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

225. Deco

 Deco is a pattern by Brittany Lloyd of Lo and Behold Stitchery. I loved the colors she chose for the cover version on the pattern, and since a kit was available, I ordered it. 

Lots of cutting. But actually the blocks went together easily.

Darby quilted it. She used a very cool deco fan design.

We took the quilt along on our trip to Oregon and I took a few photographs at Diamond Lake.

I'd still like to take some photographs in front of a building in Fresno with an art deco design, but for now this is it.

Title: Deco

Pattern by: Brittany Lloyd of Lo and Behold Stitchery

Date Completed: 2022

Size: 56" x 68"

Quilted by: Darby Myers

Gifted to: Scott and LouAnn Wiens

222. Galvanized

Years ago, I was inspired by a pillow I had seen at Target to make the center pinwheel block. I used shot cottons by Kaffe Fassett and surrounded the center with two borders, the second one with a beloved shot cotton called "galvanized." I have used it in several other quilts and never get tired of it. The threads running one direction are orange, while the threads running the other direction are turquoise, giving it a luminous gray color that is really hard to photograph.

Then it was folded up and put in a drawer, where it sat for years. In 2022, I decided that this one, along with others of a similar size and fate, needed to be completed. So I pulled it out and added some more borders to make it a more usable size. 

For the backing I used up more shot cottons.

It was sent to Darby for quilting. 

Then I took it to Thrift on Blackstone for some photography.

Title: Galvanized

Pattern by: Me

Date Completed: 2022

Size: 52" x 52"

Quilted by: Darby Myers

Gifted to: Sharon Vogt

 

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