Monday, March 11, 2019

Home Away from Home


Once again a little log cabin block - just a quarter of one, in fact - has led me to a place I could not have foreseen, yet am definitely glad to have arrived at. Begun at QuiltCon in an Improv Theme and Variation class with Denyse Schmidt, I arrived home with my blocks from class still arranged on my portable design wall, rolled up in my suitcase. It took just a little puzzling together to make them into a quilt top.


Right away, I knew that matchstick quilting was the way I wanted to go. And though starting out I intended to use several colored threads, I ended up using just one, Aurifil 50wt #2435 (Peachy Pink). In my mind, it's Pink Flamingo, and it provided a nicely subtle contrast in nearly all of the fabrics I'd used.




Speaking of fabrics, did you think I'd only used solids? Mostly, yes, but there was a single print inserted three or four times.... one from Carolyn Friedlander's Doe, and I love the extra bit of interest it adds.


For the backing, I pieced a variety of orange and coral stash prints together, and it was all finished with a faced binding, measuring 34" x 30".



So here ends an agreeable little meander that began with the simplest of blocks, was enhanced by an encounter with someone I admire alot, all the while buoyed up by the Instagram contingent. These are just the type of projects and processes that empower me the most, and every time, I'm grateful that they've happened.

17 comments:

  1. The next to last photograph really shows off the subtle texture of the Carolyn Friedlander print and the quilting at the same time! Beautiful finish, Debbie. :)

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  2. I'm a great admirerer of you. I wish you would come to Norway one day to teach improv!!

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  3. You always, always inspire me! Thank you!

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  4. You really took this to another level! It's a beautiful quilt from composition to color and lastly the quilting! Masterful in my opinion!

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  5. Great Log Cabin improv quilt. It has a 3-d look.
    I like the warmth and 'Pink Flamingo' quilt thread was the perfect choice!

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  6. I love everything about this quilt ! The addition of the Carolyn Friedlander print is unexpected and works very well. Congratulations Debbie !

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  7. love it! I didn't see the print until you mentioned it! Looks awesome!

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  8. Wonderful! I so admire your work!

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  9. Another beautiful make! Love the print that you included - it fits perfectly as does your quilting thread.

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  10. Love it! I just finished cutting out all the squares for a large blue and orange improv quilt I will be putting together in my RV the next few weeks. I love blue and orange together!

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  11. When you do linear quilting do you stitch all rows in one direction or turn quilt around? The finished article is quite stunning. Thank you for sharing.

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  12. I love the colors in this quilt and the matchstick quilting is fabulous!!

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  13. Very modern and pretty quilt. I love a faced binding on modern quilts so much. Did you know that coral is the Pantone Color of the Year for 2019?

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  14. This is great! I love how this came out and I love the process.

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  15. I absolutely love this quilt. Thank you for sharing it.

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