Thursday, January 4, 2018

Minimal Day



It's been nearly a year since Seattle MQG started its 2017 block-of-the-month, each block a lesson in needle-turn applique. Jonna/@bespokeoutlaw was our hostess, presenting a project inspired by two pieces of jewelry designed by her great uncle, Russell Day. Intriguing, right? If you compare the finished quilt with the photo below, I'm sure you'll be able to see some similar shapes.



My fabric choices included Carolyn Friedlander's linen-cotton blend, euclid, as my background fabric; and a bundle of Anna Maria Horner voile scraps for the applique. [The prints are from her Little Folks line; the brown, I'm not sure.]



In constructing the quilt top, I chose not to use sashing, but did add uneven borders. Wanting to incorporate more AMH fabric in the back, but not necessarily voile, I was happy to find a fat-quarter of her Honor Role in my stash. Pieced with a couple of coordinating solids and some natural Essex was simple but satisfying.



Quilting was done in Aurifil 50wt 2309 (Silver White), echoing shapes in some sections, and creating improvisational designs in others, all done with my walking foot. The actual color blended into the background, while the quilting really provided some stand-out texture. Measuring 38" x 38", a binding in natural Essex finished it off in a subtle way.



I found it very compelling to create this quilt inspired by a real person's designs in a very different medium. Note to self! I did find that the combination of the Essex and my quilting made it difficult to get really clear photos. Even so, it was an enjoyable excursion back to the days where I did alot of applique, and doing so with more modern designs was a treat.



This project was on my 2017 Q4 Finish-A-Long list! If you want to see all the block designs, they can be found on the Seattle MQG website. We've tagged our Instagram posts with #seamqgbom2017 and #minimaldaysampler. Linking up with Finish It Up Friday!

8 comments:

  1. I've loved watching this come together & the finished quilt is so awesome. I love finding ways to incorporate traditional quilting methods (like the appliqué here) into modern quilts.

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  2. I love the quilting on this! That brown print might be a V&A voile; I think I have it in another colour but don't have time to dig it out to check the selvedge. Hurray for finishing it.

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  3. You are such an awesome quilter . . . I love visiting and seeing what you're up to . . . so pretty :)

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  4. It's a beautiful and interesting finish Debbie ! And the pieces of jewelry are amazing !

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  5. It was such a treat getting to see modern day applique come to life through this Seattle MQG BOM project. I think the quilting you added really emphasizes the shapes and adds great texture. Photography can be tricky for sure, especially in these shorter winter days when I feel like all I can get are angles and side lighting!

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  6. What a fun project. It's even more amazing seeing the quilt and the inspiration photo together. I love how you interpreted this. I applaud you doing a needle turned appliqué quilt!

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  7. Such a cool finish! I love all that walking foot quilting!

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  8. What an interesting challenge. LOVE your interpretation!!

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