Jewel - And Why I Would Make a Bad Influencer

Jewel

53” x 75” (ish)

She lives her life a little haphazadly. She will come into a room and leave a flurry of herself behind. You are happy she was there, but a tiny bit frustrated by the mess she perpetually leaves behind (literally and figuratively). She sure is a joy! Funny and chatty and she gives the best hugs.

Long before there were influencers, many of us were just called bloggers. In fact, I can remember going to Quilt Market in the early 2010s and feeling the disdain from companies when you told them you were a Blogger. We had a reputation, for sure, that fed the negative stereotype of what we call an Influencer now. But I learned back then that I would suck at the job and this quilt proves it.

Shortly after my first book, Sunday Morning Quilts, came out, I learned that Jennifer Sampou was married to the CEO of CT Publishing, my publisher. After discovering this at Quilt Market I did not hesitate to fan girl with her because she was the first fabric designer that I remember noting. Before her fabric in the late 90s, early 2000s, I only noticed the fabric, not the designer. So there I am gushing about this little daisy print I used on my very first quilt (and many more subsequently) and she tells me she is relaunching as a fabric designer and would love to send me some fabric to play with. And she did!

This was back in 2013. 2013.

I did play with it a little and then put it all in the closet and forgot about it. I found it in the studio move and pulled it out 6 months ago again. So twelve years later I actually used it and finished a quilt with it. Twelve years. This is why I stopped calling myself a Blogger all those years ago and why I can’t accurately call myself an Influencer now.

My initial play paired some cuts from a jelly roll or two with a background fabric. I made some components and did not make more for over a decade. When I rediscovered all of it I found all the fabric too. It wasn’t hard at all to finish off the top. Just a few hours of sewing, really. Then I used a bunch of the fabric to piece a wild backing.

(Funnily enough, I clearly liked some of the fabrics because I have bigger pieces in my stash and know I’ve used some of these same prints multiple times, yet I never touched all of this fabric!)

An invitation came to donate another quilt to a tapahtêyimôkamik elder. After meeting her I knew this particular set would be a perfect fit for her. It also made the choice of the rainbow variegated thread for quilting so much better. I quilted her on a rented long arm.

The binding was made from some leftover pieces of the jellyroll. They are already 2.5” wide afterall! And then I didn’t need to pick anything specific for the frame of the quilt.

I still have a lot of the fat quarters from 2013 left. I don’t know if this will influence you or not to buy Jennifer’s fabric, but I know many of those prints are still available in some stores, not to mention her gorgeous ombres. but it’s safe to say it’s been this long since I got or shared any free fabric!

A Notan Inspired Quilt Top

Have you heard of Notan? I know it as a Japanese paper cutting art form where the positive and negative space, or the light and dark aspects mirror each other. There are more in depth or different interpretations but they all come down to the interplay between the light and dark. I love it all.

In the early spring I’d finished two scrap quilts full of riotous colour. I decided I NEEDED to try out an idea that popped in my head. Just a couple of blocks, no expectations. Some hand applique, creative cutting, and only black and white fabric. I was thinking about Notan and how the concepts could be applied to fabric. So I grabbed two rectangles of fabric, one black and one white, and I cut them. And immediately I knew my idea did not work. At least not without some additional layers for success.

In the Notan of my inspiration you take one piece of paper, the black, let’s say. And you cut it. You then get the design of the black ON the white, with the white showcasing the design. On one side it will look like a white design with a black background and the other side will look like a black design on a white background, but the designs are the same/mirrored. And you only cut one of the papers, the light or the dark. This concept is absolutely doable in fabric too - with one cut only - provided you either have raw edges or do not factor in seam allowances.

In my interpretation I cut through the black and white fabrics at the same time. This is because if I only did one cut and then tried to mirror the pieces with applique the seam allowances would change things enough that it wouldn’t look like a mirror. In more detail, let’s say I cut a triangle from a rectangle of black. I appliqué the triangle itself on another white rectangle. The triangle gets smaller because I’ve turned under the edges for the needle turn applique. But I want a mirror piece so I then take the remaining square of black that has the triangle cut out of it and applique it on another square of white (one with the same outside dimensions as the square of black). Now the opening of the cut triangle becomes bigger because, again, seam allowances. So the two white triangles do not end up the same size. In the end, then, I would cut through a black and white fabric at the same time, plus cut additional background fabrics (two white and two black) so that I ended up with four blocks, or two mirrored sets. The way that I solved the problem of the different seam allowances was that I mirrored the blocks that had the center portions of the cut blocks in one set and mirrored the background appliqués in the other set.

This is the background cut piece (the white) appliquéd on to a piece of black. Think of it like reverse applique.

This is the coordinating cut center from the above white appliquéd on to a piece of black.

So these two blocks would NOT be paired together because the seam allowances would distort the Notan effect. I paired them with their coordinating cut with the black appliqués.

Clear as mud?

After I made my realizations and made the first sets of blocks it was clear that I wanted to make more. And more. It took a little planning to make the sizes work because I had cut my first blocks in a rather random and odd size (12.5” x 20.5”). To be honest, it took a lot more planning than I am used to! In the end, however, it came together with just the right amount of fabric before I ran out.

It is not a representation of the art of Notan, but I think the inspiration definitely shows. Now to figure out how I want to quilt it.

Hazel - From the Archives to Cuddles

Hazel

56” x 72”

Like her namesake eyes, no one can ever quite get a perfect read on her. She’s a bit mischevious but still follows the rules most of the time. She’s shy, but a deep conversationalist. She loves the beach but hates the dirt. You can be two things at once.

My stash is deep, and that includes many unfinished projects, sets of blocks, teaching samples, and a bunch of random things. I’ve been carrying around this bin of started blocks and chosen fabric for over a decade now. I pulled it out as part of my series: Old Projects Cheryl Has Laying Around, What Should She Do With Them? These blocks come from on of the patterns in my book, A Month of Sundays. The original was calm and inspired by beach grass. This version? She’s a Hazel.

The pattern itself is super easy. I think I started with 10 blocks already made and some strips cut. I did the rest of the cutting, sewing, pressing, and even assembly in a few more hours. Not counting the futzing on the design wall to get the layout just right.

For quilting I went really easy on myself. End to end wavy lines in a light pink. It emphasizes the linear nature of the blocks but also softens them. I had a day rented on the local long arm and this was a very quick finish. And score! Found some Liberty cotton in the clearance bin to use on the back.

To bind the quilt I had just enough of this mint green and white stripe. A lot of the fabrics came from a collection that was released about 12-13 years ago from Cloud 9. I used the stripe in other colours in the quilt itself but saved this green for the binding. With my much improved machine binding skills it became a perfect frame for the finish.

Hazel, like a few others, made their way into new homes this summer. A warm treat for some special people. More on that in another post.

Darcy - Playing with Neutral Values in A Quilt

Darcy

55” x 55”

Spunky and full of life. Might come across one way to folks, but she is holding back, that’s all. Knows how to dress the part, code switch, and be what others want her to be. The truth is, she is so much more than anyone thinks or gives her credit for. One day she’ll make a permanent switch, but for now she is going to keep going and stay spunky no matter what.

Recently finished this beauty to gift for a lovely little family baby. The top had been sitting for years, almost as long as her parents have been a couple! The top itself was completed in 2019, from a stack of blocks that were teaching samples for my Values class. But with the right backing she became a sweet gift for a sweet family.

I didn’t get too fancy when quilting her. These strong lines don’t need much more than a highlight to make them sing. You could do an all over design, but I felt like exercising some different muscles.

When you are working with neutrals you can really choose any colour for the quilting. I used a pale pink cotton thread from the stash, maybe a Precensia? I ran out just before I finished and the store was out of that colour so I finished with a Mettler in an almost identical colour. You cannot tell, I promise. Why pink? Well, the backing fabric was a very cute pink fabric with horses and flowers all over it. Now that fabric shines on the back and design is accentuated on the front.

To finish her I added the bright blue (not quite turquoise but not a royal blue) binding. It worked well with the backing fabric and added some fun colour with the front. Perfect for a little one.

And just as I was preparing this post Mama texted me photos of baby girl snuggled asleep with the quilt. Makes a quilter’s heart smile.