My Latest Quilt

My friend, Anne, bought a very interesting book when we were in Houston for International Quilt Festival in early November, Making Quilts....the Promise of Joy by Kathy Doughty of Material Obsession

Inside you will find 22 contemporary quilt patterns based on traditional designs which are blended with modern influences. There are three pattern style collections:

• Optical Illusion
• Tradition with a Twist
• Folk Art Inspiration

I loved the Red Square quilt ....

and decided to make my own version.

Can you see how the rows of print fabrics 'travel' around the quilt beginning in the center?  Look closely.....there is a square in the middle with a single rose and a turquoise and yellow plaid square below it. One of my recent 'travels' was my Quilting Cruise to the Caribbean in 2012. I had been looking for a design to use with the fabrics I bought on that trip.

I bought several fabrics in Fort Lauderdale at the shops I visited with students before the cruise but didn't find many fabrics in the ports.  There was one sewing shop in Curacao that specialized in 'fashion' fabrics and supplies for Bernina sewing machines. Only a few cotton fabrics were in the store, including the two madras plaids that I used in place of the white in the original quilt. I also gathered fabrics from my stash that would work well with the small assortment.

Here are some of the blocks piled on my ironing board, all ready for pressing. I found the madras was quite thin and unstable so I starched each block with Mary Ellen's Best Press before squaring them to size.
 

My design wall was 'just' big enough to arrange the blocks. It took a couple of tries until I got it just how I wanted it. My quilt is a very busy version of the original but it is a nice way to remember the fantastic cruise.

Next job, of course, is the quilting.  Not sure what I'll do. I've been wanting to quilt a Baptist Fan design on a quilt for a long time. Perhaps I'll try it on this one.

I am looking for a name for this quilt - any suggestions?  Leave me a comment.

Read more about the book on Kathy's blog.

The book is available online here.

One thing to note about the book........Anne's copy is written in French - with boxes on each page with the English translation.  The link here is for the book written in English.