Purple Passion: Anemones

My quilt for this quarter was inspired by a love of flowers. I thought anemones, which often come in very sumptuous colours, would be a perfect flower for the theme.  I really enjoyed this challenge, and got to play with some different techniques, including two different kinds of applique, and a bit of embroidery, and to indulge another passion - for shot cotton.  You can read more about it on my blog

"Anemones" - Knotted Cotton

"Waltzing Matilda"

Australian bush ballads have often been turned into songs.

So I've turned the song into a mini quilt!

I hope I have captured some of the essential elements of the poem/song....

from the billy boiling,

to the jolly jumbucks!

More details on my blog.....

Suz

Purple Passion: An Improvisational Quilt

 Purple Passion:  It turns out that while I don't wear much purple, I actually had quite a large purple fabric stash.

 I wanted to try some improvisational piecing in purple with pops of a complimentary orange/red, and this is the result.

 There really is no "up".  I literally used one strip from each piece of purple fabric that I owned to put this little (well, medium) quilt together.

The red strips are actually pieced in, but the straight line quilting really makes them stand out.

 The quilting in each section goes a different direction.

 This quilt finished up at 21" x 36".

 The back gives a real nice picture of the quilting. (and yes, still needs a label)
You can stop by my personal blog for a few more details and pictures of this quilt.  There will also be an upcoming post about how I did improv, without the improv.

Purple Passion - Once upon a time...

Here is my Purple Passion quilt for August. More details can be found in my blog post on Rainbow Hare :)

Purple Passion

As patchwork, piecing and quilting is my passion,

so is my interpretation of this month's theme!
SUZ
Patchwork N Play

"Father & Son" Third Quarter Purple Passion by Faffling

Though initially daunted by this quarter's theme of "Purple Passion". This time I'm happy with what I finally came up with.

I love the look of a natural linen and the way it tones down and complements purple which is naturally more "shouty". These shot cotton purples are rich and subtly textured. (Albeit hard to photograph!)

I'm not sure which orientation it should have, perhaps I should add two hanging sleeves so I can switch according to whim?

  

The simple design form holds meaning which you can read more about here on my blog, if you want to see that aspect, but if that isn't significant to the viewer, I like that the form is pleasingly pared down and simple. The two forms are related but distinct.  I like the balance of the two halves.

I quilted each cross complementarily rather than identically and finished with a simple linen facing and I'm thinking that perhaps I'll block it before I add the hanging sleeve(s)?

The size measures 18 x 37.5cm or approx 7"x 15" and uses linen and cotton with cotton/bamboo batting.

Patchwork Pinwheel

For this reveal - Purple Passion - I chose to play in my stash of purples and see what felt good and fun.  Purple is not a color I go out and buy intentionally, but it clearly jumps in my basket because this exercise revealed a VERY large collection of the color in a wide range of hues.  Lately I have been practicing some new skills learned in a Victoria Findley Wolfe class and for this Four-in-Art mini, I began just working with shapes.  As I layered and sliced the fabrics, it quickly morphed into a vibrant pinwheel.  And I found in my stash a very small sample of what ended up as the bull's eye.

Pieced onto muslin are 43 fabrics in every color of the purple rainbow.  There is no hidden art, no underlying meaning, rather a simple patchwork pinwheel which I thoroughly enjoyed creating.  There were moments along the way when I thought it might be fun to cut it down and plant in in a pot or do something more clever.  But I truly enjoyed the slicing and layering and that's what it's all about, right?

As I worked on this it struck me how many other colors go so well with purple, although I know many who shy away from the color completely.  Since I keep a stash of pint chip thingys handy, I pulled them out just to see how they fared with my pinwheel.  These play well, I think, as does another "staging background" - my vintage red shutter.

There is a Kona Red quilt I have been waiting to cut out for some time now and after this photo shoot, I pulled it out and purple is already set to be a "star" on it.

The actual quilting was an easy choice - circular, of course!  And while I debated "just circular" or "concentric circles", the piece told me quickly which it wanted.

And finally, the label - our label - which always signals to me "the end" of another reveal.  This one was not stressful, rather simply a fun exercise with a color that doesn't always get good press!

Until next time.....

Jill in the Pulpit • August 2016 Challenge

For this quarter's challenge of "Purple Passion," I went with a free-form, improv (sort-of) flower, having fun slashing and slicing and sewing, then quilting.

This is Quilt #166 for me, and I write more about it on my blog at OPQuilt.com.