October 2012

Sea and Sky

I've made a lot of quilts. This one makes me happier than most. There was something about this one that just felt right, start to finish. There's a baby girl in Portland who will grow up with this as her quilt. It was started on the day she was born. Seems appropriate. Quilt story is at domesticat.net/quilts/sea-and-skySea and Sky, finished
 by domesticat.
Date: 
17 September 2012 to 6 October 2012
Photoset: 

http://www.flickr.com/photos/domesticat/sets/72157631640034695

Recipient: 
Byron's daughter Ada
Pattern: 
New Wave
Level of completion: 
Completed and given away
Blog entries referencing this quilt: 
Lily

It is axiomatic: every workplace that is partially virtual, and dependent on IRC or chat for department communication, must have at least one unofficial back channel. I, of course, participate in a few of those, and there's one in particular where we have a rule about not talking about work. (Except, of course, when we do.)

all tags: 
work
quilt

The company you keep

While I was working on Sea & Sky, I decided I'd cheat and re-use the pattern ("New Wave") a second time because it was quick, easy, and chews through large-scale prints like a hot knife through butter. Since the color scheme for that quilt was light, bright, and warm-toned, I wondered what I could do if I started pulling out fabrics with muted grey or brown tones.

all tags: 
color
fabric

Birthday stars

The story: I was fabric-hunting in the Petticoat Lane district in London, where there's a street of nothing but African fabric shops one after another, selling 6-yard lengths of what's variably called "dutch wax fabric," "african wax fabric," etc. The marketplace looks like this, with racks and racks of clothing available for sale out in the street, and wax fabric storefronts on both sides of the street:

all tags: 
birthdays
quilting
fabric
london
vlisco

Consider modifying standards

As I tidied up the entry for Fuego, since I put it in the mail today, I looked over the quilt list for the year and was a little disheartened, because I felt like I haven't accomplished much this year. It's also entirely possible that I'm an idiot.

It's the end of October. In 2012, I've finished:

all tags: 
travel
quilting

Cinder and Smoke

The final shot before it goes on to its forever home. Full post at domesticat.net/quilts/cinder-and-smokeCinder and Smoke: finished
 by domesticat.
Date: 
11 October 2012 to 6 December 2012
Photoset: 

http://www.flickr.com/photos/domesticat/sets/72157631832749063

Recipient: 
Jonathan's son
Pattern: 
New Wave
Level of completion: 
Completed and given away

Cinder and Smoke is a companion quilt to Sea and Sky, which I finished and sent out to a co-worker in our Portland office on the birth of his daughter. I thought it might be nice to use the same pattern again, but add in a bit of a different focus.

While working on Sea & Sky, I removed a few pieces I'd cut because they just didn't work with the light, bright, clear-toned fabrics I'd chosen:

all tags: 
quilts
new wave

Hopscotch

Quilted, bound, and ready to hop back over to the UK. Full story is at domesticat.net/quilts/hopscotchHopscotch, finished
 by domesticat.
Date: 
29 February 2012 to 6 November 2012
Photoset: 

http://www.flickr.com/photos/domesticat/sets/72157631832930696

Recipient: 
Beatrice
Pattern: 
Mod Mosaic
Level of completion: 
Completed and given away

It's weird to say that you can walk into fabric stores -- which are, by definition, riots of color and print -- and feel a little bored, but I've been struggling with that in the past year or so as I've become more familiar with What's Out There. There aren't that many manufacturers of quilting fabric, and there's a strong faddish element to what's in / out / hot / not at any point in time. 

all tags: 
quilts
england
london