Sunday 19 September 2021

Done and dusted: Sugar and Spice

All this time quilting is paying off, as I have another finish.  This is a quilt that was pieced in 2019, so I am definitely catching up with myself, albeit slowly.  

I had a song-and-dance trying to get photos.  No prop for the clothesline, as previously mentioned, and no indoor options, so in the end I got creative with a length of downpipe and some clothes pegs.  (The builders are coming in October and once they're done my priority will be an indoor wall set up for quilt photos.  Something not weather-dependent.)  

Once I had things set up I took quite a few photos, trying to get the colours right.  I find these light pale shades don't always photograph so well.  I think some of these are okay though.


I like this picture of the back too, because the quilting shows up nicely.

I too-ed and fro-ed with this while I was piecing it: it pleased me very much that all the shirts came from one rack, in one shop.  When I saw them all neatly lined up, with their sugared almond colours, it felt as if they were calling me to take them home and turn them into something.  On the other hand, once I had started I was nearly overwhelmed by that very same sweetness and, briefly, came almost to dislike it.  Once I had figured out what I needed to add in to balance the sweetness, though, I came to love it.  I love that it has not one, not two but three different bird fabrics in there, that the magpies, which I had held on to for ages, found a home and that they let me to the little sparks of emerald green.  I love that in the end nothing about this felt predictable to me, but everything felt right.  

The details  

Started on 15th May 2019, the piecing was done by the 18th July.  I started quilting round about June this year, and finished on 12th September.

Made from that lovely shirt pull (yellow, deep coral, blue, green, pink and the print with little parrots on), plus a small selection of organic prints from stash, including the Charley Harper magpies. The batting is organic cotton, which is pretty much my favourite right now and the quilting was done with no. 8 perle cottons, again from stash.

14 comments:

LA Paylor said...

the quilting looks so good Kaja! You have a definite style. How are you doing? We have the hottest weather ever in the Denver area, still in the 90's F and I'm longing to be cool. Your quilt looks fresh and cool.

Ann said...

Your additions of black and neutral and even the emerald green enhance the sherbet colors nicely. It would be too sweet without them. It's fun to see your different blocks, how you enlarged or decreased the size of some, and how you simplified others. I'm always amazed how you fit them all together so well. And then you hand quilt. Wow. Another beauty.

Robin said...

Wow! It turned out great. Such a lot to see and examine on this quilt. It must feel good to be catching up. I wonder if I'll ever catch up.

Quiltdivajulie said...

SO very pretty - interesting to look at, soothing colors but not saccharine sweet. Love the way you quilted it, too.

Yvonne from Quilting Jetgirl said...

The choices you made to balance out the colors are lovely, and I really like how your quilting helps emphasize the shapes and draw your eye to the grounding darker colors and birds as well.

Linda @ kokaquilts said...

A delightful quilt! Not too sweet, with those additions of black & emerald. And your quilting is amazing, durable texture that adds to its charm!

patty a. said...

Another beautiful finish! Somehow I missed your post on this. The quilting looks great, but I don't know how you quilt with No. 8 perle cotton. I have used it before and it is hard to thread a needle and pull the thread thru the layers. Hats off to you!

Paulette said...

Beautiful finish! This quilt is so lovely and inviting. I think you hit on the perfect balance with the colors and fabrics. If there were a group of quilts to choose from to snuggle with, I'd gravitate to this one.

QuiltGranma said...

It looks so soft and cuddly!

Mego said...

LOVE LOVE LOVE this one! I thought your lighthouses were my fav but...this is gorgeous!!!

audrey said...

This is such an interesting quilt. I love your touch with the too sweet pairing of colors. It really is a challenge to making something striking with these sorts of colors but you managed to make it look wonderful! Love how your quilting makes everything look soft and cuddly. Great finish!:)

Janie said...

Congratulations on your Sugar and Spice finish, full of scrappy goodness! You really got the value working for you!
And thanks for sharing times of starting and finishing great reference.
Your photos and lighting are super.

Shelina (formerly known as Shasta) said...

Congratulations on another beautiful finish. You did great with the color balance because it doesn't look too sweet for me. The darker fabric really helped provide the balance.

Mystic Quilter said...

Oh dear, sorry I am so late in reading this post Kaja with your beautiful quilt - I'm going to go back in time to find your original posts on this beauty! Congratulations on a splendid finish!