CRAFTY | 100s & 1000s SWOON QUILT

…hanging proudly in the Hills Hoist Gallery…

I’ve called this quilt the “100s & 1000s Swoon Quilt”  because I felt like I made 100s and 1000s of mistakes while making it and the back of it looks like a 100s and 100s biscuit.

This is the first “real” quilt that I’ve made since my beginners course quilt; Tuesdays with Wendy.  (I know that’s not technically true because I’ve made others, but I feel like they’re cheater quilts in some way because the blocks aren’t as complicated.  I know that doesn’t make sense, but that’s how I see it.)

I first wrote about my desire to do this quilt back in August 2012 and I’m kind of shocked that I managed to get it done within a year of deciding to do it.

…the biscuit back…

I hadn’t realised how much this quilt meant to me until I dropped it in to Helen (of Altogether Quilting) for the quilting to be done.  The minute it left my hands I felt a real hollow sensation in the pit of my stomach; I didn’t want the curse of the swoon to strike.

I knew from the moment I started the quilt that I didn’t want the same Baptist Fan quilt pattern that I had seen others doing.  I wanted to make this quilt my own and I’ve always (always) loved the feather pattern that you see in traditional borders of quilts and in custom quilting.  I had been dying for a chance to use the pattern and this was it.

One problem; cost.  It turned out to just be too detailed a pattern to have quilted all over an 80″ x 80″ quilt in the size that I wanted.  So Helen & I worked out a compromise and I just love it.  I think it worked out better in the end because of it.

…modern interpretation of the feathers…

We decided on using a modern quilt pattern that gives a nod to the feathers but is not as complicated.  I love it.  I knew all along that I wanted something with curves in the pattern to juxtapose against the angles of the swoon block and this pattern does just that.  It also ties in nicely with the pattern of the Modern Colour Burst in Citrus which is in the center block.

When I picked the colours and fabrics for my swoon I just went with what I liked.  I didn’t think about using a whole line of fabric (I often don’t like all the colours and patterns in an entire line – plus the OCD in me fights against having the same pattern just in different colours together (and no the irony is not lost on me that I have 2 sketch and 2 metro living circles in this quilt!)) and I didn’t think about copying the one that Camille Roskelley had done (I figure that’s her quilt, I want to make my quilt, although it is beautiful *wistful sigh*).  I just went with what works for me.

I wanted to make a quilt that in my eyes would pop. I knew 2 things: purple and orange clash (and I am so crushing on orange that I just had to use some) and I love apple green and hot pink together. So that’s how I started pulling fabrics.

…scribbles in orange (binding) &pink spots (backing)…

I had seen people using the ice blue and red combination over Christmas and it really appealed to me and so I threw some of that in there as well.

I decided that I would do 2 block for each colour combination, but do them in reverse.  For example, if I had orange in the middle on one block I would put it to the outer ring on the other. So for 8 of the blocks they are pairs.

The middle block I decided I would try and work in all the colours some how.  I got lucky with Modern Colour Burst in Citrus because it has nearly all the colours I wanted to work with in it (missing the hot pink) and so I just paired it with the Sketch in Nectar because I love the orange pop.

I decided to do a white background because I was so afraid of using white.  (I’m a messy person – I had visions of it being brown by the time I was done!) But the white was awesome to work with and I think that it makes all the other colours just sing.  The only think I hadn’t factored in was that because so many of the patterns I had picked had white in them when it came time to assemble the blocks sometimes the white would end up on a point and it would make it look like the point wasn’t there or it didn’t line up (and I was doing enough of that in my poor construction I didn’t need the fabric robbing me of the few times I did make it line up!). Just something to consider for next time.

Modern Monet Floral in Violet & Spa Ikat in Orange

This block turned out so much better than I thought it would.  I wasn’t sure about using the Spa Ikat in Orange – I thought it might be a little too meh but it works.  Same with the Modern Monet Floral in Violet – I’d actually gotten this fabric as part of a fat quarter bundle and it wasn’t something that I would have normally picked out but I really like it.

This block is a real deep colour to it and balances out it’s counter part which is a lot lighter; something I hadn’t thought of when picking the colours but it turned out to be a subconscious theme of the blocks.

Foxy Too in Blue & Daisy Dates in Cherry

This is HUBBY’s favourite block; and not because he thinks he’s a fox.  The night I finished this block it was late and in a turn of events he was heading to bed before me.  I was desperate to go to bed and so I begged him to help me finish this block.

He feigned reluctance (he had been wanting to get his hands on a rotary cutter ever since I brought one home that first time) and asked what he could do.  I walked him through making sure to emphasize (in other words ram it home) that if he made a mistake cutting the fabric I was screwed. (Especially given I had already had to wait for more Daisy Dates in Cherry to be delivered when I made an error cutting it in the beginning!)

He diligently followed my instructions and cut all the HST (half square triangles) and flying geese while I sewed and ironed.  He finished up, handed the cutter back, and proclaimed: “This is way too stressful!” before going to bed.  He’s right – it is too stressful, but that’s part of the thrill!

I really like this block.  I love the Foxy Too in Blue and if it wasn’t for seeing this image by The Crafty Little Fox that material, and therefore this Swoon Quilt, would probably still be a pipe dream.

I thought this would be my favorite block in the quilt, but it’s not.  The colours are a lot more muted then I expected them to be.  I do love the effect that the use of the Daisy Dates in Cherry gives, but it’s just not as punchy as I had hoped it would be.

Broken Herringbone in Pink & Sketch in Turquoise

This is the block that has my favourite fabric in it: Broken Herringbone in Pink.  I love this print. Love it! In fact I’m toying with the idea of finding out how much a bolt of it would cost. I would love a quilt backed in this fabric.

This was another block that I had to screwed up the pattern cutting and had to wait for replacement fabric (Sketch in Turquoise).  I did toy with using a black on black patterned fabric instead of the turquoise, but in the end decided to wait and trust my instinct. I’m glad I did.  I think the black in amongst all these bright colours would have stood out too much.

Eyelet in Green & Metro Living Circles in Fuchsia

I feel in love with Eyelet in Green while making this block. I hadn’t picked it again it was something that came in a fat quarter bundle I had ordered.  It’s a good thing I like it because I ended up having to order more of it as it was another one that I made an error with when cutting the fabric.

This photo really doesn’t do this block justice (in fact none of the photos do – I really should learn how to take a better quilt photo!).  The fuchsia is really bold and just counter points the green so wonderfully.  I call this my toffee apple block.

Sketch in Nectar & Modern Colour Burst in Citrus

I love, love, love the Modern Colour Burst in Citrus pattern and knew I wanted to do something with it when it turned up in my mailbox.  The use of the Sketch in Nectar was a late inclusion, again I didn’t have enough of the fabric I originally wanted to use, but I’m so glad I used it. It absolutely pops.

This is my favourite block on the whole quilt (but it’s a very close race) and I suspect it’s because it’s the first one I made and it’s the one that made me feel like I could do this entire quilt and it might turn out ok.

Haystack in Fuchsia & Metro Living Circle in Chartreuse

I thought this block was going to bomb something shocking.  I had most of the blocks done when I came to put this together and I wasn’t convinced the Haystack in Fuchsia would look any good and I was bummed about having another use of Metro Living Circles pop up in the quilt because I’d made a miscalculation with the original green fabric I had picked out.

To add to the problem I didn’t want to use Metro Living Circles in the outside ring like I had in the other block. I figured if I was going to use the same fabric at least show them in different ways… (I know I used 2 sketch fabrics in the same way but I figure they’re practically solids so it doesn’t matter – plus they’re not in the same pair so it’s not as noticeable to me.)

I worried for nothing.  The pink really pops and the haystack pattern is something I never would have though would look this cool in this way. It’s actually one of the blocks that I think works more successfully.

In the end, I’m quite happy with how the placement of these two toffee apple blocks has happened.  They kind of anchor the busy that is the rest of the fabrics because they have similar elements in them.

Apple Dot in Red & Historic Tiles in Poppy

Ironically, this is my least favourite block on the whole quilt yet it seems to be the one that everyone else likes the most.  I find the red of the Apple Dot in Red and Historic Tiles in Poppy to similiar for what I was wanting.  I also feel that the Historic Tiles in Poppy‘s blue is too green.  This wasn’t the fabric that I had originally planned on using, it was a late substitution given I didn’t have enough of what I wanted to use.  It still works, there’s just not enough contrast for my liking.

I do like how the cutting and placing of the blocks makes the Historic Tiles in Poppy look like it’s in a kaleidoscope.   I wish there were more of the apples visible from the Apple Dot in Red too… this is another fabric that I think I would one day like to back a quilt in.

Swallow Skies in Gypsy & Meteor Shower in Sunset

This is the only block that has all fabric from the same designer; Tula Pink. I hadn’t planned it this way and I didn’t realise until I was half way through cutting the fabrics.  It’s a happy coincidence.

I have only recently become aware of fabric designers and I blame Instagram.  I used to just go into the fabric store and buy what I liked.  I still do that, it’s just now I can name who the designer is.  It bugs me a little in some ways because I feel like it’s the quilting equivalent of groupies but in other ways I really love that the people that are creating these are no longer nameless.  I feel like I’m getting to use an artists canvas to make my own art, and I can thank them for letting me use their art – if that makes sense.

Anyways, this block is one of my favourites and it’s all because of the way Meteor Shower in Sunset works.

Aviary Lattice in Lilac & Verona Dot in Rouge

This was another block I just wasn’t feeling.  I thought the dots would be too naff and the lattice would be too crappy once assembled because the directional mix created by the block construction would be too hard on the eyes. Oh how wrong I was. This block actually works really well, both from a distance and up close.

The dots make it a lot more playful then I thought it would be and the colours balance out the deep tones of the other purple/orange combination really well.

I love this quilt, seriously it’s probably my second favourite quilt I’ve made (behind Tuesdays with Wendy).  I’m really looking forward to using it all the time and just enjoying it. I learned so much making this quilt and can totally see myself making more swoon blocks in the future.

The details of the quilt project are as follows:

Pattern: Swoon Quilt by Camille Roskelley

Fabric:

Swallow Skies in Gypsy & Meteor Shower in Sunset

Modern Monet Floral in Violet & Spa Ikat in Orange

Foxy Too in Blue & Daisy Dates in Cherry

Broken Herringbone in Pink & Sketch in Turquoise

Aviary Lattice in Lilac & Verona Dot in Rouge

Haystack in Fuchsia & Metro Living Circle in Chartreuse

Eyelet in Green & Metro Living Circles in Fuchsia

Apple Dot in Red & Historic Tiles in Poppy

Sketch in Nectar & Modern Colour Burst in Citrus

Background is: Kona Snow

Backing fabric is: scribbles in orange (binding) & pink spots (backing)

Machine quilted by: Altogether Quilting

Progress blog posts: Beginning, Middle and End