

We took the quilt along on our trip to Oregon in July 2022, and in this small town of Point Arena we found this colorful mural.

It was a windy afternoon but we got some fun shots.

Title: Color Commotion

Pattern by: Me (a Charm Parade variation)

Date Completed: 2022

Size: 46" x 56"

Quilted by: Darby Myers

Donated to MCC in 2025, sold for $140

121. Miss Kate

I fell in love with a fabric line by Thimbleblossoms called Miss Kate.

The new quilt started with one block from my Charm Parade pattern.

Soon there were more.

Instead of procrastinating with the basting phase, as is often the case with me, I cut out some "Ruby" flannel for the back (so soft) and got started. . . And fell in love with crosshatch quilting.

I made the binding.

And for the first time, I finished the binding by machine rather than by hand. It's not perfect by a long shot and I'll keep practicing, but I'm pretty pleased with my first attempt.

I saved a selvage for the label.

And took a few more pictures. How could I resist? I love this quilt!

Our friends have a daughter named Kate. The thing is, I knew as soon as I started working on this quilt that it would be going to this particular Kate, so I thought about her the whole time I was sewing. One of my favorite parts of sewing--when it's destined for someone in particular.

Title: Miss Kate

Pattern by: Me (Charm Parade)

Date Completed: 2014

Size: 30" x 40"

Quilted by: Me

91. Summer Soiree'

Another favorite Charm Parade version. I fell in love with the large floral print and made the outside border a bit wider than usual. The binding is a fun black and white animal print