Oakshott and Low Volume Plusses Quilt

This quilt has been quite a while in the making (the quilt top was finished way back in April), but it's finally finished.

 

In photos this quilt looks bright and cheerful.  In person, it's still colourful, but it has such a soft gentle vibe that I really love.  I had initially thought about binding it with an intense colourful stripe, but in the end I went with a white on cream spot which makes for a very subtle binding and maintains the soft look that I really loved.

 

Because this quilt is pretty big at 80" square, and I knew I wanted the background quilted densely, I had it long-arm quilted by Sue Burnett.  I think my request for different free-motion fillers quilted randomly in the background a la Angela Walters was a bit of a challenge for her because it's not her usual style of quilting, but she did splendidly.  Sue used three different designs on this quilt - these are ovals of different sizes.

 

Swirly swirls.

 

And my favourite on this quilt, back and forth lines in alternating directions.

 

The back is a selection of four different low volume fabrics.  I like a nice quilt back!

I'm really happy with this quilt.  I didn't make it with anyone in mind, so I guess I'm keeping it!  Can you have too many quilts?

Quilt Stats

Pattern: charm square plus block

Finished Size: Approximately 80" square

Fabric: Oakshotts Sunrise bundle plus many many low volume designer fabrics 

Backing: Faux Bois in White from the Les Amis collection, Sea Birds in Poppy from the Bella collection by Lotta Jansdotter, Hiho Silver Pearl Bracelets and Hatchlings in Natural from the Locally Grown line by Creative Thursday

Binding: White on cream spot from Spotlight

Pieced by: me
Quilted by: Sue Burnett.

Linking up with finish it up friday at crazy mom quilts.

This quilt is the fourth of my third quarter goals that I've finished - yay!  I'll be linking up with Leanne at she can quilt at the end of September as part of the 2013 Finish Along.

Thinking about blog sponsorship

I've been thinking about something for a while now.  I've talked it over with a few people, and I've come to a few conclusions, but I'd like your thoughts.  You've probably worked it out from the title to this blog post.  I've been thinking about blog sponsorship.

Ivy's been thinking too.

Before I started On the Windy Side, I spent a year or so just reading and following quilt blogs.  It gave me a pretty good feel for what I enjoy in a blog, and what I don't enjoy.  When I started I thought it might be nice if one day I could make quilting more than a hobby. I thought it might be fun to try making quilts for sale - at least that way I could defray the cost of materials. At some point I realised that I was never going to make any money making and selling quilts.  At that point quilting got a lot more fun because I stopped thinking too much about whether other people would like my quilts.  I've realised that I really love the creative part and the freedom to do what I feel like doing at any given time.

Ralph thinks best when he is relaxed...

 

I still haven't given up on my idea of making quilting more than a hobby though.  I'm at the point where I'm thinking about looking for sponsors for On the Windy Side.   I'd love if my blog could go some way to supporting my fabric habit.  That said, there are a few things that make me hesitate:

- What if no-one wants to sponsor my blog?  That would feel a lot like rejection and rejection sucks.  I'm not fishing for compliments, I'm just being honest.  Writing up that email that says "hi - would you like to sponsor my blog?" is a bit scary.  That's not the biggest issue though.

- Too much sponsored content is a major turn-off for me.  I'm not going to name names but I can think of blogs where the sponsored content far outweighs the "genuine" content.  That's the point at which I hit the un-follow button. I'm sure that I'm not unique in finding too much sponsored content just plain old boring (yes, giveaways are lovely, but I really read blogs for inspiration rather than the chance to win fabric).  I think this can be managed though.

- I tend to keep my blog pretty non-controversial, but I wouldn't want to feel like I can't give my honest opinion on something because it might upset my sponsors.  I guess that's part of the reason I'm putting this post up now.  Potential sponsors be warned - I might say things you don't agree with.  Like this next bit.

- I'm not sure I'm ok with the constant pressure to buy the newest latest fabric right now all the time.  I can't afford to buy every new line that comes out (honestly, who can?), and frankly, I don't always want to (incredibly, I don't love every line of fabric that has ever been produced!).  Do I really want to be part of the consumer cycle?  On the other hand, I really genuinely love fabric.  I get excited about new fabric and I love seeing how other people use it.  When I first started quilting 6 or 7 years ago there weren't many quilting fabrics I did love, and omg it was so amazing to find more and more of them. So maybe this whole consumer cycle thing is not so bad.

- Yes, I put a lot of time and effort into my blog.  But I don't have sponsors right now, and I still write my blog.  If I didn't get any sponsors, I would still keep making stuff and blogging about it.  Does this mean I shouldn't seek out sponsorships?

- The deals behind blog sponsorships seem to be a bit hush-hush.  I mean, that's fair enough, it's commercially sensitive information.  The thing is, normally I'd have some kind of a benchmark for deciding whether an offer is fair.  For this? Nil, nada, zilch.



I think the cat's out of the bag...

I feel like I'm really laying my cards out on the table with this post.  In one sense it does make me feel pretty vulnerable, but in another way its a bit of protection for me - if a sponsor is willing to partner up with me after this, they must be a good egg.

 

Let's keep it friendly even if we don't agree.

 

I really really want to know what you guys think about blog sponsorship.  Is this something you even think about?  I've been wanting to have a conversation about this stuff for a while - I can't believe it only just occurred to me to post about it here!  Seriously, I want your honest opinions here, so chime in even if you don't agree with anything I've said.  One thing though.  Let's keep the discussion constructive and respectful.  Thanks!

Sewing Room Swap

This weekend I finished the main item for my ~sewing room swap~ partner.  I'm really quite pleased with how this set of fabric baskets turned out.  Like my prototype a week or so ago, I used the nesting fabric bowls pattern from a cuppa and a catch up (this is the 7" size).

 

I would describe the central panel of each basket as "free piecing" - I didn't have a pattern or much of a plan in mind when I started, and apart from trimming each panel to the right width, there was not a lot of measuring involved.  It was really quite fun and a liberating way to work.  I learned something too.  If you are going to make free pieced little houses, it works a lot better if you make the roof first and then make the main part of the house to fit the roof, rather than the other way around.

I really hope my partner likes these!

Linking up with:

    

and with Finish it up Friday at crazy mom quilts.

Caturday Wisdom #33

This weeks words of wisdom come from Lucy at Charm About You:

"Always watch your back, danger can come in all sorts of tiny, wobbly shapes and sizes." Amber (closely following by Lois)

If you would like to see your cat featured on Caturdays (other pets are also welcome!), flick an email to adrianneonthewindyside at gmail dot com.

By the way, HI!  I'm Windrianne's sister*, Jennifer and I've taken over Caturdays.

I sometimes help with the quilt-blog process by making loud rhymes of her name and playing offensive music while she is sewing. I am also frequently forced into hiding from passers-by behind her quilts while she takes photos. The up-side of this arrangement is that it is winter(ish) and I have two quilts on my bed instead of a dusty woollen blanket. And I get to look at all the cats so keep sending Adrianne pictures, even though Ralph and Ivy love the camera, obviously.

Have a great weekend!

*AKA Adrianne @ On the Windy Side

Pistols at Dawn Quilt

Woohoo, my Pistols at Dawn Quilt is finished!

 

In this post I described how most of the blocks were made by the Fallow Group of the Simply Solids Bee.  Thanks ladies!  I love how getting different people to make the blocks adds a level of randomness I would have struggled to achieve on my own.

 

It's hard to see the quilting on the quilt top in these photos (it shows up a lot more in real life), but I think it's easier to see on the back.  You can see that I've quilted a big X right through the middle of the quilt, and then echoed it at approximately quarter inch intervals.

 

I've had this backing picked out since I chose the fabrics for the top.  It has many of the same colours and the design really lends itself to being used on a large scale.  There is a join in the backing fabric, but you can hardly see it - I like that.

This photo shows the quilting on the front of the quilt much better.  I used a bright orange thread for the quilting - unusually for me it is polyester, but it was the only thread I could find that came in just the right colour.  It manages to blend quite well with all the very different colours in the quilt top.  Below you can see the quilting on the back.

I have to admit that this is still not my favourite quilt, but it grew on me during the quilting process and I love the high drama of it.  I also like how it kind of shouldn't work, but it does.  Even the binding, a bright coral orange, totally clashes with the quilt top but also works perfectly.

Quilt Stats

Pattern: random half-square triangles

Finished Size: Approximately 64" by 64"

Fabric: Kona Hibiscus, Amber, Indigo, Lilac, Ice Peach, School Bus and Chinese Red 

Backing: Arabian Castle in Iced Lilac from Lizzy House's Castle Peeps collection

Binding: Kona but I didn't record the colour

Pieced by: The ladies of the Fallow Group of the Simply Solids Bee and me, on my domestic sewing machine
Quilted by: me, on my domestic sewing machine.

Linking up with finish it up friday at crazy mom quilts.

This quilt is the third of my third quarter goals that I've finished - yay!  I'll be linking up with Leanne at she can quilt at the end of September as part of the 2013 Finish Along.