Darcy - Playing with Neutral Values in A Quilt

Darcy

55” x 55”

Spunky and full of life. Might come across one way to folks, but she is holding back, that’s all. Knows how to dress the part, code switch, and be what others want her to be. The truth is, she is so much more than anyone thinks or gives her credit for. One day she’ll make a permanent switch, but for now she is going to keep going and stay spunky no matter what.

Recently finished this beauty to gift for a lovely little family baby. The top had been sitting for years, almost as long as her parents have been a couple! The top itself was completed in 2019, from a stack of blocks that were teaching samples for my Values class. But with the right backing she became a sweet gift for a sweet family.

I didn’t get too fancy when quilting her. These strong lines don’t need much more than a highlight to make them sing. You could do an all over design, but I felt like exercising some different muscles.

When you are working with neutrals you can really choose any colour for the quilting. I used a pale pink cotton thread from the stash, maybe a Precensia? I ran out just before I finished and the store was out of that colour so I finished with a Mettler in an almost identical colour. You cannot tell, I promise. Why pink? Well, the backing fabric was a very cute pink fabric with horses and flowers all over it. Now that fabric shines on the back and design is accentuated on the front.

To finish her I added the bright blue (not quite turquoise but not a royal blue) binding. It worked well with the backing fabric and added some fun colour with the front. Perfect for a little one.

And just as I was preparing this post Mama texted me photos of baby girl snuggled asleep with the quilt. Makes a quilter’s heart smile.

Calla - Another Version of the Lilla Quilt

Calla

81” x 81”

Calla is Lilla’s younger sister. Not quite so driven as the first born, but way more fun. She is the free spirited second child, moving to her own rhythm and enjoying life as it comes. She dreams of sandy beaches, big parties, and a good glass of wine. Not content to stay home or stay quiet, Calla loves to live and lives to love.

True confession, I finished this quilt at some point last fall, maybe even in the summer. That was after the top sat for a few years. She is another version of the Lilla quilt pattern, designed in collaboration with Lotta Jansdotter. This version was actually made as part of a blog hop for Scott Hansen’s Tie One On Fabric, in 2018. That’s just how quiltmaking goes for me and I will not apologize for it.

I will, however, apologize for the massive delay in getting this quilt to its recipients. I just gifted this as a long overdue wedding present to some extended family. They had a Covid wedding that we watched on Zoom. Does that mean they should wait 4 years for a wedding present? Of course not. But they have it now, that’s what counts!

I quilted her on a rented longarm with a unique all over design. Mostly, just me doodling. Much like the quilt itself, it is a mish mash of shapes. In all honesty, I wasn’t too fussed about it. One, this is a functional quilt, not a show quilt. That means the quilting is there to hold the quilt together and give it texture. And two, with the 100% cotton batting I use, the crinkle factor kind of negates most detail in a quilting pattern. Best to enjoy the quilting process and do it well, rather than stress about the quilting design itself.

To bind her I used an orange Grunge fabric. It was a great frame for the quilt, with so much warmth in her colours. The original inspiration of the fabrics and my background selections was Sedona, Arizona and this Grunge was a pretty close approximation of the rocks in the dessert.

She sat then, for months and months as I waited to finish a few other quilts. Actually, just one. Her recipients now have two kiddos. The first babe got his quilt before he was even born! The second, well, hers was just finished. Then it took me another month or so to get labels on everything. And we won’t even talk about my inability to get to the post office to mail everything! Then we got a text this week that the family would be in town. I almost went to the post office on Monday and they came on Tuesday.

Needless to say, the quilt is finally delivered!