Cobblestones Quilt Goes Home!

I brought Deb the Cobblestones quilt, and she was really really happy. She wrote me the loveliest thank you note. She said, "It's absolutely stunning, and I am in awe of the love and effort you put into creating it. The colors and patterns are so perfect, and I can feel the warmth of your thoughtfulness in it. It's so me!"

She loved the book with the story of the quilt and said she would leave it out on a side table in the room so everyone who came over would be able to read it. 

It made my day. When I left, I said, "Thank you," and she said, "No, Lynne, Thank YOU." 

But I am pretty sure quilters know the feeling. It's wonderful to leave a quilt with a person who truly appreciates it.

 

Cobblestones Beauty Shots

I knew when the sun came out that I had to take the Cobblestones quilt outside for beauty shots. This is a great shot showing off the quilting.

The dark setting here really adds a bit of drama. I think it shows off the light quilt.

This is quite a handsome quilt. I've run it through the washing machine and have sent the quilt story to the print shop to be printed and bound. When that comes back the quilt will be ready to be delivered to its new home.

Cobblestones is Finished!

The cream and white Cobblestones quilt I made for my cousin is finished. I'll be delivering it to her later next week, after I have taken it out for beauty shots and completed the story of the quilt.
 

Cobblestones, Quilted

 

I picked up the Cobblestones quilt from Janet-Lee yesterday, and will add the binding later today.

It's really pretty, although it's a very quiet quilt.

A Variation on a Theme

One of the tasks I need to do is to straighten up the fabrics in my stash. Since I am between quilts, I figured it would be a good task to start. I worked on the White on Whites, and then sorted out the white with colors and the creams with colors. I took the fabrics off the shelf, ironed them, refolded them, and put them back on the shelf.

I decided to work on the fabrics I call "colors on a white background." As I was pressing one piece I thought. "Gee, it would be interesting to make a cobblestones quilt with these bright fabrics, and have bright bold colors slashed through them." ***

Then I thought, well, fart. What am I waiting for? So I went through the stack and chose 24 fabrics, then pressed them cut 6-1/2" WOF strips.

Then I cut the first set of blocks, and inserted the strips and trimmed them. Whenever possible, I try to insert the contrasting strip and reassemble the block so the pattern continues from one piece to the other as in the photo above. It helps keep the quilt cohesive.

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Here are the 24 fabrics with a strip inserted. I thought you'd get a kick out of seeing them together. Now, I just threw these up on the design wall. I haven't arranged them to their best advantage, but you can see some of the challenges I will face. 

No, I am not in the least worried. I can make this work too.

And yeah, I did continue to work on organizing the fabrics.

*** Remember how I keep telling you that inspiration can be found anywhere? Well, this ought to show you.

Cobblestones

 

I've decided to name Deb's quilt "Cobblestones."  Here is a closeup of the quilt so you can see some of the fabrics I have used in the quilt.

At first I thought the quilt I would need a small dark border around the quilt, and then a larger cream one, but when I put a thin strip of dark fabric on the left side, and I didn't like it at all. Then I thought I should put a narrow light border, THEN a thin dark border and THEN a wider cream border, but I wasn't sure about it, so I gathered up some leftovers and made a sample strip, and put it on the top edge. I didn't like either version, so now I will simply add a border of cream/light and then the flimsy will be complete.

Here is the flimsy all sewn up.

Look what I found in my stash! A terrific fabric I will use for the backing of this quilt.  That's surely a WIN!!!

Deb's Quilt

 

I asked Deb to come over and take a look at what I had on the design wall. She was happy. She loved the fabrics I had chosen and I was glad to see we were on the same page. I did a lot of tinkering after she left and this is the layout I will sew together.

When Deb visited we talked about borders and binding and we looked at some fabrics for each.

Now I do not usually allow this kind of input in my quilts, but when I toured Deb's house, she wasn't kidding. It was a lovely, serene home, but it was very neutral. I knew that if it were up to me I would add more color, but this quilt is for Deb, and I wanted to be 100% sure she was good with the design and the fabrics I had chosen.

Although it is quiet and neutral, it will be a very beautiful quilt in its own way. Deb has told me the quilt will have a place of honor living on the back of the couch in her living room.

Now I've got to sew this together. Of course, before that happens I will scrutinize the design to make sure it is up to snuff. I can already see some things I might change - like some of the lines are too much the same in some rows or columns.

OH! The quilt needs a name. Suggestions welcome!

The Beige Quilt

  I am making a beige quilt.

Yes, you heard that right.

You all know how much I dislike beige. But when someone you love says she is a "no-color kind of girl," you honor that.

I am making a quilt for my cousin Deb, who lives nearby. When I called her and asked her about her colors, I knew her colors were low-key, but I was surprised when she said "no-color."

"My living room sofa is cream and I have black and white throw pillows. Come over and look around." We made plans to get together in a few days. In the meantime I had to do some thinking. I knew I would be able to figure it out, and I knew I could make it beautiful, I just didn't know what I would do.

It took me about five days before I figured it out.

I decided to make "Crossroads" from Amy Walsh & Janine Burke's book Colorful Quilts for Fabric Lovers.

The quilt has six inch blocks with a thin insert in each. There are three blocks, one divided in half, one with the strip close to the edge, and one 2/3 of the way through. The basic blocks would be various creams, and the inserted strips would be darker blues, greens and other dark values. I went through my stash and pulled fabrics and brought them with me when I visited Deb.

She loved the idea, so I went home and started cutting fabrics.

The light fabrics are in the first photo, above. The colored insert strips are in the photo above.

I started sewing the blocks together. It didn't take long.

I threw some of the early blocks on the wall to see how it was going to look. I knew I wouldn't know for sure until I could see all the blocks on the wall.

It isn't "me" but I know I can make it look great.