I finally decided to actually sit down and write a blog post! I find that while I am busy painting, quilting, reading and tracking down long gone ancestors, (the many things I am doing to keep busy during these odd times) I think about writing more than actually doing so. Instagram is so much quicker! But, I really like having a record of my quilt making, so now I am playing catch up.
Several years ago, I picked up some fat quarter bundles of a beautiful batik collection - Timeless Treasures Tonga Treats, Tuscany. It seemed to me that they were perfect for a quilt for my sister-in-law, Veronica, whose home had some of the same warm autumn colors. I picked up other fabrics from time to time that would complement those fabrics. I just needed a pattern! I continued to think about it over the years, but that was about all!
Last year, I happened upon the Jenny Doan Missouri Star video (video here) of the "Grand Adventure" quilt, which is basically the Delectable Mountain pattern. Veronica and my husband spend part of their youth in the Blue Ridge Mountains in Western Virginia, and a mountain pattern seemed apt. I also like quilts that mix and match many different fabrics, and thought this pattern would be a wonderful way to use those rich batiks.
This was a fun quilt to put together, taking big blocks of color, cutting them apart, and mixing and matching.
This quilt really captured the colors of autumn for me. It turned out just as I had imagined, and was a perfect quilt for Veronica.
I do make much use of my design wall. It is so nice to be able to put pieces up, and look at them over some time, and move things around.
My sewing room gets a bit cramped when I am pinning the quilt for quilting, but it works better than taping to the floor, which is what I used to do.
I quilted it in an allover loopy pattern, and used a nice burgundy batik as the binding. I had found some wide medallion fabric that seemed right for the back. The binding passed inspection!
My trusty quilt holder got to help me display the quilt on a sunny fall afternoon.
This quilt really captured the colors of autumn for me. It turned out just as I had imagined, and was a perfect quilt for Veronica.
I do get a little wistful looking at these photos. Although Lake Erie looks so calm in these photos, all the Adirondack chairs and furniture got washed away a few months later in an unusually fierce storm.
Here's hoping for a calm spring and summer!
Take care,
Gretchen
