Fall Inspired

So technically, this is a fall inspired quilt. Well, it was when I started it last fall. The colours and energy reminded me of a oh so brief yet spectacular fall season here in Alberta: blue skies and all the colours of the changing Prairie. I’m not sure what motivated me to pull out the blocks, add some more, and finish the top this past week. It certainly wasn’t the snow covering the sprouting crocus and green grass growing. Or maybe that is precisely what did it?

The blocks began in my Improv Square in a Square Playdate hosted through Quilters’ Playcation. I was enamoured with the technique and the colours that I committed to a quilt top. Just five blocks put together in a free hour here and there. No pressure making, just the way I like it! Play for the sake of sewing. I think that is what I needed over the Easter/Passover long weekend - sewing for the sake of sewing. Then, when I counted the blocks, I realized that I was pretty close to finishing up the total needed. Some quiet evenings, a snow storm, and a sick kid home from school meant that I was not only able to finish the blocks, but get the quilt top pieced!

These blocks are all improvised. That means points are sometimes cut off and they don’t always match between blocks. On a moving, used quilt though that will never be noticed. This construction technique is so much more relaxed than a paper pieced or precision pieced version, at least for me.

This entire quilt top was also an excellent way to play with fabric and colour. I chose my colour story - blue, coral, orange, and yellow - and explored value, hue, and tint in each block. Some blocks have bold contrast, some are subtle. Some move from light to dark, some are less prescriptive. The constants were the construction method, overall size, and the transition from warm to cool with each square in a block. Then I made half the blocks starting with warm, half starting with cool. That meant for a great overall pattern when assembling the quilt.

The weather is doing it’s normal, indecisive thing these days. Not yet spring but not really winter. When my son - who helped me with the photos because he is out of school with a bad cold - lamented that now we would have to baste the quilt I told him not to worry because it is definitely not fall. This quilt, well, it makes me think of fall. Don’t worry, son, we’ll probably be basting it next September! Or the one after that.

Gemma

Gemma

60” X 60”

This was the first iteration of the Quilters’ Playcation Adventure Sewalong. Every decision, from inspiration to binding stitches was voted on my Instagram followers. I needed to play and taking the decisions out of my hands was a unique way to do so.

She is a free spirit. Sure, she knows the rules, but she also knows that life is more fun when you veer off track a little. Or, a lot. Unsure where she will actually end up most days, Gemma is a risk taker. She might go too far sometimes, but she has good friends who will always help her pick up the pieces. No matter how many times she screws up. No matter what, she is always willing to go an an adventure.

Week by week I asked my Instagram followers to guide my decision making on this project. From the inspiration to fabric to block choices, from layout to thread to binding choices. It was a bit like designing by committee, but I found that most people leaned the way I did. Or maybe I led them to the same decision? No one will ever know.

It was an excellent exercise in letting go. Definitely a moment for the process to shine.

One area where my idea was not the winner in voting was the quilting. I’m not complaining about the 80s school photo laser background, but it is not the curves I was initially thinking of doing. You know what, though? It looks fantastic!

When it came time to bind the quilt a classic black and white stripe won the popular vote. Not a bad choice at all. When someone, however, suggested pops of the quilt colours in the binding I couldn’t resist that idea. To finish I wrapped the binding around to the front and used an 8W Valdani to finish with nice, prominent stitches. A perfect finish.

My idea for the back was thwarted by an odd alphabet print. Seriously, who makes an alphabet print and doesn’t include all the letters? Oh well. Some orphan blocks from the front, a good reminder to play, and a collection of fabrics from the stash all pieced together work just as fine.

In the end, it was a fantastic exercise for me to bring some real play back into my quilting practice. Truly, this was making for the sake of making. And an excellent reminder to look for that lust for life.

Fleur - Paint by Numbers Inspired Quilt

Fluer

16” x 20”

A sweet mini inspired by that hummingbird paint by numbers. It is clear I am much better at quilts than paint by numbers!

In June of 2021 my kids bought me the paint by numbers for a new Morning Make activity. Each day I patiently worked my way through the numbers. It was the right kind of meditative play for me for Morning Make, but when I finished halfway through the month I declined the offer to start a new one. Just not my thing. Then a friend suggested I make a quilt inspired by the painting.

Once finished, it, like many other quilt tops of mine, sat. And sat. A few weeks ago I was in the mood to play with some free motion quilting. Having a mini on hand was fortuitous. It’s an easy baste and in 20 minutes I was stitching. Once I completed the leaves to the flowers (in a perfect olive green from Aurifil) I decided the hand stitch in the centers of the flowers and leave the rest unquilted. Simple, yet graphic.

So now they are both done. Will they hang together? Probably not. For one, I did a pretty crap job on the painting. And two, we have a no quilts on the wall rule. That’s okay, I’ll just bring her out every now and then when I need a little pick me up.

Quilters Stand for Ukraine - Resources

Like always, I and many other quilters are using their fabric to process emotions. We are in scary, depressing times right now with the Russian attack on Ukraine. Like many others I can only watch in fear and dismay. Like many other Ukrainian Canadians I can only help from the sidelines.

Whether it is donations from the sales of patterns, exclusive and free patterns, shopping on Etsy for downloads from Ukrainian creators, or making ourselves, there are many projects and initiatives within the craft community for showing and sharing support for our Ukrainian brothers and sisters. Here is a list of what I know of so far. (Feel free to email me at cheryl@cherylarkison.com if you know of others and I will update the list.)

Peace paper pieced block by Happy Sew Lucky (free download)

Dove Mini Quilt Pattern by Tamara Kate Designs (all sale proceeds to Ukraine relief orgs via Canadian Red Cross)

Quilters Stand for Ukrainian quilt block by Pat Sloan (donate and free download)

Sunflower block by Quiet Play (free download with donation request)

Rise of Freedom by Sashas Quilt (Paper pieced pattern download from a Ukrainian quilter)

My own sunflowers above are a version of the simple improv tutorial provided by Anne Larsen. My plan is to make a field of sunflowers. One of our employees is from Kharkiv herself and only today we learned that her mother and in-laws are finally safe in Germany. They will be coming to Canada as soon as they can and it might be nice to cover them with a small taste of home when they arrive. Sometimes you can’t help every person so you pick someone you can directly impact and do the work. We are doing what we can to support our employee and her family because we can see this direct impact. Being a quilter, you know there will be a quilt or two.