Red - Ta Da!

Here is Red. Finished, washed and at her cottage home. Red will hang out with the comfortable leather sofa for cuddling in after a day at the beach or in the garden.



This quilt began with a bunch of Oakshott shot cottons. I pulled the warmer colours from my ColourBox and cut a bunch of strips. I made these blocks with no real plan. I laid out some of the strips on my table and when I liked what I saw I sewed some together. Then I laid out some more. I need to have the pile of strips to do this, it is not my process to work with drawings and coloured pencils or computer images, although I know that works for some.



You can see the shimmer of the shot cottons in this photo. They are woven with a different warp and weft thread which provides the depth of colour and interest to the solid fabrics.

Once I had three blocks of shimmering shot cottons I pieced them with putty coloured Essex linen/cotton blend. The size was determined by how much of the linen was on hand. I found a piece of putty coloured Kona cotton for the back too. I guess you would say that the pattern is my own. You can read more about the process of making Red to this point here.



This picture is of the quilting before I added the binding. I quilted the coloured panels in very dense straightish lines using a red/purple variegated Sulky thread, which I also used in the bobbin to add just a bit of colour to the plain back. Then I quilted the solid part in straightish lines using a putty coloured Valdani thread.



You can see the quilting on this shot of the back after washing. All the negative space made me worry that my lines would tip to one side, so first I drew guidelines about 3" apart with my hera marker. I quilted the guidelines first and then went back and added more lines until I was happy with the effect.



Here is an indoor picture, after washing and travelling. You can see that the different density of quilting on the coloured panels gives the outside edge a bit of a flare. But since people are not flat, I am not worried at all.



Here is the quilting out in good outdoor light. The texture added to the negative space from the wash and dry is one of my favourite parts.



Red is posing for the artsy shots in the field (you can see the 200 year (or something like that) old Oak tree behind her). I bound her with Essex linen in putty. I am thrilled with the impact created by that little bit of bright lipstick red binding. Red continues to have the sassy, unpredictable nature that sums up red for me.



Red looks good lying horizontal too. She is about 48" by 65" after washing and drying.



And one last shot. She likes the deck, which is good, as it is a great place to stargaze as it gets really very dark here away from the city. The nights here are chilly enough, even in the summer, that a quilt is necessary for star watching - and it is worth staying awake and bundling up, the milky way is easy to see and meteor showers are spectacular.

I almost forgot, Red is my first finish in this quarter of Rhonda at Quilter in the Gap's Finish-A-Long!

I am out to garden today - it looks like it will be a sunny day, and then I go back to the city tomorrow. Enjoy your weekend.

ps. I am linking this finish up to Fabric Tuesday over at Quilt Story, where you can find other wonderful projects. The button is over on the right of this blog.

Best,

Leanne