Saturday, November 25, 2017

Splash of Color QAL


I don't normally do quilt alongs (QALs) for a couple of reasons. First of all, I'm impatient. If I like a quilt, I want to keep working on it. Making a few blocks and then setting it aside for the next step in several weeks makes my teeth itch. Secondly, I'm squeezed for space and don't have much room to have something in progress like that. And third, I'm ornery and chafe against anyone else's schedule.

So when I saw several folks making black and white quilts for the Splash of Color QAL over at Myra's Busy Hands, I thought, "Oh, lots of pretty quilt ideas, but I don't do QALs." End of thoughts.


Except those thoughts didn't go away. I kept looking at my small stash of black and white fabrics and thinking, "Hm, someday." And I had this cute, lurid panel of cats that I had already cut apart and all the pieces were floating around and getting in my way. And I noticed that among the EXTREMELY BRIGHT orange, pink, blue and green cats were touches of black and white. Hm. And while looking for a pattern to use with some woven plaids and stripes, I stumbled across this free pattern called "Juxtaposition." And suddenly I wanted to make those rectangular blocks in black and white with a vertical stripe of brights, and surround the cats with them.


So yesterday, I did. It wasn't so much as a quilt along (QAL), as a quilt all at once (QAAO.) Pretty squirrelly. And I'll admit that my "splash" of color is, um, rather large. Like the kind of splash that a kid makes jumping off the diving board and yelling, "Cannonball!" So I'm calling this piece Cat Cannonball. I also tried a new technique, adding a small flange of black around the panel pieces to set them off a bit. We'll see how that works out during the quilting.


In other, but also lurid, news, Weirdly Whimsical is washed and crinkly. 


I'm happy to report that the linen pieces on the front are nice and soft and shrank at about the same rate as the cottons. This was also the first time I washed the donated yellow plaid backing and it also did really well in the crinkly softness department.


And lastly, the Home Depot Quilt is an unwashed finish.


All the fabrics are bricks and stones and it looks like the outdoor paving department at Home Depot to me. I quilted it with my walking foot in straight lines that parallel the black "pathways." The binding is the same black fabric with a tiny dark gray spot.


The backing is another piece of the fabric that was donated by Sean's aunt. It's not quite as bright red as this photo shows, but more of a brick red that looks great with the front. The sun was very low in these pictures, casting a golden glow on everything. This quilt doesn't have a home yet and keeps whispering gently in my ear that I should hold onto it for a while. 


We've been in Jacksonville for about a week now, and are now getting ready to continue heading south. We anchored in the river for the first couple of nights, and it was very peaceful and calm for being right downtown.


27 comments:

  1. Love that cat quilt! The colors look beautiful with the black and white.

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  2. OMG you made me laugh-your teeth itch, LOL Nothing wrong with getting something finished quickly. I rather like your big patches of bold color:)

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  3. I'm with Vicki on the laugh out loud at the teeth itch comment! Too true. I also like the QAAO which is exactly a DrEAMi! LOVE those cat prints and the flange around each one is an awesome pop. The Home Depot quilt!! Such a great name, and you are smart to listen to its whisperings. Glad the donated yellow plaid crinkled up so lovely, I want to pet it through my screen! Thanks for linking up with my DrEAMi!

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  4. all the quilts are lovely .... sometimes being inspired by a QAL is all you need.... you do get lots done with your itchy teeth method...
    Hugz

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  5. Love your "non" QAL quilt! You do such neat things with spashes of color....like those vertical stripes of bright. The Cat Cannonball crinkled up nicely. That yellow plaid will go with so many quilts....good thing that you have a lot of it. The Home Depot quilt reminds me of a sunset. I love it.

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  6. Wow!!! That is one terrific Cat Cannonball. You were so lucky to have all the elements line up for it. I also really like the Home Depot quilt. You can find all kinds of patterns in flooring or brick work. The view of Jacksonville is so peaceful and still. Thanks for sharing that.

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  7. I agree with the others on the itchy teeth comments. Reminds me of how the roof of my mouth feels when I eat Kiwi fruit! Bold cats - they work well with the black and white and the Home Depot quilt is lovely.

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  8. I'm kinda with you on the QALs, although I'm working on two right now and I'm not minding it. At least my teeth aren't itching. Yet. Your Cat Cannonball is so fun. I think it's interesting to see how those fabrics we have that hang around suddenly fall into a quilt at just the right time! Your Home Depot quilt is beautiful. I can see why you might want to hang on to that for a bit!

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  9. Love that free pattern that was calling your name! And your cat cannonball addition makes it so uniquely yours. Your linen/cotton quilt is looking great after a spa day. And love the colors of your Home Depot quilt. It looks very peaceful down there on the water.

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  10. I love the splash of color quilt - cannonball or not.

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  11. What a colour filled post! Just the thing to brighten the day, and I love the Home Depot Quilt.

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  12. I like your cannonball of color! Too funny!

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  13. Both pretty quilts. Great photography also :)

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  14. I love your contrast of bright colors with the black and whites...and that little mouse made me smile!!So glad life is calm and peaceful for you...enjoy!!!

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  15. A very fun and bright quilt. It always amazes me how sometimes you can see a pattern, the fabric and then just realize those have to go together in a quilt. Congrats on finishing off the Home Depot quilt, it does look like paving stones. I love your quilt names and the stories that go with them. Happy stitching this week.

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  16. Hi Louise ! We love your fun blog, and your sense of humor really brightens our day. We love the catchy names that you give your quilts. Your wonderful work is so full of artistic personality and color. Blessings of the season to you, from Marina and Daryl Lynn

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  17. I was going to comment on the fact that you used "a little" more than a splash of color, but you recognized that, so I won't say anything. LOL It is a great quilt! Love the little mouse! Your other finishes are also wonderful. I don't do QAL's either, but mostly because I have a very long list of other projects I want to do!

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  18. What a fun splash of colour quilt, the vertical lines makes it for me, along with the mouse of course, so fun. You had a great week, happy stitching.

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  19. I agree, 'fun' and 'bright'.
    I like the black frame/flange and the little mouse in the corner.
    'Lurid' indeed :)

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  20. I like your QAAO version of QAL. Quilt in whatever way works for you! Your major splash of color with the black and white is delightful! And I think the bold colors and strong black and white prints hold their own against each other very well--maybe because of the size of the cat blocks? But those little slices of color add such a neat touch, too. The mouse makes me giggle. I think he thinks he owns the quilt.

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  21. What vibrant, beautiful projects! Perhaps because I've been working on my Scandinavian neutrals is why these pieces jumped out at me. I eps. like that flange of black you added. What a great idea.

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    1. Thank you, Jocelyn! "Vibrant" sounds better than "lurid," I think. I'm glad you stopped by!

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  22. The cats quilt worked out neat! I love the colors popping in the b&w prints. Perfect pattern for it, and the flanges are a nice touch. I've taped them back in the past during quilting - worked fine.

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  23. What a does of eye candy! And names as delightful as the quilts!

    Me? I've got the itchy teeth syndrome so don't have so many finishes right in a row.

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  24. That cat quilt is so cute! I just love the splash of color. I, too, was incredibly tempted by the QAL but ultimately didn't join because I had too many other projects to do. I love Weirdly Whimsical, the colors are so beautiful!

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