That’s the vibe I’m getting from this quilt – a summer garden party. I also think I’m hanging on to the very last bits of summer, as it’s quickly slipping away and the first few signs of fall keep popping up here in New York.
I’ve slowly been collecting some Amy Butler pieces and I finally had what I wanted to make the quilt pattern I had in mind. The inspiration for this pattern comes from a vintage tablecloth I picked up earlier this year at the Brooklyn Flea. Since I got it in April, this tablecloth has had a permanent place on my dining room table. I love it and pretty much think it is the most perfect tablecloth ever.
After months of looking at it, one day it occurred to me that it could make for a really great quilt pattern. I immediately thought Amy Butler fabric would make it extra special, and so my quilt idea began to take shape.
I started by putting the tablecloth on the floor and laying pieces of fabric on it to plan which pieces of fabric I wanted where. This part took a long time because I kept moving fabric around and changing my mind. I also had different sizes of fabric – some a lot smaller than others – and had to keep that in mind in order to make it all fit together.
I went back and forth between having a uniform look with each side mirroring the other, and making it different with nothing being the same. In the end it’s a little bit of both. The final decisions came down to what fabric I had available and what I thought looked best.
The quilt isn’t exactly like the tablecloth but it is pretty close. I love how all of the different patterns mix together and I also like how the overall color of the quilt leans towards that yellowy green color. It’s not a color I use much of and I always like to step outside of my color comfort zone.
I’m now planning the back of this quilt. It turns out I have a large solid piece of that yellow green color in my stash that matches perfectly. For a minute I thought about doing something a little more subtle for the back, since the front is so loud, but I don’t think I’m going to go in that directly. I think I’m going to go with the yellow green. Go big or go home, right?!?!
There have been some changes made to the Purple + Teal quilt. As of a few weeks ago, the Purple + Teal quilt was a baby quilt, but this quilt has grown and is no longer a baby. I had a change of heart and decided I really wanted it to be larger than a baby quilt, so I went to the drawing board and came up with this:
I didn’t have enough fabric to make more blocks so instead I went a different route and used solids to add size. I also decided to embrace contrast and used four different solid colors, none of which are in the blocks.
In my original blog post, I mentioned using Kona Cotton Plum for the back because I use that solid color in the blocks, but that plan changed too! I decided not to use Plum for the front or the back and instead used Kona Cotton in Magenta, Eggplant and Pansy. The pink color you see is Michael Miller Cotton Couture in Orchid.
I already have the back done and I am using Eggplant and Orchid for it. I really like the contrast between the two colors and think it makes for a more interesting look.
Now I have to baste this thing and get quilting!
I met Amy Butler a few years ago and I’m pretty certain I embarrassed myself. I was attending a design conference – not for anything quilting related but for my job at the time – and she was also in attendance. I knew she was going to be at the conference and the most I hoped for was to see her in the hallway. To my surprise and delight (this is where it gets embarrassing) I ended up sitting right next to her.
It was on the first day of the conference and the first speaker session of the day. I was sitting in a large hotel ballroom and it was packed. There were hardly any seats open but there happened to be one free next to me.
I was deeply engrossed in reading the program when I heard someone ask if the seat next to me was open. Without really paying attention, I told the person it was free.
It was then that I glanced up and a see that it’s Amy Butler. I did a double take, checked her name badge to confirm, and then blurted out, “I’m a quilter!”
I then continued to ramble on about how I love her fabric and blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. Amy graciously listened and chatted with me before our speaker session got started.
I say all of this because I’m really not one to get excited about celebrities. In my other career (not quilting) I’ve had the opportunity to meet some celebrities – some bigger than others – and it’s fine and can be kind of fun, and living in New York we tend to see them occasionally as well, but for the most part I really don’t care all that much…unless we’re talking fabric designers. Amy Butler is like the Angelina Jolie of fabric designers and that got me excited.
I tell you this story because I am in the process of working on a new quilt using Amy’s fabric. I’m such a fan of hers and have used her fabric before. You may have seen this quilt which has gotten quite a bit of attention, and I credit a lot of that to Amy’s fabric.
I’ve slowly been collecting some pieces of Amy Butler fabric and added to my collection last week. The entire top row of this picture is her fabric. You can also see some Denyse Schmidt and Lotta Jansdotter in there. There’s also one piece of Parson Gray, Amy’s husband’s line of fabric.
I’ve already started cutting and piecing this quilt and so far I like what I’m seeing. It’s going to be bright, colorful, bold, and with lots of patterns. I’m also using some bigger pieces so there are not too many tiny cuts, which means it’s coming together pretty quickly.
I can’t wait to show all of you when it’s done.
Have I ever mentioned how much I adore solids? Don’t get me wrong, I love patterns, but I also really love solids. I could probably make quilts only using solids for the rest of the year and be okay with it. Now I don’t plan to do that, but you get how I feel about solid colors.
Last month I had an idea start brewing that uses only solids. I’ve been wrapping up some other quilt projects the last few weeks and I am now finally ready to test this idea out. If it works out how I plan, I’ll be sharing it with you! And the best part is that I will get my solid fix for the year.
To begin my little experiment, I’m combining this coral pink color (Kona Cotton Melon) and navy (Kona Cotton Indigo). In the photo it looks more pink, but in person it looks more coral-like, to my eye. I love this color combo.
I plan to get started on this new project today and hopefully I’ll have an update soon. Anyone else a fan of all solid quilts?
More to come…