Monday, May 16, 2011

Bloggers Quilt Festival- Spring 2011

 
A great big thank you to Amy from Amy's Creative Side for hosting the Bloggers Quilt Festival this week and to all the fabulous sponsors who have joined in to make this such a spectacular event.

As usual I decided to enter this particular quilt with only days left to finish it. It doesn't matter what time frame I have to work with, I always leave it to the very last minute. Not good for stress levels, but it's a finish.

Here is Summer In Paris.

P1050147 - Version 2


This quilt developed from an idea after seeing the fabric below, Paris Map by Yoko Okomato.
Photo from Fabricworm
I wanted to make a quilt that captured memories of Paris and the lovely gardens throughout the city.  I found some beautiful co-ordinating fabrics, including Larkspur by Alexander Henry, which took my breath away with the soft colours and  luscious designs. One of my favourite parts of making a quilt is playing with the fabric and "auditioning" fabrics that work well together both in colour and design/style.

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My original idea was based on a Kaffe Fassett pattern, the fabrics dominate the design, and are cut into larger pieces where they can be seen at their best. 

I liked the central square, but I thought the pattern was a little too regimented. I then found the Modern Rose Garden pattern at Carolina Patchworks.

This lacked the central square but it was a much more random layout.  From these two ideas that weren't quite right, I decided to develop my own pattern. The tricky part was working out the math to make blocks that would all fit together nicely but be random in size and placement.  It was ideal to show off these beautiful fabrics, including Joel Dewberry Modern Meadow, It's a Hoot by Momo, Parisville, and some Kona solids.  There was a bit of fussy cutting involved too.



Despite worrying whether it was going to look great when finished, (I always worry that what is fabulous in my head doesn't look at all nice at the end), I was very pleased with the final result.

My intention was to quilt it myself, but when the top was finally completed, I had absolutely no idea how I was actually going to quilt it. I hadn't given the quilting any thought at all during the whole process. After asking for suggestions and receiving some fabulous responses and ideas, I chickened out and sent it to Fiona my local long arm quilter. I'm so very glad I did as the quilting is fabulous. Part of the quilting design echoes the swirls in the fabric used for the sashing and also the Patty Young, Zen Garden.

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I used Kona Lupine for the binding, the first time I have used a solid for binding. The backing is from Ikea.

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                               Summer In Paris
I'm thrilled with this quilt, and I'm going to use the same pattern to make a quilt in each of the four seasons.
Here's a sneak peek of the fabric I'm collecting for the autumn/fall quilt, Autumn In Paris.
Thank you for stopping by and taking the time to visit.  There are so many beautiful quilts to see at the Quilt Festival, I can't wait to have a look at them all this week.


50 comments:

  1. Marg This is a beautiful quilt, and I thoroughly enjoyed reading your story of the progression. The fabrics are wonderful....you have a real eye for choosing just the right one. The way you have used the different fabrics takes the eye on a wandering journey over the whole quilt and one could indeed be strolling down the streets of "Gay Paree". Congratulations.

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  2. The quilt is absolutely beautiful!

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  3. I love this quilt. Thank you for telling us about your progress.

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  4. Its gorgeous Marg, such pretty colours! Love the purple and the backing is perfect! Gorgeous quilting too. Your sneak peek photos arent coming up but look forward to seeing your next 'seasons' quilt!

    x

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  5. Thanks Melissa, I think I've fixed the problem.

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  6. Love the design and the colors work perfectly.

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  7. This is beautiful! I love the design, the Parisian inspiration, the fabrics, the back, the quilting...the whole 9 yards!

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  8. This quilt is just beautiful! I love the colors and the patterns on the fabric. I am impressed that you created your own pattern. I have never been good at anything like that.

    I think the idea of doing a quilt for each season is a great one and I am loving the fabrics you have chosen for the next season.

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  9. What a breathtaking quilt. I love the Larkspur! Really love the backing you did.

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  10. Very nice quilting job,looks so pretty

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  11. Great quilt! I love picking fabrics too. I like your design a lot. The idea of doing one for each seasons is fantastic.

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  12. I love your fabric choices for your quilt - so peaceful!

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  13. Beautiful quilt, the colors are gorgeous and the quilting amazing!

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  14. Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful...the colors, the pattern, the quilting everything seems to be in perfect harmony.
    Congratulations on that finish!!

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  15. A wonderful quilt with a great story behind it! And to think you are going to create a range of seasons! Fabulous! I very rarely buy fabric ranges so to hear you had put these together yourself warms my heart!

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  16. I love this quilt!!! It's so nice to see it quilted and bound. Your combo of fabrics is so wonderful, they're all beautiful in their own right and work so well all together. Such a great idea to make one for each season, look forward to watching them grow.

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  17. Your quilt is truly beautiful...colours soo harmonious.

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  18. It has come out so beautifully - love it! And I am really not a purple person, but I just love the mauve/olive green, would never have thought of that combination. Perfect complement to the Paris Map fabric.

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  19. I realy love this quilt Marg! Such a great idea to do one for all the seasons, that way you can be in Paris all year round. I especially love this quilt because my uncle and aunty lived in Paris for years and I used to spend many long weekends visiting them when I lived in London. My brother also flated in Paris for a year so to me it is a special place. You have captured it perfectly :-)

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  20. Utterly Utterly Gorgeous. Myfavourite thing about this quilt is EVERYTHING!

    I think the idea to make one for each season is just inspired (and I wish I'd thought of it first !)

    That quilt would look great in my dining room on that white chair...hint hint!

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  21. Such a lovely quilt! You did a wonderful job choosing all the fabrics - they look like they were made to go together.

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  22. What a lovely quilt. I have just bought a fat 1/4 bundle and what something to show off the fabric I might follow your lead.

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  23. Lovely! Love how you took your inspiration and made the quilt that was just right for you.

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  24. you are so clever - what a great idea to carry the them into all four seasons.

    this is gorgeous, Marg. You are truly talented. Your fabric choices are beautiful.

    great job. Really.

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  25. Great quilt! I love the fabrics you chose and your pattern is definitely the best of the 3...great idea to make one for every season!

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  26. Very beautiful! The fabric choice was awesome, and that design is great. I also like the more random look of the squares and rectangles.

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  27. Gorgeous quilt - thank you for sharing your design process, I love learning how the quilt began!

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  28. You should indeed be pleased with the final result. A wonderful quilt. Lovely colours and theme and I love all the pretty fabrics you have chosen. Regards Dianne.

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  29. What a beautiful quilt. And I love that larkspur!! It is great to learn about your process. Fun!

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  30. Wow! you have done an awesome job with this quilt!
    I love the layout you decided on, It is such a great way to show off those fantastic fabrics!

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  31. I love, love, love the colors and fabrics in this quilt!

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  32. beautiful! I love everything about it, the mix of fabrics, the break up that the sashing creates, the pattern. Just beautiful.

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  33. Gorgeous quilt! Love the pattern, it really highlights the fabrics, which are just beautiful. Can't wait to see how the other seasons work out.

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  34. Gorgeous Marg! Love the colours and the fabrics you have used. It's been great discovering your blog via the Quilt Festival......and you just live up the highway-lovely!

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  35. Your quilt is one of my favorites of the festival. The fabric and your pattern go together beautifuly. I LOVE it!

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  36. I love it. The fabric is awesome and I really think it is cool that you created your own pattern from a few ideas. I am always too chicken to do that...nice job!

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  37. Beautiful quilt. I love purple color. I'm glad the international posts. Thank You

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  38. Hi, What a beautiful quilt. I enjoyed reading your blog story and the quilt colours and block placement is quilt special. A wonderful combination and your next colour selection looks just as inspirational.

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  39. It's beautiful! I love the colors and the pattern.

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  40. What a lovely design - how clever you are! Can't wait to see the other "seasons" quilts. Thanks for sharing so much detail about your planning and creative process.

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  41. What a great quilt love that fabric I think I need some! Purple is a favourite and anything Paris I'm there love Kaffe too. You did a great job designing and bringing it all together. Chris

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  42. a beautiful quilt!. You did a great job in choosing fabrics that expressed the concept you had.

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  43. So pretty! Great pattern too. The autumn stack of fabrics will work up just as beautiful.

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  44. Just visiting from the bloggers quilt festival - LOVE your quilt. It was the ONE that jumped out from all the others. You should sell the pattern or post a quick tutorial. I will keep checking back with my fingers crossed. THANK YOU!

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  45. Your quilt is wonderful. I like the way you combined the best of both patterns.. The colours are beautiful. I look forward to seeing each season now in this pattern.

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  46. That turned out to beautifully! I love the fabric combinations and the solid binding is amazing. I love the subtle swirls in the sashing fabric.

    Thanks so much for sharing such a beautiful quilt. Can't wait to see your others.

    xo -E

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  47. What a lovely quilt! I really do love this pattern, I may have to give it a try myself! Your autumn version looks like it will be equally beautiful too!

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  48. Thanks for checking out my quit! Yours is absolutely gorgeous, I LOVE the springy colors!

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  49. I love this quilt. You used such wonderful fabrics. I can't wait to see autumn in Paris. :) I featured your quilt on my blog today.

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  50. Your quilt is wonderful, I love the colours and the story too.

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