Spiral - Values Quilt with Tag Fabric

Spiral

60'' x 60''

There was a moment while making this quilt, as I put the trimmed blocks on the wall, when I stopped breathing. Not in a bad, call the ambulance way! No, in the held my breath because I was so excited way. That was the moment when it hit me that I was sewing with fabrics I designed. Until that point the fact that I'd designed fabrics for sewing seemed distant, almost ethereal. Not even when I approved final designs, not when I got my strike offs, not even when I was cutting into the fabric for the first time. The moment only came when I'd already cut, sewn, and trimmed over 100 HSTs for this quilt. I put three blocks on the design wall and simply had to stop.

It is a moment I remember clearly. The sewing room door was open and the rest of the family was watching Bear Grylls, the one with Mel B from the Spice Girls. I started in the top left corner of the design wall and three blocks in just stopped. I had to sit down. Then stand. Then sit. Then stand. Then lean. I may have jumped a little, just a little. And I kept talking to myself about how cool it all was, annoying the family. Tough on them - this was my new quilt with my new fabric! All mine! I would say it was surreal, but the truth is that it was profoundly real. That's why I lost my breath.

Thankfully I managed to forge ahead and make this quilt, plus a few others to be shared.

I will fully admit, that it was a bit of a struggle to make quilts and write patterns with ONLY Tag Fabric. If you've been reading here for any amount of time you know that I have a hard time being so exclusive. Even with my own fabric that was really difficult. 

When I designed the fabric it was originally supposed to be full colour. Through the iterative process with Connecting Threads we switched with black, grey, and white. Without too much trouble it became 20 fabrics evenly split along value lines. That meant it was ripe for making a Values Quilt. Because value is relative, it is ridiculously easy to have the fabric line do the work for you. But also an excellent lesson for learning value. Also conveniently, a fat quarter bundle gets you this quilt, with enough blocks left over for another small quilt or pillow.  You get all that in the pattern. Yes, there is a pattern for the quilt.

Patterns and full quilt kits are available from the Connecting Threads site. Or you can buy the PDF pattern directly from my Etsy site.

Lilla Pattern Launch

Lilla

90'' x 90''

Lilla is a collaboration between myself and Lotta Jansdotter. It is also a pattern available from C&T, launched this week.

Last year C&T approached me with the idea of working with Lotta on a pattern. I hesitated for a split second then agreed. Hesitated only because of timing, but I didn't want to turn down the opportunity to work with an artist and person I truly admire. So Lotta and I started emailing.

While it would have been fantastic to visit her in her Brooklyn studio or have her come out for some Prairie and Mountain air, we had to settle for the back and forth of online collaboration. She chose the fabrics we would work with - a selection from her soon to arrive collection, Lilla. We discussed style of quilt - medallion versus block based, improv versus precision, pieced versus applique, scale of piecing, and so much more. Lotta sent me some inspiration images, I made sketches. My job was ultimately to translate her ideas into workable quilt patterns. It was up to me to interpret her inspiration for the home quilter.

One of my favourite moments was when I opened up my email with this image in it. Lotta made some paper cut shapes. Up until this point we'd been going back and forth with little progress on something feasible for a quilt or a quilt that she liked. But these images! I went straight to my sewing machine to play, instead of sketching. Soon after we had a workable design. 

I really tried to take the organic nature of Lotta's work and translate it to the need for blocks to lay flat. Her shapes lent themselves well to some basic improv techniques, thankfully. Combining those with some precision piecing creates a challenging and graphic quilt.

The pattern itself lays out the techniques as a whole and then instructions for 25 different blocks. Yes, 25 blocks. As presented the quilt is queen size, but the pattern includes a baby size option. Make 1 of the blocks many times over or make all 25 four times over or make each one only once. It's entirely up to you, but the pattern includes it all. It also includes specific fabric notes to make it with Lotta's Lilla fabric as we designed it, but feel free to go on your own.  

I've made another version of the quilt, with totally different fabrics. It changes it up! Watch for that soon. 

In the end I am so glad I didn't let the time factor get in the way of this great experience. Sure, it was a rush as I frantically finished just before I had to leave to Australia. Thank you to Bernadette at Wonderfil for guiding me through the quilting. The experience of collaboration was worth it. It presents a creative challenge, for sure, but that's a good thing. It gets me outside of myself and the insular world of my own creations. On to the next one!

Pattern now available from C&T, or ask for it at you local quilt shop. 

Splendid Sampler Wrap Up and Giveaway!

A whole year later The Splendid Sampler finishes up! While I stalled in making blocks months ago, it was fantastic to see more and more quilters tackle all the techniques and tiny piecing of the designs making up the 100 blocks. 

To celebrate, our fearless leaders Pat Sloan and Jane Davidson are hosting an international giveaway. So are a number of the contributing designers.

For my faithful and new readers I would love to share a collection of patterns with you. Leave a comment below on what you loved and hated about The Splendid Sampler. Finish with your email address so I can contact you (my host does weird things and it is hard to get emails from comments just by clicking on them). Like this:

I'm not a fan of embroidery so those blocks always stopped me in my tracks, but I loved pushing my own technical boundaries! 

cheryl AT cherylarkison DOT com

That way spam bots won't get them but I can still contact the winner.

The prize?! How about a collection of digital patterns? I currently have 6 patterns and would be happy to send you a copy of each. Three of them are brand new to coincide with my Tag Fabric from Connecting Threads.

You will get my most popular pattern, Oh Canada. Plus the Sewing Machine Quilt and Kinda Herringbone. The three new patterns are for Hopscotch, Spiral, and Ellipsis. The last one is a fun mini that will likely appeal to grammar nerds like myself.

Giveaway is open until February 19, midnight MST. I will email the the winner the following day.

And don't forget to check out the main giveaway and celebration, plus the other parties around the world. 

March On - Free Improv Quilt Block Tutorial

In the wake of the US election I, like many others, felt compelled to make. I needed the comfort of sewing more than anything else. The familiarity, the creation, the time alone with my thoughts. Rather than start something new I decided to pull out some very meaningful blocks. After sharing them on Instagram I had a few requests for a block tutorial. With my compulsion to create in overdrive I decided to make a video tutorial.

Feel free to make your own March On blocks. Any shape, any size. These instructions are for roughly a 9 1/2'' square block, but they will vary.  If you want smaller, start smaller. If you want bigger, start bigger. They go together quickly so without any trouble you will have yourself your own solidarity march in no time.