Tuesday 20 January 2015

Argh my eyes!

I've just been at Symposium, New Zealand's big national quilting conference, with workshops, lectures, social events and several exhibitions.  I entered two quilts in the exhibition, but only one was accepted (ultimately, it worked out for the best because the quilt that was rejected from Symposium was accepted into the QuiltCon exhibition).

Anyway, one of the rules for Symposium was that you could not have shown your quilt before, including on the internet.  I finished my quilt months ago, but I haven't been able to show it until now.  

Argh my eyes! 

One of the exhibition categories was "alive with colour".  I decided to make a quilt to fit that brief.  When I first started quilting, I really struggled with quilts that were busy and full of colour.  I wanted to add a lot of white, or other neutral solids, and negative space.  As I've made more quilts, I have become much more comfortable with full-on colour and this quilt was my attempt to incorporate lots of bright, clashy, crazy prints while still creating an effect that is harmonious

Argh my eyes! 

I've been enjoying experimenting with improvisational curved piecing lately, and this quilt uses curves cut without a ruler to add interest.  It's sort of a spin on the St Louis 16 Patch block that went crazy a couple of years ago, and is a great stash busting block.

Argh my eyes! 

Honestly, making this quilt was more challenging than I thought it would be.  I had to raid my friend Anne's stash because I ran out of fabrics that were quite crazy enough.  I ended up making five or six blocks that weren't ultimately used in the quilt because they didn't look right.  The layout was shuffled around many times.  It's really hard to photograph and looked more like vomit crazy than good crazy in the photos I took while working on it.  But, when it was finished, it was one of my favourite quilts I've made.

Argh my eyes!

With a completely mad top, this quilt just needed simple quilting, so I stitched a 1" grid over the entire quilt top.  The red/orange and white stripe has been in my stash forever (I think it was in my first ever online fabric order!) so I was thrilled it made the perfect binding.

Argh my eyes!

Because of my teaching work, I had to enter this quilt in the professional category.  I really wasn't expecting to win any prizes - I just wanted to show my work.  For that reason, I was very thrilled to awarded a prize for best interpretation of the theme for this quilt.

I did a great workshop at Symposium, so I'll be sharing more about that soon, and I'll also be posting some photos of other quilts that caught my eye in the exhibition.

Quilt Stats 
Pattern: my own improv-ish design
Finished Size: 70" by 84"  
Fabric: 60 different fabrics - too many to list!
Backing: two different out-of-print Anna Maria Horner fabrics
Binding: Michael Miller Clown Stripe in Fire
Pieced and quilted by: me

I will be linking up at finish it up Friday at crazy mom quilts.

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20 comments:

carol fun said...

Oh I LOVE this quilt! Definitely crazy good! Your use of the improv curved pieceing really adds to the quilt - little details can pack a big punch. Congrats on the award too - well done!

Terri Ann @ ChildlikeFascination.com said...

Congrats on the award, to be honest the first pic made me a little dizzy but that's kind-of what you were going for, so I get that. The close up of your curved 16 block as impressive, it's hard to see that in the full photo so I'm glad you included the closeups!

You really exhibited amazing control between the crazy fabrics, the wacky (but wonderfully done) blocks and the contrast with the grid quilting. This quilt is most CERTAINLY alive with color!

susan718 said...

your quilt is stunning! I love all the colors together. It also took me a while to appreciate mixed prints and colors (and to like orange, which I now love). Congratulations on your award.

Yvonne from Quilting Jetgirl said...

Congratulations on the award, that sounds like an extra special surprise! I like the imrpov curved piecing you added to the blocks, it does exactly what you wanted for the quilt. I imagine that finding a pleasing layout was a challenge, and I like the final effect. :)

Anne said...

EEEEE Congratulations!! :D That's awesome! And the quilt is so vibrant and full of life. :) I'm not surprised it won an award!

memmens said...

That's superb news, well done. It really reminds me of Kaffe Fassetts work - in a really good way!

Rachel said...

Congratulations Adrianne! I loved seeing your quilt in real life, I thought it really stood out at the exhibition! So bright and colourful!

Dominique said...

You nailed it! This quilt is busy, for sure, but the repetitive, yet wonky pattern gives it a bit of order. The result is stunning. Congratulations!

pandchintz said...

Congratulations!! It's a great quilt - love the fabrics and the binding to perfect!

Serena @ Sewgiving said...

Yes I'm afraid of using that much colour too - but when you are brave enough, just look at the results! Fantastic! Congratulations at winning a prize too :)

Charlotte said...

it's fantastic! I love how totally over the top it is! Congratulations on the award :-)

Carla said...

It's such a vibrant happy quilt! Even though the quilting is simple, you sure did a lot of it!

Archie The Wonder Dog said...

What a fantastic quilt!

Mrs Flying Blind... said...

Definitely crazy-good!

Lesley Gilbert said...

I love all the wonky and craziness ....and the colours :)

Dawn said...

I like it! I'm going to start a colorful, no background spider quilt. I hope it turns out this nice!

Alycia~Quiltygirl said...

Congrats!! it is beautiful!! I love all the colors you used.

dutchcomfort said...

Congrats Adrianne, it sure is Alive with Colour!

magistra said...

Congratulations on your win! And what a fun quilt! You absolutely did make one that is harmonious and crazy at the same time. I love it!

Anne / Springleaf Studios said...

Congrats on the acceptance. I'll be looking for your quilt at QuiltCon too. Personally I LOVE full on color as you call it. It's more me than anything.