Tuesday, January 10, 2012

Happiness

warm cuddly quilts on the couch = happiness.
a quilt done in the first week of the new year = happiness.

I love having this quilt on the couch.  The seed of inspiration came a looong time ago on a photo on Luckybeans' blog (which I can't find now) of a basket weave quilt with red center strips.  Thanks Katurah.  Never knew I'd actually make it, but now that I did, I'm glad I remembered where the idea came from.
Inspiration for the flowers came from a bunch of places, this one from the Material Obsession book, and this one by Nifty mainly.  Renewed love of applique thanks to Shelly, as I mentioned before.
the quilting, oh the quilting.. at first I thought I'd try clam shells..but a test piece didn't work out so well, so I opted to play around with flowers and swirls.  It was fun.  Some worked out the way I wanted, but I need more practice with meanders because I didn't always know how to get out of the area I had just quilted.. move up?  move right?  the pattern lended itself to going in a L--> R direction, but then I had issues rolling the whole quilt back up and shoving it under the machine again.  Thank goodness it was a small quilt.
I backed it in a soft vintage (1980s?) purple that I got out of the Atlanta guild's ugly box in 2003.  I had 4 yards of it, taking up space in the stash for years.. It just worked so perfectly with this quilt, I'm happy it found a home.   What is it with me and purple these days?  I think I just have so much of it and I was tired of feeling like I couldn't use it because I live with two guys.  Yeah, whatever.  A quilt is a quilt.  If I buy floral fabric or girly colors, I need to use it!  Enough of my self-imposed rules-- I commit to make what I feel like making~
On my label I used both nengajo stamps-- the bunny from 2011 and the sea horse from 2012.  God it feels good to have a finish in 2012 already...

15 comments:

  1. Congratulations!! The quilt looks great, and I love your whimsical quilting. I can't look at it without smiling.

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  2. Congratulations!! That's quite a feat. It looks very cozy and cheerful - an asset to any living room :)

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  3. That's wonderful! I love the colours and the sentiment! Good for you for such a strong start to the year!

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  4. This is a fabulous quilt! Love your free form letters -- love the message!

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  5. I love how 'ugly' material ends up looking beautiful and sometimes ends up being our favorite part! You did a great job!

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  6. Hi Jess
    I love the backing and red binding combo!!
    Wish I had my flowering snowball finished so I could snuggle.

    I say have what you want in the house.
    I lived in a very crome manly home for a while, gradually I've softened it, and he actually likes the feminine touches!!

    Stay Happy!

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  7. OH I LOVE this, especially the Choose Happiness!

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  8. This is fantastic, I love how the red subtly brings it all together! Committing to what you feel like making is the only way to go!

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  9. oh, it's wonderful, Jessica!!! love the sentiment and the design of the quilt. and a finish this big in January...even better!

    thanks for linking up!

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  10. It's beautiful! Are the letters hand pieced or appliqued? I can't quite see.

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  11. Thanks everybody.
    @Kris-- the letters are improvisationally free-pieced, as Tonya Riccuci teaches. Her book and blog are great places to start if you want to add words to your quilts. I just take some letter fabric and some background fabric and start piecing until it takes the shape I want. If you click the second photo you may be able to see the piecing lines.

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  12. I love the idea of using the nengajo stamps to mark the time a quilt was started and completed. Where did you get yours? Just looking at that quilt makes me feel happy!

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  13. @folkhaven-- the rabbit stamp came from my friend in Japan, the sea horse I bought at the Kinokuniya bookstore (Japanese bookstore) in NYC. I would be surprised if you can't find them online somewhere too, but I haven't looked..

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  14. fabulous! I find Nifty really inspiring too!

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