Thursday 12 October 2017

Vibrant Curiosities

Here I am with my Vibrant Curiosities quilt at our national Quilt Symposium in Christchurch last week.


And here's another photo with slightly better lighting:





I started this quilt a whole year ago in October 2016 when I was looking at photos of all the fun people were having at Quilt Market in Houston.  I had a bundle of Tula Pink's Slow and Steady fat quarters, and decided it was time to rip into them and start making something pretty.


I do love English Paper Piecing, and Paper Pieces in USA had recently started advertising octagons and squares papers.  The idea of working with octagons appealed, because I was born in Dunedin where they have a big octagon right in the middle of town! Yes, not a town square, but an octagon.


So I started to play around with the shapes and thinking about what I could make from octagons and squares.  All quilts in our national symposium have to be original designs.  They do not accept quilts made from a pattern.

Although many people enjoy fussy cutting Tula Pink's fabrics, I decided that I was more interested in letting the colours shine through.  I did make sure my stripes and diamonds all matched, but I didn't fussy cut any animals of flower motifs. Interestingly Jen Kingwell said that she also thinks too much fussy cutting can detract from a quilt, rather than enhance it.


After about two months of making blocks I had enough to start joining them up.  A lot of thought went into balancing the colours.  As usual, I had a couple of blocks left over that just didn't suit my quilt, so rather than forcing them, I just made a couple more that did suit the overall effect.


I used my kitchen floor to plan the layout of my blocks. I've used Tula Pink fabrics on the outside round of each block, and sometimes in the centre too.


Once the top was finished I hand quilted it with my favourite Aurifil 12wt thread.



I'm so glad my quilt got accepted for symposium.  It was very special to know that my quilt was one of the ones hanging in the exhibition. I could have put a price on it and offered it for sale, but I want to keep it.  I just love all the rich colours - hence the name, Vibrant Curiosities.

My quilt had a great position in the exhibition, just underneath a lovely stained glass window in the Great Hall at the Christchurch Arts Centre.



Details:
Finished size: 80" x 80"
Hand quilted with Aurifil 12wt
Octagons and squares have 1" sides

22 comments:

Audrey said...

Absolutely gorgeous! Love this one with all its sparky personality!

cityquilter grace said...

wow....real beauty

Ellicemc said...

An amazing quilt - inspirational ��������

Anonymous said...

Great colour combinations. Well done.

Barb Neiwert said...

Oh, your quilt is gorgeous! Well worth all the time that you put into it :)

Unknown said...

So gorgeous, Wendy! You are such an inspiration!

Manuela said...

Congratulation Wendy.
The quilt is amazing.

Bambi Pearson said...

I LOVE YOUR QUILT!!! You are so talented and do such beautiful work. I love getting your blog and seeing the quilts you create. Keep the pictures coming.

Julie said...

This is a beautiful quilt, and well worthy of it's special display position C

Ruth said...

What a stunning quilt! I love that you didn't fussy cut.

OPQuilt said...

Wow--what a terrific quilt! I thought it was beautiful when you (and your smiling face) were there together, but I love that you showed us close-ups of many of the blocks. And thank you for the fussy-cutting advice; it frees me up to be a little more creative.

it's really lovely, Wendy. Congratulations on having it juried into a show!

GranChris said...

Wonderful quilt. I love your color choices. Your own design or a pattern? I love it.

Jocelyn is Canadian Needle Nana said...

Yes indeed this quilt is a glorious beauty and you are looking just as vibrant in the photo!

Charlotte Scott said...

It was lovely to see your quilt in the exhibition, shame I didn't get to see you standing in front of it!

Heathton Creations said...

A lovely use of Tula’s Fabrics and a great idea not to fussy cut, I have done a snowball block (Patchworkfun design) in Tula’s fabric, I fussy
Cut, so another idea thank you. Heathton Creations

Tami Von Zalez said...

Absolutely amazing - piecework I can only aspire to. It is no wonder it was accepted into the symposium!

Gemini Jen NZ said...

It's fantastic and I love all the colours. Yes, it did look great under that window. I had a great time at Symposium - so much talent and inspiration - am definitely keen to attend again!

mangozz said...

What a gorgeous quilt! I always love your fabric choices. You are never afraid of color. I don't blame you for wanting to keep this one, besides how do you put a price on a quilt with so much work into it?

Anne / Springleaf Studios said...

Beautiful quilt. Amazing handwork . . . I don't have the patience. Love the name too.

Rose Marie said...

Oh Lordy ..... stunning!

Rene' said...

What a stunner, Wendy!!! Congratulations on your quilt hanging in the symposium. Your smile says it all! I appreciate you sharing pictures of your process. I love seeing the close up photos and did not realize you were working with octagons and squares. Such a gorgeous block design!!

Janice said...

Love the bright colors. My favorite block is the one with black/white stripes that strobes on my computer screen. Looks like it is moving.