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Monday, February 22, 2010

Featured Quilt of the Week - "Sunshine and Lilacs"

I started making this baby quilt by selecting the backing. I had intended to use yellows, purples, and oranges, drawn from the backing fabric for the piecework on the front of the quilt.

I had no trouble at all selecting yellows and purples, and I really liked the way they all looked together. But no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't make any auditioned oranges work. It took a while (slow learner?), but then it dawned on me that there are times when I need to be flexible enough to let go of preconceived ideas and let the fabrics speak to me. Well, okay then. I guess I don't need the oranges! The only orange color you'll see is in the few blocks of backing fabric I used on the front for continuity (and a few dots of orange in one of the lilac fabrics).


This was an enjoyable quilt to do in the wintertime. So bright and cheerful and a reminder of the colors of our coming spring.


I quilted it in an all-over meandering stitch which I think does a good job of pulling the whole quilt together.


I especially like the quilting on the back where it gives a sense of the flowers scattered helter-skelter in a rolling field.

As usual, you can get more information on this quilt by going to my website and clicking on "Shop Now."

7 comments:

MaineCelt said...

Hurrah! Another gender-neutral purple and yellow quilt perfect for ANY baby!

Love the backing fabric... looks like something I might have pulled out of a box in my grandmother's sewing room, the memory of which makes me instantly cheery!

MaineCelt said...

P.S. My mother once made me a birthday cake she decided, on a whim, to decorate with purple and orange icing. That was the goal, anyway... the icing came out coral and lavender-grey, and I still remember being absolutely certain (at the ripe old age of 10 or 11) that it was the worst thing you could possibly do to a birthday cake. She, of course, thought it was lovely!

Jenyfer Matthews said...

I think I've seen that backing fabric before and it's lovely. And don't you just love trying to come up with a front for that perfect backing you've got?? Been there, done that!

Mama Pea Quilts said...

Hi, MaineCelt - Regarding the backing fabric being something that could have come from your grandmother's sewing basket . . . that makes me feel like I succeeded in my aim. I LOVE the older looking fabrics.

When I was really young, I baked a chocolate cake and decided green frosting would go perfectly with it. My choice didn't go over very well with the family either.

Hi, Jen - I generally find it easier to have my backing fabric first and work off that for the front of my quilt. So why don't I do that more often? Hmmm . . .

Katidids said...

I love the color blend! Orange would have been ok, but that yellow really "POP's" I have 2 quilts I'm trying to decide the bacing. The fabrics are discontinued and I really don't want solids. Just have to wait mself out.

Jenyfer Matthews said...

Hmmm...I usually find it harder to work "in reverse" - I like to design the front first and come up with the backing after.

Katidids - you should just browse in a fabric store. Surely something will jump out at you :) I am not partial to solids either - I like marbles and tone-on-tone instead. They give the look of a solid but have more depth.

Mama Pea Quilts said...

Hey, Katie and Jen - I know this whole front first/backing first thing just goes to prove to me that it's a lot easier if I'm organized to start out . . . which doesn't seem to happen very often! Oh well, I tell myself trying to find the "right" fabrics for either forces me to think outside the box and be creative. [Uh-huh, sure. ;o)]