Wednesday, April 29, 2015

the color journal quilt


It was beautiful out yesterday. I had been waiting for a day like that to take photos of the color journal quilt. It is really and truly finished and officially into chilly morning usage in our home.
This quilt was a bit of a test on construction. I had stitched the diamond pattern running stitch on each individual block with just a light piece of fabric on the backside to support the stitches. I used a flannel sheet as batting and cotton as the back and quilted the large diagonal lines to hold all of the layers together in the end. I was so happy to pull the quilt out after washing and drying and see no distortion between the unstitched and heavily stitched areas on the front. With not a lot of quilting through all the layers it has more of a comforter feel and the weight of it is really nice. Creating dense areas of stitch on each block as I go along adds texture and pattern with not a lot of bulk to stitch through. This frees me up to quilt the layers together in more of an open pattern for the comforter feel in the end construction. 

 

This is one of many funny attempts to photograph the quilt outside by myself using the timer. I just had to show the redbud trees. I met someone recently who had moved here from the west and didn't know about the redbuds. They are a favorite of mine.

25 comments:

  1. love how the photo of your quilt in front of the redwood picks up the pinks & spring greens will be interesting to see it photographed in late summer, autumn and mid winter

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    1. That's a great idea, Mo! - to photograph in the other seasons too.

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    2. I'm looking forward to it!

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  2. this is so beautiful !! susan. i love your circle (square) of life quilt and what your brilliant creative eye and heart have done with simple squares and stitching. you could hardly have got a better backgrnd day (redbush,blue sky,green everywhere ) for the photo.

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    1. Hi Linda. Thank you. I love experiencing the change of seasons and it is surprising that a few little squares can sum that up so well.

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  3. Lovely quilt !!! Though it seems a simple enough design, it works só well !!!
    (it was a great journey ;-) ...)

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    1. In winter it does sometimes seem a long journey to spring! Thanks, Els.

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  4. Such lovely colours...loved seeing the close-up shots of your stitches...which have created another beautiful element to your quilt.
    Lovely to see the blossom, we are experiencing Autumn here, in Australia.

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    1. If I make another of these there may be many more of those little stitches. Thanks, Jenny.

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  5. Hi Susan-Beautiful quilt! And when you look at it, I bet it reminds you of particular moments in the year. I had to laugh at the photos...you are so anonymous! Just legs and hands. Thanks also for the explanation of your process...I was actually going to ask you how you put your pieces together.

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    1. Thank you, Julie. Oh yes, anonymous photo - but I think the quilt might say more about me than a photo of me does.

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  6. Hello, Susan. This is so beautiful. I love your work. The redbuds are glorious. They take me home. I was born and raised in Indiana, so your blog is always very special to me. Thank you for sharing. Stephanie

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    1. Hi Stephanie. Thanks so much for your kind comment. So glad I could bring you a bit of the redbuds blooming. All of the flowering trees are beautiful here this year.

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  7. The quilt echoes the play of light across the land as well as the colors. Simply beautiful.

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    1. Thank you, Dana. I think once the green green grass arrives the flower colors in the landscape really start to pop.

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  8. Your quilt is gorgeous and looks wonderful photographed in the spring light.

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    1. Thank you Janice. All is sunny and bright.

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  9. Just gorgeous, reminds me a bit of an Amish quilt but more contemporary. LOVE!!!

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  10. The red bud trees are just like the Judas trees that I was familiar with in the Eastern Meditteranean. They turn out to be varieties of the same species. As children we called them Camel's Foot Trees because of the shape of their leaves and seeds. Very pretty.

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    1. They sort of blend into the landscape once they have bloomed but I love them. Yes the heart leaves and those seed pods. Thanks, Min.

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  11. It's delightful, both in detail and in the grander scale.

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  12. Loved this post - Loved your photos and your feet and the tree behind.
    The quilt is wonderful.
    x

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  13. Thanks so much all. My boys have each been using it to cover up in those just waking moments after they have come downstairs for the day.

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