Finished and Bound

I have finished the hand quilting on 'Happy Days' the 2016 BOM from Sarah Fielke. It was the first time I used a big needle and thicker thread; I loved how this turned out and will definitely do this type of hand quilting again.  The top is all Liberty Tana Lawns apart from the background which is a small grey pin dot on white from Marsha McCluskey staples collections.  I used Hobbs Quilter's Dream Request Cotton Batting and Aurifl 12wt Threads. You can see this quilt coming together in my previous posts:

http://emilyscupboard.blogspot.com/search/label/Happy%20Days

Adventures in Low Volume

I have seen many quilts popping up on social media that are described as 'Low Volume'
Melanie at Southern Charm Quilts has an interesting article explaining what makes a fabric low volume HERE

I think of these as Modern Quilts, and as someone who is normally drawn to antique/repro fabrics I thought it would be fun to have a go at a low volume quilt of my own.  I had an EPP pattern I wanted to try and bought some pale fabrics, you can see the original plan here:

http://emilyscupboard.blogspot.com/2017/09/new-quilt-group-new-project.html

I cut out the pieces for a few blocks and started stitching; I very quickly got bored 😔 I enjoyed fussy cutting some of the pieces, but a whole quilt in Low Volume, really wasn't holding my attention. My work isn't wasted, I learned something and the blocks I made were just the right size to turn into a pouch to hold my light pad 😀

I will use my 'fussy cutting' fabric for the back - I had to search to find a piece large enough with no holes 🤣

I still really want to make a quilt with modern Low Volume fabrics, looking again at all the quilts that have inspired me, I think it is the combination of these as backgrounds to brighter colours that I love.  On to Plan B ....

Add some bright colours to the pale selection, lots of these are leftovers from my 'Down the Rabbit Hole' Quilt

Melanie is hosting the 'I am enough" QAL , it is a Free pattern she has designed and you can find all the details here:

https://southerncharmquilts.com/blog/tag/i-am-enough-quilt-along/

It is my favourite kind of quilt, scrappy with lots of different blocks 😀 I am learning a lot too with this one! so far I have tried a new fusible appliqué thread (Charlotte's Web) and the French Braid pattern which has been on my list to make for years. I have lots of handwork on the go at the moment so I think this will be my machine project.

Stonefields Revisited

Way back in 2014 I was luck enough to take a class with Susan Smith and see the real 'Stonefields' Quilt, with her permission I took lots of photos, you can see them here http://emilyscupboard.blogspot.com/2014/09/stonefields-more-you-look-more-you-see.html

I has already started a BOM but after seeing the original I swapped out a lot of the fabrics.  I made 60 blocks and some rosettes and then got distracted by shiny new projects :( all my posts are here:
http://emilyscupboard.blogspot.com/search/label/Stonefields?max-results=20

I have tried a couple of times to finish it, but I couldn't decide how I wanted to set the blocks, I knew I wanted to change it from the original.  I had this Dutch Chintz panel and I thought it would look good in the centre.  I love medallion quilts!

 I put everything up on my design wall but something wasn't right.

It looks too fussy, maybe it just needs a simple border to frame it?

It didn't matter which fabric I used for a border, it still didn't look right - believe me I tried several!!  I have decided that the problem is the colours in the centre panel, whilst I love them, they are strong and rich, and just a bit too shouty for the delicate pale blues, pinks, ivory and grey of the blocks, it competes too much, so I will save it for the centre of another quilt.  

I love Strippy Quilts and I decided that is what I will do, I found a lovely length of an old Andover fabric in my stash which I think works well, and a lovely cream tone on tone for sashing strips.

Yes I like this, much softer.  I will hand quilt this one, the sashing is perfect for a nice soft cable.  I found  some more fabric in the stash that will be perfect for the backing.

Now I just need to piece the top! I have to finish the quilts for my sons first, but then this will be my focus project.