Tuesday, May 22, 2012

Noise - Ta Da!

Noise

Noise is all done. She was great fun to make and she is going to be fun to cuddle with all summer at my cottage.

Umbrella Prints Trimmings

Noise was made with Umbrella Prints Trimmings. The idea is to use a package of trimmings from the wonderful Umbrella Prints fabrics in any way. I wanted to make a quilt and I was not getting anywhere until I was spurred on by my friend Katy at the Littlest Thistle. You can read a bit about my start on this quilt here.

Noise

My days are full of noise right now, and I have so much to do as I am going on a holiday on Thursday evening. As I was pushing all the noise away, trying to calm and settle it, trying to keep only that which was important in focus, my plan for this quilt came together.

Noise

I had long ago collected a big stack of Bella neutrals. And I pulled out some Kona neutrals and some linen. I planned 15" blocks as there were 15 trimmings pieces - the only cut on a trimmings piece was to cut one into two so the quilt could be square. It finishes at about 60" x 60".

Noise - almost done

The quilting is with a variegated white/tan Valdani hand dyed thread. I decided to try purposely wavy and randomly spaced lines. For me, that was far harder than reasonable straightish lines - which was not what I expected. I placed some hera marker marks about every 6" to give me some reference points so the lines did not tip over too much.

Noise

The quilting needed to be less than straight and somewhat random, adding more of the noise to my quilt.

Noise

Making the blocks was incredibly fun and easy. Something about a large stack of neutral fabric - easy to replace - gave me the ability to just play. I made only two "rules" - only two or three neutrals per block and the resulting block needed to look squarish but a little wonky was fine.

Noise

You can see that neutrals are hard to photograph. All of these photos are of the quilt after washing. I did the binding in Essex linen as I had a large enough piece left. I followed the instructions Marianne at the Quilting Edge posted here and here to machine stitch the binding on - it is really as easy as she explains.

Noise

I hope you like Noise. At some point there is voting and such for this contest, I will keep you posted.

Back to the noise for now, there is a lot to do before I leave for London.

Best,

Leanne

42 comments:

Toni said...

So beautiful, Leanne! I love the tiny pops of color amongst the neutrals, and the quilting looks awesome, too. Have a great time in London!

**nicke... said...

Leanne! it is so beautiful! i love the noisy silence i feel from it! BEAUTIFUL!

Judith, Belfast said...

Love those cute wee sneaky peeks of elephant! jXO

Deborah said...

I am in awe of this quilt. So beautiful and tranquil.

Marjorie's Busy Corner said...

Wow!! I love it Leanne....the soft nuetrals and the wavy line quilting set it right off. Perfect look for it...congrats on the finish.

Wendy said...

I really love this - everything about it is just wonderful - the use of neutrals, the splashes of color, the quilting. Love it!

Canadian Abroad said...

Absolutely wonderful. You are going to have the best dressed cottage this summer!

What Comes Next? said...

from such simple beginnings. A wonderful quilt - I love the mixture of neutrals with the little scraps of colour, and the quilting is perfect.

Heather D. said...

Leanne, it's completely awesome. You're so creative and come up with such original quilts. I love that. I just did some organic, purposely wavy quilting too and I agree, it's harder than you think it would be!

Svetlana said...

Leanne, another gorgeous finish! I love this quilt. Now I want to go pull out my neutrals and make my own Noise.

karen said...

i love the noise and tranquility in your quilt - have a great time in London - how exciting will that be!!!

Karen said...

Gorgeousness here, so wonderful :)

Sarah said...

Oh wow, its a beauty!

Kelly said...

Now this is the kind of noise I like! Gorgeous quilt :)

elle said...

I don't know about noise! This quilt just makes me breathe deeply. wonderful

beth said...

This is so perfect!! I love it!!! I wish I had done it!!!! It's exactly the perfect thing to make with the trimmings!!

www.randomthoughtsdoordi.com said...

I just love your use of neutrals

Heather said...

What a great quilt, I love it!

Rafael's Mum said...

It's come out really beautiful! I like it a lot and those wonky noise lines are just perfect for it!!

Katy Cameron said...

Woohoo, love it! Good luck :o)

Catherine said...

it looks amazing Leanne! Bet you can't wait to use it during the summer

Sarah said...

I love this Noise Leanne. Very beautiful and calming in my opinion with just the right amount of "noise".

Hope you have a fab break in London!

A.J. Dub. (Amy) said...

Very cool! What a fun way to use scraps!

Mrs Flying Blind... said...

Oh Leanne it is absolutely perfect!!!!

Fiona @ Poppy Makes said...

This is fantastic Leanne! It's really soft looking and I love those elephants!

Nicole said...

Ooh, la, la! Love it, Leanne!
And BTW, love the way you name your quilts and call them by name!

Ella said...

That is gorgeous. You just keep them coming. I'm loving the eye candy.

Patti said...

Sometimes I need reminding just how beautiful neutrals can be! Noise is spectacular, Leanne, and perfect for the cottage!

OPQuilt said...

So lovely--so perfectly quiet in tone and feeling. I think you may see a lot of quilts that are look-a-like to yours in the coming months, as it's such an inspiration.

Have a great time in London, visiting the Queen!

Elizabeth E.

Tamie said...

Love the calm. Thanks for sharing.

Judith said...

A beauty in every way ! I love the calmness it conveys. Great job on the quilting too !

Linz said...

Oh my goodness!! She is beautiful!! I love it! Just perfect!!!

Kirsten said...

I really love this - the pops of fabrics amongst the neutrals are lovely!

Nicky said...

Love it ! So inspiring!

I have one pack left of mainly elephants but am not sure I will get something else made by the deadline - I might just keep them for playing with later on!

You have certainly risen to the challenge!

Very Berry Handmade said...

That's beautiful - I love how you have really let the neutrals do their thing. And your photos are fab. :-)

tusen said...

I love it, as you could have guessed :)

felicity said...

So, so very beautiful Leanne! Have a wonderful trip!

Mary said...

Leanne, this is just perfect!

Patrick said...

I can see why this quilt helped you escape from the noise. It's so calming and pieceful (ha-ha)! Inspires me to make one. Thanks!

howtobejenna said...

Really beautiful! I love the mixed neutrals.

pinsandneedles said...

So simple yet beautiful!

Rachel said...

Lovely! It soothes the eye.