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Friday, March 21, 2014

shoot for the stars {radiant goals}

Note:  Edited to sprinkle some "stained glass"-esque shots throughout :)

I was really excited about the Pantone Quilt Challenge this year.  And not only because the talented twosome of Anne of Play Crafts and Adrianne of On The Windy Side were our new proud and fearless hosts.  But also because I've sort of been hoarding purple fabrics.  ...Since I started stashing.


So last month, I thought I was ahead of the game when I decided to sketch out a couple of concepts.  And then life happened, other projects took priority, and before I knew it, I had one week left and two stacks of uncut fabric pulls. (Ruh roh.)  And then, out of the blue, my friend Heather of Crimson Tate asked if I would be available to fill in for a guild speaker who had something come up at the last minute.  (Déjà vu?)  I happily obligedeven though it'd cost some pantone-purple sewing timeand quickly decided to demo my {free} paper-pieced arrow pattern for the (our) Indy Modern Quilt Guild.

Sidebar:  I extended the shaft section of the pattern to the height of the page (~11"), and added a few improv stripes and band.

When it came time to prep that weekend (there are things I plan for, folks!), I decided to cut into a few odd-shaped scraps from my liberty (and justice for all) DWR, some leftover oakshotts from this {sweet as honey} quilt, and of course—being a connoisseur of farm-to-stash feedsacks—, a cream-colored sack of Midwestern origin for the background.

As for the presentation itself, I was on cloud nine.  (I might be an attorney by trade, but I'm always up for some quality chats and collaboration with fellow creatives.  And I mean always.)  So much so, that when I got home and reality set in that radiant '(k)id and radiant {koi} couldn't possibly be completed (well) by the challenge deadline, I set my sights on something new.  And then noticed that my arrow-heart had the perfect touch of orchid-purple. 


Serendipity :)  So I just started piecing mini-stars from my liberty and oakshott scraps, drawing upon a few other feedsacks for the background (I've been hoarding a somewhat tattered collection for Tula's city sampler blocks, but thanks to addictive ebay habits there's still plenty where those came from).


So by Wednesday I found myself with a purply-blue arrow and twenty-some odd stars in various stages of completion.  Surprisingly, I knew early on (read: Tuesday) that I wanted—for perhaps the first time ever—to avoid a straightforward grid structure (gasp!).  So I scattered the stars across the floor, cut a host of 2" strips from the feedsacks to fill in the background (à la gypsy wife), and starting piecing them in the best way I thought possible:  at random.  The end result?  (As my IG peeps have already seen...)


"Shoot for the stars."  (It seemed to appropriately capture my sentiments about the events leading up to this design, what with the lofty daydreams of a wholeheartedly creative life and whatnot.)  It measures a somewhat obscure 40" x 61", but I suppose that's what happens when you (I) improvise.  ;o)


The only outstanding question?  How to quilt it.  (!)  My thoughts?
—Tight straight lines in Aurifil on a diagonal (like this other (pseudo) pantone shooting star design) or
—Chunky, organic hand quilting with perle 8 to complement the rustic background (like the other arrow quilt)


Feel free to share yours if you have ideas for me!  And go on and take a look at all the glorious quilts that are painting Play Crafts and On The Windy Side purple these days, or check out #pantonequilt over on IG.  Plenty of inspiration to go around!

2014 Pantone Quilt Challenge


xo

20 comments:

  1. Love your top ~~ especially the use of feed sacks.

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  2. This is excellent. I would be inclined to quilt it differently than the strong diagonal line it already has but I am not sure how. Whatever you decide will be wonderful.

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  3. love it!!! but uh, both of your quilting suggestions are perfectly tied because they are both perfect in their own right....i don't envy you the task of making that choice!

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  4. Oh man those feed sacks are gorgeous. How do you find those things? Liberty, oakshott and feedsacks. Only you, my friend! This quilt is stunning and I love the diagonal strips. I think I'd go for the hand quilting because it just seems to fit the sort of rough/utilitarian nature of the background fabric and won't distract from the beautiful lines the quilt already has.

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  5. P.S. I hope you sleep REALLY well tonight. :) Deadline after deadline, time for a break!

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  6. Hurray you made it! And your quilt is great. I love the stars and arrow and rustic textures going on.

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  7. Your quilt is wonderful in so many ways: the feed sacks, the hints of color, the improvising, the "shoot for the stars" theme...You are on a roll creatively. As for the quilting, how about some tight straight lines with some shadow stars like the shapes in Jacquie Gering's Winter Windows quilt: http://qr.interweave.com/quilting-modern.aspx (3rd pic down).

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  8. really lovely and different. Look forward to seeing the quilting

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  9. I love this rustic/refined piece of art!! I vote for hand stitching because I think it goes with the feed sack and gives a perfect finish to a project.

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  10. I love the quilt and adore the name. I had to chuckle about being an attorney. My best quilting buddess is a long time friend. I met her in the first four months that I moved to OK. She was a nurse working in surgery. Then she moved to L&D. Even though my babies were born at a different hospital, since she was a nurse, she was allowed to be with me when I had my son. The hospital starting allowing dads in for birthing 7 days later. So, for some odd reason, my husband was with me for the birth of our daughter. She and her family lived in our same addition and went to school with my children. Eventually, she moved out of state for the "love of her life" at the moment and practiced law with him. Now, she's back married to her first husband again. She and I have always taken crafting classes together. We do have our individual crafts, too. We talk about everything. We talk law, kids, grandkids, religion (I go to church, she doesn't - not that she's not a believer), ethics, even the weather. We get together and help each other with a project when one of us gets bogged down. We get together and cut out a quilt together. We even belong to the same stitch group. Now most, if not all are classes, relate to quilting. We are rooming together at a quilting retreat in July. She's taken me to have eye surgery (100 mi each way) and had me spend that night with them. She's been one of biggest helps as I go through the grieving process for a husband who died last year. Yep, we've love talking about things other than our professions. Again, I love your quilt.

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  11. The background looks very interesting. You created another special piece. Well done for meeting the deadline!

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  12. I'm pretty sure you're a genius! This is gorgeous (like all of your work). LOVE! However you quilt this, it's going to look fierce!

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  13. Beautiful quilt!! I love everything about it and am now going to search out more flour sacks. At a craft show, I saw a flour sack lampshade and was smitten. I have one framed on my wall too. But a quilt? Heaven!

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  14. Love the arrow and what is not to love about Liberty fabrics. Good luck in the challenge.

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  15. This is a great top, you should do the tight machine quilting in the line of the arrow and the looser hand quilting out towards the stars, that's my suggestions, love your arrow, I might have to borrow that for a future quilt.

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  16. I agree with charlotte, hand quilting would be perfect. It's just beautiful Sarah!

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  17. I am in love with this quilt and the fabrics. I would be tempted to quilt in straight lines, but what do I know! Can't wait to see it finished.
    Ramona

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  18. What a great quilt! I think I like the straight lines idea.... even matchstick style, or varying widths. I'm sure either way you go, the finished quilt will be fabulous. I also love the use of feed sacks! I just found your blog and noticed the fabulous burlapy fabric that's ubiquitous in your projects--this post explains it a bit! We have chickens, but our feed comes in thick paper bags. I might have to look into finding a fabric bag feed source!

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  19. LOVE <3 I'm not even going to leave you a sensible comment, because I just love everything about it. Never stop being your crazy, sew-all-hours, design genius self.

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