Quiet Rainbow
34'' x 34''
To be honest, I've never made a rainbow quilt before. I know! (Rebecca Bryan would probably understand, probably.). To be really honest, I started this quilt 4 years ago. All of you can probably understand that.
The top was made when A Month of Sundays was released. I used it as a promo piece and sample on using colour and low volume fabrics - it isn't just for backgrounds. It came around with me to events and classes. I'd planned on finishing it then, but new fabrics! New quilts! Summer!
Low volume is so much more than soft prints, black and whites in the background, and totally scrappy. You can have colour work, order, and control when using them as well. Just as you would for a deeply saturated rainbow of fabrics, you can with low volume. All of these fabrics have white backgrounds and a full range of colours. Let me tell you this, if you think it is hard to find good purples in general, try finding low volume purples that aren't just lilac.
Strips sewn together, sliced in half, flipped around, and back together again. Then the two shades of grey to show what can happen when you change the bordering colours. Super simple. Totally striking.
In January I booked a few hours on the long arm to get some quilts closer to finishing. I had one to get done for sure but an additional hour of time meant I could put a little one on the frame too. This was the little one. I just went with the turquoise Wonderfil Konfetti 50w that was already in the machine with a wavy sort of stipple. Quick and easy and adds great texture.
There is a little bit of sadness with this finish, however. I recently learned that A Month of Sundays will be discontinued. Simply put, that means it isn't selling well. I won't lie, that stings. This book, I am so intensely proud of it. It really is the resource on using low volume fabrics effectively, but I don't think people really got that the info was there. Not only that, it is really personal - with my family and friends modelling for me and all my writing. I'm sure that personal touch is what made it unattractive to some, but I stand by everything in this book. From the words to the projects to the lessons to the photography by my friend Kate Inglis. I am still thrilled that Stash Books, my publisher, took a chance on this format.
So this means that if you haven't got a copy of this book yet now is the time to get it! Now, before it is gone forever and you can only find it at the guild sale when someone else is cleaning out their library.