The Amy Quilt

I have finally completed my move to a larger shop/studio and it's inspired me to tackle my pile of unfinished projects that I've been staring at for years.

Since the quilt matched the color of my 1950 Plymouth I decided that would be the best way to show it off.

I'm sure there are a lot of people out there who finish a project prior to taking on a new one but sadly I don't fall into that category. My problem is that I am inspired by a fabric, color or shape and I dive in only to be distracted again by something equally beautiful just as I get rolling. This has left me with many projects patiently waiting for my attention. I've come to terms with the fact that I'm not a great finisher but this new chapter in my life is actually getting me excited about wrapping these up and starting even more! It's amazing what color and space can do to your creativity and I plan on taking advantage of every bit of my new digs.

Here's a beautiful view of the farmland, mountains, my quilt, and the inside of a cool car! Can't get better than that.

 This quilt was based on a single piece of fabric from Amy Butler that offered a half dozen beautiful colors in a striking bold pattern. Because the main fabric is so strong I opted for a fairly simple pattern. The inner border is a lovely light touch of lavender batik which stops the darkness of the main print. For the rectangles that make up the outer border I pulled every color that Amy's print had to offer (except the pinks) with a play on the lights and darks. The cornerstones were important to me because I wanted a stand alone medium print that was beautiful but didn't compete with the main fabric, I think they came out perfectly!

The backing is an older Carla Miller print that nicely contrasts with the top but at the same time has hints of colors that compliment if folded over. I think the backing is just as important as the top and love it when people go wild with their options very often creating a more interesting piece because they were not confined by what is "right". My binding choice was pulled from one of the prints in the rectangles because it's very dark and serves to stop the eye.






Inspiration Fabric from Amy Butler

For as much as I don't get around to finishing I really do love binding a quilt, I love sewing on what I consider the frame of the quilt, folding it over and stitching it down with invisible little stitches. This is the time that I really bond with the quilt and once I'm done I can't stop looking at it in various lights and positions. Binding signifies my accomplishment and it may take me awhile to get to that point but the process is what I love and if that takes four years then so be it. This is what makes me happy, creating something useful and beautiful.


So, Merry Christmas Mom! Two years later.... (not bad, huh?).




Cutting and Layout:
I'm only giving you finished sizes so you will have to add seam allowence.
The center is based on a square cut from the bolt and mine turned out to be 40"x40" after squaring up.
The inner border is 1.75" wide.
The rectangles are based on the size of your center and inner border (see? math was important). You take the length of your inner border and divide it by how many fabrics you want to use as rectangles. Example: 43" divided by 11 fabrics is 3.9" per rectangle. Then you can make them as long as you want, I did 10". So my rectangles are 3.9" x 10".
The cornerstones are 10" square.
My binding is 2.5" strips.
The finished size is roughly 63" square.

The process for this quilt is to find a large scale print you LOVE and add several fabrics that pull out those colors in lights and darks in no particular ratio, just follow your instinct. Have some fun with it!

Beautiful day at the beach to share with you

www.treasurehuntfabric.com