Showing posts with label low volume. Show all posts
Showing posts with label low volume. Show all posts

Monday, August 3, 2015

a change of seasons {cultivate blog tour}


When sweet Bonnie Christine asked me to participate in the blog tour for her current collection, "Cultivate," how could I say no?  (If you're not new to the house, you might recall the "Birds and the (Honey) Bees" quilt I stitched up last year for another one of her lines, "Sweet as Honey.")

And as an added incentive, right now Art Gallery's hosting the "Cultivate in Fall" Challenge.  The prompt?  Create a fun, unique project inspired by the idea of change.

Hmph.

I paired eight prints from Bonnie's collection with similarly-hued Liberty tana lawns to construct the leaf.

Initially, my mind went to this place of reaping all that summer has to offer.  But then I had a conversation with someone at work about my in-laws' upcoming move.  You see, a few months ago, my husband's parents put the wheels in motion to move south to spend some time with my sister-in-law and her family.  My colleague acknowledged how bittersweet it must be.  (We've all pretty much lived in the same city since childhood.)  Then she paused a moment, adding, "A change of seasons."

The soft hand of Art Gallery is quite the match for my favorite tana lawns ;o)

That simple phrase, used to sum up such a momentous occasion in our lives,  struck a chord.  And from that little seed of observation grew this medallion:  a turning leaf, signaling change on a dial of the seasons.


I just love how the vibrant colors of Cultivate melt beautifully into one another as the leaf changes from green to yellow to orange to brown, with the point appropriately fixed halfway between summer (II) and fall (III).

I spring II summer III fall IV winter

The starting point of something to keep Gigi and Poppy company as they sip morning coffee on their new deck.  And a small effort to honor a lifetime of memories stretching across all seasons:  Easter egg hunts for the golden egg; summer nights on the screened-in porch; trail riding at the turn of autumn; and of course, the holidays.  Most of which will soon join the ranks of "Remember when..."s, with uncharted adventures waiting in the wings as we all adjust to the pivot.


A change of seasons indeed.


Of course at 38" round this certainly isn't suitable for keeping anyone cozy just yet.  But soon enough it will be throw-sized and tucked away in the truck before it starts rolling south.


And in the interim, follow along with the rest of the tour for loads more inspiration.  Up next is Caroline of Sew Caroline, followed by many many talented makers.  So go ahead, check out the full line up :: the fun is just getting started ;o)

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Sarah

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Monday, June 22, 2015

catching liberty {#dreamcatcherquilt}


Do you ever get an idea so stuck in your head that you can't stop thinking about it, until the time finally comes to get started, and then it feels like a *...meh*—until the very end, when it all somehow comes together even better than you'd imagined it could to begin with?


No? ...Just me?


Welp, I'm there.  With the roygbiv liberty #dreamcatcherquilt.  And if it weren't just a bunch of floating feathers right now I would totally be tempted to stop while I'm ahead.


But, seeing as a dreamcatcher without a hoop would be as effective as a fishing net without the, well, net, that's not exactly a winning option.  So instead, I'm scrutinizing my initial selection for the hoop :: this whimsical Alice in Wonderland-inspired Liberty lawn...


On the one hand, yes, it's a bit busy.  (If you've been here before, you've likely picked up on my tendency to stick to monochromatic everything.)  But when it comes to wild dreams that need some catching... I mean, come on.  So I have to say, multi-coloration aside, I'm inclined to go with my gut on this one.  Not to mention one big upside of bias tape appliqué :: getting to see a little preview before having to commit :o)

Dare I ask for thoughts?

;o)

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Wednesday, June 17, 2015

#cityscapequilt

A couple months ago, my cousin asked if I would consider taking on a commission project.  Now, I generally don't sell my quilts (because, as Molli and Sam have so thoroughly and expertly explored, "We are $ew worth it.")  But being ever so optimistic about my newfound "free time" (read:  maternity leave), I enthusiastically accepted the challenge :: a skyline-inspired quilt in soft blues, greens, and creams for her best friend's mid-June baby boy.


True to form, I kicked off the chain piecing with a stack of 4" oakshott squares, churning out an array of monochromatic HSTs for the "sky" while I continued to mull over how it would all come together.  Until the mid-June baby turned out to be a mid-May addition, at which point I cleared the design wall and starting shaping out that #cityscapequilt sky.  Once I had found a happy medium (read: gradient), I started piecing some improv low volume buildings to fill in the blanks...


After a little rearranging, and some itty bitty baby building construction...


I was ready to bring it all together.


Quilt it.


And send it to its new home.  (Which, I'm told, was going to be inspired by this serene little Serena & Lily nursery.)


From what I hear, it's a big hit.  Which kind of makes my heart sing.  Loudly ;o)

Linking up with Amanda Jean for finish it up friday!

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Sunday, May 17, 2015

BQF: painted leaf quilt no. 1 {roygbiv}

As some of you may recall, last December my Canadian #igminiswap partner (and an ethereal painted leaf in @freepeople's IG feed) inspired this lofty leaf design...


which I am now humbly entering in this year's Blogger's Quilt Festival :: ROYGBIV category.


There's something rather dreamy about this leaf, if you ask me.  ;o)  Of course it doesn't hurt that it's pieced entirely of liberty of london tana lawn "scraps" (a favorite substrate in this house) paired with some of my favorite (let's be honestthey're basically all my favorite) low volume fabrics.


But it also holds a special place in my heart because it was the first thing I got to sew (Succulent Path aside) after a summer filled with morning sickness and a fall full of work (because how else would I replenish my liberty stash? ;P)

In fact, I'm so smitten, lately I've been thinking a bed-sized version is in order for our bohemian-rustic-chic master (the photo above was taken on our macrame curtains, and the one below on our brick bedroom floor).


And now that my mind is made up, the only question is... just how big should that big leaf be?  As some of you may recall, this one turned out to be 20" square, and the final pattern (the #auctionforeleni version, pictured below) finishes at 17".


While I'm mulling that over, I hope you'll take a look at all the other beautiful entries, and thank you so much for stopping by!

P.S.  This mini design is available on my new "patterns, etc." page if anyone's interested!  And I've included alternate "centers" (in place of the tiny sundial) in case teeny tiny curved piecing isn't exactly your thing ;o)

Sarah

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Wednesday, April 29, 2015

inside addition {a top!}

Remember all those inside addition blocks up on my design wall?


Yep!  They've officially become the latest top in the quilting queue ;o)


Now, ordinarily I'm not one to trim (...totally guilty), but for some reason I couldn't help myself this time.


And I have to say, it was worth the extra effort.  In fact, it kind of made me wonder why I don't always slow down and enjoy the process.


Naturally one look at my wish list quickly cleared that up ;o)  But at least this one can be crossed off the list.


...And now, on to the next!

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Friday, March 27, 2015

inside addition {oakshott + low volume}



The Painted Leaf mini no. 2 might've made its way to its new home, but the low volume/oakshott #insideadditionquiltalong blocks are here to stay.




This project snuck onto my to do list a few months back when Jessica (@alittlegressica)—aka my Sew Down Nashville neighborposted the block instructions on IG:  




As luck would have it, I happened to have a double rainbow's worth of 4" oakshott strips on hand.  So I got to work cutting them into squares, and then rummaged through my low volume stash and repeated the exercise.


Within no time, I had stitched countless HSTs and started playing with a gradient of cooler tones...



Which were shortly joined by the rest of the rainbow.



To make this.


And if you look closely, you'll notice I snuck some mini charm squares (trimmed to 2") into the mix (Carolyn Friedlander's "favorites" and Tula Pink's "Moonshine"). 


Why?  Probably because Jessica did something similar during our class with Carolyn Friedlander last spring, and I've been wanting to borrow the idea ever since. ;o)

With any luck these blocks will soon be our eldest's newest nap time quilt for preschool.  Or for mommy.  Because we need naps too, right? ;o)

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Monday, February 2, 2015

catching dreams by sunrise {black & white}


Last fallwhen it felt like all my quilting friends were at Market and I was living vicariously through them on IGa very surprising (and welcome!) comment came through on my feed, from none other than Robert Kaufman fabric designer Jennifer Sampou herself... (The anticipation!)  So when she emailed later asking if I would join in on the Insta Blog Hop to celebrate the arrival of her latest line, black & white, I didn't think twice.


From the start I knew I wanted to do something with feathers (consider it an ode to one of her signature prints in the collection).  Initially I was going to stitch up (and drafted patterns for) over half a dozen different "painted" feathers, but when it came time to decide on a layout, nothing seemed right.  Until I stumbled upon a light and airy dreamcatcher while looking for nursery inspiration...  (Lightbulb!)


I quickly got to work merging all my sketches in photoshop and ultimately came up with this...


A subdued, crib-sized dreamcatcher dripping with five brightly painted feathers.  Most of the quilt is pieced with black & white fabrics (and coordinating Studio Stash Yarn Dyes) in the "ash" color story.  To add some dawn-inspired splashes of color, I used a range of blazing shades from the kona sunrise charm pack.  (The pack itself also has a great selection of pinks and greens, but I went with the more heated hues to play off the sun rays in the design.)


For the quilting, I was going to stick with what I know best (straight lines along the "rays"), but when I asked my friend Amanda of Material Girl Quilts for a second opinion she suggested I venture outside my comfort zone and try a little free motion quilting.


..I mean I'm no Angela Walters, but e for effort, right? ;o)  For the binding, I used one of Jennifer's Studio Stash Yarn Dyes, with a little fiery gradient from the kona sunrise charm pack for another added pop of color.


And that's that!  Thank you so much to Jennifer and the wonderful folks at Robert Kaufman for the invite and the beautiful fabric.  And lucky for you all, they've also provided this little "taquito" pack for me to give away here...


C'mon, how cute is that?  Just leave a comment on this post for a chance to win.  I'll pick a winner next Monday, February 9th.  Congratulations to commenter no. 9/127, Anita!


In the meantime, there are other great ways to win too!  Jennifer will be giving away a fat quarter tower of the complete collection (just head over to her opening post before February 8th), plus a taquito pack and a copy of one of her new patterns over on IG (just post your own black & white project—or a favorite from the hop!—and tag it with #blackandwhitefabrics and #jennifersampou).  

And of course you can visit all the other stops on the hop for more inspiration and extra chances to win, too!

January 31 Angela Pingel
February 2 Sarah Sharp - {no} hats in the house << you are here :o) >>
February 7 Jennifer Sampou

Thanks for stopping by :o)

Wednesday, December 10, 2014

painted leaf {igminiswap}

For some reason, I've had an itch to paint these days...


This time, it was painting leaves!  Or one leaf, to be exact.  ...For now.  (Our toddler has now requested a pink leaf.)  Either way, this one was inspired by a recent free people post on IG (no surprise there, right?)


It's splashed with a rainbow of liberty lawn scraps, along with some bright white sundial-esque accents radiating around the stem.


The background is a blend of creamy low volumes to complement the classic liberty hues.  And it's finished off with a slew of straight lines.


Well, mostly straight anyway.  ;o)  The mini measures just under 20" square and will soon be making its way to my #igminiswap partner.  Just as soon as I figure out the best international shipping route... eep!  Here's to hoping my partner can forgive the delay? :)