Spoonflower Magic with Vintage Typewriters and Hand-Dyed Squarey Quilt Project

Posted by PersimonDreams on Jun 11, 2012 in art quilt, fabric, Featured, handmade, quilt, quilt gallery, spoonflower | 2 comments

So much has been going on lately!  Between transferring my old blog posts over, summer starting, learning how to use my ‘long’ arm and of course – starting new quilty projects – I haven’t had much time for new blog posts!  Don’t worry – the list of things for me to write about just keeps getting bigger and bigger as the dreams in my mind are starting to be made with the fabric!

Right now – one of the projects I’m working on is using some new fabric I just printed at Spoonflower.  Awhile back I had taken some pictures of a vintage typewriter and used the photo’s to create my own fabrics on Spoonflower.  I finally bit the cost bullet the other week because my latest dreamed up project NEEDED these prints!  Also – you can’t sell the fabric unless you print it first – so lucky for you – it’s now for sale!

The third quilt I ever made was a King Size ‘Squarey’ Quilt.  I LOVE this quilt – it’s on my bed and will be for as long as it survives which means hopefully it will also make it’s way to my daughter’s beds and their daughter’s beds.  Anyway – I have wanted to make another quilt similar to this one for awhile now.  Instead of using a deep blue or black for the main color of my quilt, Diane dyed me a significant piece of rich pink yardage last year.  I decided that the typewriter fabric I’d been drooling about in all it’s monochromatic goodness would be perfect added to the pink.  It really gives this quilt a great steampunk feel which I think is going to be trending here soon (if it’s not already).

Here’s a look at my progress so far…I posted a picture of the spoonflower fabric first and then the blocks I made from it…I wanted you to really get a good look at the transformation.

From the print ‘Key’s Madness’  and the hand-dyed pink of course, I created these blocks:

I made one in each combination just so I could really see what would happen – so in love! This one is my darkest fabric but the lightness the keys and letters/symbols/numbers to show off is just perfect. From my LC Smith print I created these blocks:

This fabric gives you a few different looks depending on where the cut is.  I especially like the places where the keys mirror each other – such a dramatic effect!

From Secretarial these blocks were made:    I think I’m going to have to fussy cut a strip or two of this print so you can really read the words ‘Secretarial and C Smith’ in the final quilt. Strike a Key created these blocks: A lot going on in these blocks – I had fun matching the linear parts together to create an even cooler look. Type Linear created these stunning blocks.

I made three smaller squares – one with the darker linear pieces of the fabric and one with the lighter linear pieces.  I just love the dimension created with this particular print!

And finally – Keys 3 made these blocks:

Here’s what my blocks look like laid out on my design wall so far:

I really love the drama that’s created with the black/grey/white vintage typewriter prints and the hot pink – but I want to create even more depth. Diane suggested adding some reds and oranges.  When I heard oranges I knew that was what was necessary.  She brought me some more pink and orange dyed fabric today so hopefully tomorrow afternoon I can make even more blocks and see how this progresses!

What do you think of my newest project?  Something you’re into?  Too far out for your style?  I would love to hear your thoughts!

My Squarey Quilt

Posted by PersimonDreams on Mar 9, 2009 in handmade, quilt | 0 comments

Today I’m going to talk a little bit about my “Squarey Quilt” (actual pattern name is ‘Window Panes’ but I’ve always called it my squarey quilt). I RARELY keep things for myself. Initially I was going to make this quilt for my brother (sorry Brian) but I just fell in love with it and had to keep it. Unfortunately for my brother, he has yet to get a quilt. (Waiting for him to get married or turn 35…)

The pattern called for black background fabric…since I can never follow a pattern or recipe (never ask me to make bread) EXACTLY…the first thing I altered was that I was going to use dark blue as my background. Once again, I headed over to Diane’s basement and I dyed my fabric. I dyed the dark blue and some other various colored fabric.

When choosing the other fabric, I chose from some fabric that I had dyed, some that Diane had dyed and some commercial fabric. I love mixing hand-dyes with commercial. I just think it gives a quilt an amazing look.

Once my fabric was dyed and wash out. I started to cut my fabric for the quilt and piece my squares together. We have a King Size bed so the end result for this quilt was going to be quite large.

Have I ever mentioned before just how much I LOVE color. I love all colors and I especially love putting them next to each other and combine them with colors one would typically not think of to combine. Two of my favorite color combinations in this quilt are the toned down lime green with the navy blue and the lovely orange with the blue. I just think they look absolutely fabulous next to each other!

When I was done with the top of this quilt I sent it off to my aunt-in-law, Barb to quilt. She did a fabulous random pattern with a swirl in the center of each square. It is absolutely perfect for this quilt. To save myself a head-ache I also just had her use one of her large pieces of fabric for the back of the quilt. I just sent her the top and she took care of the rest!

When the quilt was returned to me I bound it with a variegated binding that I made from the left over pieces of the squares. It tied the inside and outside together quite well.

I am still in love with this quilt and am so glad I never parted with it!