Sunday, May 6, 2012

London's calling

Crimson, Pink, Blood Orange and Saffron - Red inspired mini quilts

There are a lot of pictures in this post - I had time to sew and I made some samples to swap at the Fat Quarterly Retreat sample swap. By the way, if you are going to the retreat and have not joined the flickr conversations, do head over and join in by clicking here.

 (As an aside, in my head I hear "It's my party..." which was recorded first in 1963 by Leslie Gore, this is a Youtube link - whenever I get self indulgent and go on and on and on, this song appears.)

Pink, Saffron, Crimson, and Blood Orange - Red inspired mini quilts

These mini quilts were inspired by Red. They about 7.5 - 8" x 9 - 10" and are made of Oakshott shot cottons and Essex Linen/Cotton in putty. The coloured threads are variegated cotton King Tut from Superior Threads, and the putty coloured thread is a nice 50 wt putty coloured hand dyed cotton thread from Valdani Inc.

Saffron - a Red inspired mini quilt

This one is Saffron.

Saffron - a Red inspired mini quilt

I like them both ways up. Originally I thought they would be mug rugs, but you could also put them on the wall.

Saffron - a Red inspired mini quilt

The colours are wonderful, you can see a bit of the shine.

Crimson - a Red inspired mini quilt

This one is Crimson. There are a great number of different shades of red in Wikipedia - and that is just the fastest reference I checked. I can make a lot of minis and still have names.

Crimson - a Red inspired mini quilt

I made each one different yet they are all basically the same.

Crimson - a Red inspired mini quilt

I am totally smitten with these. They are even better in person.

Blood Orange - a Red inspired mini quilt

This one is Blood Orange.

Blood Orange - a Red inspired mini quilt

The colours in this one really are so rich.

Blood Orange - a Red inspired mini quilt

I washed them all today. The washing changed them from ho hum ok to amazing. They were sort of twisted into little balls when they came out of my dryer, but I wet them and steamed them a little and put them under books - all better.

Pink - a Red inspired mini quilt

Meet Pink.

Pink - a Red inspired mini quilt

I made Pink first. She has a lot of the shiniest shot cottons.

Pink - a Red inspired mini quilt

You can see the shine best in this picture. Maybe it is time to learn more about photography so I can learn how to capture shine and light in fabrics.

Pink's back

I shall only torture you with one back, so that the process types can see what I did. I quilted the coloured block first, turning at each end to avoid a lot of threads. Then I quilted the rest. The binding and back are also Essex linen - only the best for my sample swap group. The binding was made single fold and hand stitched on the back.

Pink, Saffron, Blood Orange and Crimson - Red inspired mini quilts

You can bet I am making more of these, although this is all I need for the swap. Making these minis chased away the poison of my work week and are making me smile.

I am linking this post up to Megan at Canoe Ridge Creations' {Sew} Modern Monday. For Tuesday I am adding a link to Fabric Tuesday over at Quilt Story. There are always beautiful projects there, do go and have a look.

Fresh Poppy Design

Best,

Leanne

40 comments:

Susan said...

Oh these are truly wonderful Leanne! Not sure how you'll bear to part with them! I can see a whole rainbow range of these in the future!

Kelly said...

Love these! I hope I am in your group :)

Canadian Abroad said...

Absolutely beautiful and you will have people clamouring to be in your group!!

Sarah said...

Here's to the things that make us smile, Leanne! These are gorgeous as always.

Karen said...

Oh how I am sooo happy for you and your trip! These minis are so gorgeous :)

Archie The Wonder Dog said...

They're stunning!!!

Pippa Parsons said...

ohhh gorgeous, think I'm too late to join in the swops now and haven't got much time left to make anything... love the orange/yellow one, perhaps I can bribe you with cash or pimms LOL... we need a retreat drink

Debbie said...

Oh what a nice surprise to see these when I logged into flickr just now - just really fun and special. Love the special treads as well as the two-way quilting.

Annabella said...

Wahhhhhh - can`t stop as have to go bribe someone. Gorgeous gorgeous - crimson and saffron would work so well here!

Katy Cameron said...

Love these minis, I don't think there's going to be a bad group to be in!

Judith, Belfast said...

You are so right about these looking good on a wall - in a set would be stunning, like 4 seasons! You are going to make some folks v.happy at the FQR! Jxo

Mrs Flying Blind... said...

I think you need to make more - just in case!!!

Toni said...

Leanne, these are so beautiful!I love the color groupings and quilting. What a lucky group of swappers to get these wonders!

Karen said...

These really are fab Leanne! Fingers crossed.....

felicity said...

Beautiful fabrics are a salve for the soul to be sure. What gorgeous projects, Leanne!

www.randomthoughtsdoordi.com said...

Leanne, these are completely and utterly gorgeous. Every time I see a FQ Retreat post I shed a tear that I am not going. Argh, darn that 40th anniversary I have to celebrate (my own).

machen und tun said...

love those! and i have actually never thought about a tone-in-tone binding - i am soo gonna try that!!

Ella said...

These are so so lovely. You're giving me ideas for a wall hangining/mini for my bedroom.

MariQuilts said...

I'm loving these...so beautiful!!

Catherine said...

these look amazing Leanne

Nicky said...

Now if only....I can dream can't I??

Rachel said...

Beautiful minis, Leanne!

elle said...

These are delightful!

moira said...

I wish I had joined in the swap now. These are great.

Kati from Kati's Quilting said...

Your minis look awesome! I love the color combinations with the grey!

mathea said...

I love the texture in these and the colours are just gorgeous! You also gave me new confidence in the quilt I'm working on, which also has parallell quilting lines. I was feeling a bit blaaah about it, but I'll keep at it and see what happens when I give it a good wash!

Rhonda the Rambler said...

Is it fair if I send things to participate in the swap.....sort of a proxy swap? LOL I love love love these!! But I think I say that every time you make something!

tusen said...

Love them so much, I envy whoever gets them, especially the Blood Orange.
And I think you're quite good at capturing their shine :)

Sarah said...

So simple, but utterly gorgeous!

Kelli said...

So simple, yet so lovely. I love them.

Dianne Neale said...

These are gorgeous. Could I be in the same group for this as well? Law of averages says not!

Amanda said...

They are beautiful!

Beth said...

They are all so beautiful! I love all your color combinations.

Annie said...

Love these quilts

Rachel said...

Amazing! Love the quilting.

Holly said...

These are gorgeous, Leanne! I love the colour combinations and the contrast of the shot cottons and the linen.

Marjorie's Busy Corner said...

Love those minis Leanne..the texture is great!! Thank you for stopping by to comment on my WIPs.
Appreciate it. I agree about the postage stamp blocks; would be way too much work for a large quilt.

M-R Charbonneau said...

Love these, Leanne! Fabulous!

M-R Charbonneau said...

Love these, Leanne! Fabulous!

Lenka said...

This quilt is amazing!