Friday 17 May 2013

Top of the Lake Quilt

Have you seen Top of the Lake?  It's a TV mini series filmed in New Zealand, written and directed by Jane Campion, and starring Elisabeth Moss (aka Peggy from Mad Men).  The themes are very dark, but the cinematography is beautiful, the scenery is stunning (of course) and it has a very New Zealand vibe (we like our dark and brooding stories here it seems).

Top of the Lake Quilt

It's maybe not the obvious TV show to inspire a quilt, but inspire it did.  I think the mosaic below of images from the show gives a good idea of the kind of colour story running through the series.


This is what I've tried to capture in my quilt.  Since I was trying to capture a colour story and vibe, I didn't feel like this quilt needed fancy piecing, so I used the St. Louis 16 Patch tutorial that has seen quilts popping up around blogland like mushrooms.

Top of the Lake Quilt

This quilt was super speedy to make - it took me about a day to make a 70" square quilt top.  I'm really happy with how it turned out, although I would describe it as deliberately un-pretty - the colours are a bit off, and it's definitely moodier than the quilts I usually make.


The title sequence, based on a painting by New Zealand artist Seraphine Pick, is amazingly beautiful and incredibly creepy at the same time, and inspired my use of the Tula Pink sea shells fabric (below).

Top of the Lake Quilt

A quick note about how I made my blocks, because it differs slightly from the tutorial I linked to.  I mostly used fat quarters, and I cut the initial 4" wide strips lengthwise (i.e. on the straight of grain, or perpendicular to the selvedge).



Once the alternating 4" wide strips were sewn together, I was able to cut 5 4" wide strips.  I used the extra strips to make the "rogue" blocks in my quilt top (where I have used 8 different fabrics instead of two).  I thought this was both a more efficient way to use fabric, and also a way to add interest to a super simple quilt top.


Have you ever made a quilt inspired by a TV show or a movie?  Also,  I find I really notice quilts in TV shows and movies now - have you had the same experience?

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9 comments:

Julie said...

I find I also notice them in magazines, not the artfully posed pages, but ones that show how people live - like NZ Life & Leisure.
Great colours in your new quilt too.

Susan said...

Love the colours in your 'moody' quilt. The random blocks mesh well with the rest! I have seen an episode or two but my husband continued it without me! He loves it!

Nat at Made in Home said...

Love the colour scheme. TV has not inspired me to make a quilt, although I have seen one in Homeland I wanted to make - but that is not the same I suppose.. But TV series give me ideas for garments! And I cannot wait to see the great gatsby!

Erica said...

I love this. It's interesting that you describe it as un-pretty, because I actually think it's very pretty. Not in a traditional kind of way I guess, more of a brooding kind of pretty, ha ha.

dutchcomfort said...

Love those colours. It may not be your usual colour palette, but it looks awesome!

Elmosmate said...

What i find funny is watching movies or a TV series you have seen before and now that you quilt you see the quilts in them you never noticed before. Thanks for the tutorial and i will check out the TV program your screenshots look very intriguing.

Fran said...

Wonderful quilt! I love it's more deep and broody nature! Nothing against a pretty quilt, but there are heaps of fresh and pretty quilts out there and this is a nice change.

Annabella said...

I like a dark and brooding TV series too! This is lovely Adrianne and liked hearing about the inspiration for it.

Mrs Flying Blind... said...

Oh I have just linked back to this - wow! I think that was my favourite program this year!