241. Sorbet

 Sorbet began with a bundle of Oakshott shot cottons in sherbet colors (aptly named Sorbet) and artwork inspiration from my friend, Molly Lam of Tokodots. 

I'm not sure what I had originally intended for the background, but Michael Oakshott sent me some beautiful grape shot cotton that paired well with the ice cream colors.

The quilt went together quickly.

I pulled eight colors of perle cotton and began hand quilting.

And then...Idisaster. I spilled something on the quilt. I tried to remove the stain. Now I can't remember how that went. But for some reason I can't recall, I dried it in the dryer. It shrunk and was an absolute mess. I'm sure tears were involved.

I ordered a beautiful steel grey Oakshott and started all over.

The backing is a soft fabric from Sue Daley Designs that feels very much like Liberty of London. I love the one piece of print on the front that matches the backing.

It was a dream to hand quilt.

I never anticipated having to make this quilt twice, although the pattern is so easy that sometimes I dream of making it again on a larger scale. 

Name: Sorbet

Designed by: Cindy Wiens (based on artwork by Molly Lam)

Made by: Cindy Wiens

Hand quilted by: Cindy Wiens

Size: 40" x 40"

Completed: 2023

239. Cog + Wheel

 Cog + Wheel is a pattern by Denyse Schmidt that I have had for years. I decided 2023 was the year it finally needed to be made. 

I ordered the acrylic templates, which helped immensely because of all the curves, and decided to use my beloved stash of Oakshott cottons against a navy background(Abyss by Painter's Palette).

The first block I made (before ordering the templates) ended up being really wavy, so the investment in the templates was definitely worthwhile--and solved the waviness problem.

The blocks are large--20" square. I enjoyed choosing all the color combinations.

The backing is definitely one of my favorite fabrics in a long time! It's by Rifle Paper, and you just can't go wrong with their fabrics.

Darby worked her magic with the quilting.

My neighbor across the street has a truck that I have used as a quilt photo op before, and it was perfect for this quilt as well.

This posting on instagram by @the_stitched_art_society made me so happy.

Name: Cog + Wheel

Pattern by: Denyse Schmidt

Made by: Cindy Wiens

Quilted by: Darby Myers

Size: 60" x 80"

Completed: 2023

Gifted to Danny Din, owner of Mater, the pickup truck

112. Amish Stars

The pattern, Swoon, by Camille Roskelley was very popular around this time. It was basically an upsized version of a traditional block. I decided it would be a great design for the MCC quilt auction and chose Oakshott cotton and organic black solid by Robert Kaufman, giving it somewhat of an Amish feel.

I can't say enough about Michael Oakshott, who gave me a very generous discount on the fabric after I told him a little about MCC and its work around the world. He took my word for the plans for this quilt totally on faith, even though I told him it would be two years before it would be auctioned off. Thank you, Michael!

Choosing the different color combinations was one of the best parts of making this quilt.

It was no small feat to photograph these MCC quilts. 

Once again, it was hung in the front. 

The quilt sold for $3500. 

Title: Amish Stars

Pattern by: Camille Roskelley

Date Completed: 2014

Size: Not sure--probably 110" x 110"

Quilted by: Ione Whitney

110. Marcelle Goes to the Circus

This quilt is definitely in the top five of quilts I have ever made. By this time, I not only had an extensive stash of Kona solids, I had quite a stash of shot cottons (a solid fabric where the warp and weft are each a different color, which can give a luminous or iridescent quality to the fabric). I used Kaffe Fassett shot cottons in my Farmer's Wife quilt (not completed until 2015) and I also had what would become my favorite fabric of all time to work with--Oakshott cottons from the UK. 

The pattern was called Marcelle Medallion, and for this quilt I gave myself some parameters to work with. After each pieced section, the next border needed to be a stripe by Kaffe Fassett and the cornerstone had to be one of his polka dot fabrics.

This was quilted by the amazing Krista Withers.

When it was completed, I gave it to my daughter-in-law, Christa, one day when I found out she was going to the local pumpkin patch. I asked her to take some "location" shots. And thus began my love of quilt photography "in the wild." 

Photos by Christa Wiens:

Title: Marcelle Goes to the Circus

Pattern by: Alexia Abegg

Completed: 2013

Size: 64" x 64"

Quilted by: Krista Withers