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Sunday, December 9, 2012

A Maisy Quilt for Christmas

This time last year, in fact on the very day, I shared the "updated" tree skirt I had made. {The pattern is Wonderland by Empty Bobbin.}
I loved the fabrics and somewhat unusual palette of the tree skirt and planned early on in this year that I'd make a lap quilt to coordinate with it. I considered pattern options for quite a while, but when I saw The Maisy Quilt by Karyn of make something (and the workroom) I stopped looking.
The Maisy Quilt
Source: makesomething.ca; used by permission.

This was the inspiration for my new quilt. I loved the way the same block was used throughout, yet the center used lighter fabrics, the sides were more medium, and the top and bottom darker. And I thought the pattern would harmonize well with that of the tree skirt.

I started with the dimensions Karyn used, making wonky strip blocks 9 1/2" x 10 1/2", basically working from the center out.
For backing, I chose Aneela Hoey's Cherry Christmas Circle Wreaths Advent Grey, and I am really pleased with the calm it gives the quilt, while still adding a festive touch. Quilting was organic straight-line with my standby Aurifil light gray 50wt. For binding, I used the same Starburst by Alice Kennedy as I used on the tree skirt - still a very favorite fabric. 
 
As I was finishing the quilt, I was debating on a name for it. In my mind, it was a Maisy quilt, and I wrote to Karyn about naming mine after hers. She was totally open to that, but let me know that her original inspiration came from Denyse Schmidt's book Denyse Schmidt Quilts, and her 'Hop, Skip & a Jump' quilt. And boy was I surprised at all the HSJ quilts out there! I made a flickr gallery with several I found - see here. And I even found an online tutorial by Denyse for a similar quilt here.
In the end, none of the HSJ quilts I saw had the same sense of value that drew me to the Maisy in the first place.
So Maisy it is.

Linking up with Fabric Tuesday. This quilt was also on my fourth quarter Finish-A-Long list!

33 comments:

  1. Maisy is a beautiful quilt, I love the way the values change. And the quilt photo shoot looks like fun too.

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  2. Wonderful... I like this so much more than the traditional red, white, green color palette :)

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  3. Yours is truly wonderful! I have looked at the Flickr gallery and yours is an absolute standout amongst them! Your sense colour value and its use is stunning! A triumphant Maisy!

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  4. Love Maisy! She came out great - wonderful placement of colors, and a good selection of them as well!

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  5. Beautiful quilt. The movement of light to dark really makes it!

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  6. Such a beautiful quilt!

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  7. I love your Maisy quilt! Beautiful photos!

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  8. Maisy is a lovely quilt and great photos. Interesting to note the progression in your color palettes as they have changed over the years. Very non-traditional for Christmas..but very Edmonds-Lynnwood northwesty feel. Blessing on you today. :)

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  9. It's beautiful Debbie! Really like it.

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  10. As I've watched this quilt develop I never realized that it wasn't just random. Seeing it as a whole and completely finished makes me realize just how stunning this one truly it. It is beautiful Debbie!

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  11. just stunning! it's really lovely, great work!

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  12. Really lovely. Do you think you'll put it away after Christmas/ I'm not sure I'd be able to!

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  13. gorgeous finish debbie - its christmas without too much christmas, i'd leave it out all year! :)

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  14. Simply gorgeous quilt Debbie! I loved the Maisy quilt as soon as I saw it too and used the colours Karen had used as inspiration for my Stormy runner.

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  15. Beautiful Miss Debbie!! Absolutely beautiful!

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  16. simply beautiful, Debbie. Love the value differences, you did such a good job.

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  17. Maisy's a great addition to your sofa for the holiday season :o)

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  18. I love the colors you chose for the quilt! Gorgeous!

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  19. Fun journey this quilt took from it's beginnings all the way through to naming it! You know, it also kind of reminds me of a river flowing between two green(ish) banks and the sun reflecting off the water.

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  20. Love the use of value in this quilt. It's really beautiful!

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  21. Another fantastic quilt Debbie!

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  22. You finished it! It's gorgeous.

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  23. I love any kind of strippy quilt, and this one is GREAT! Great color choices and binding. I would love to make this as a wall hanging.

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  24. Maisy is beautiful, Debbie! Such a fun non-traditional Christmas quilt. I love the variations in value. I bet it looks great with your tree skirt!

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  25. Your sense of colour and light is a real lesson for me! So wonderful!

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  26. Lovely quilt, so peaceful and calm!

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  27. I've come back several times to look at your version of the Maisy quilt and it's just so lovely!

    Maisy and I feel so honoured that you used her quilt as an inspiration!

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  28. Cool background settings... Very inspired by your quilt....

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