Isn’t this just a fantastic quilt? I was thrilled when Carla asked me to custom quilt it. There was so much negative space to fill. I had the idea of using shadow circles to complement the pieced design right away, but it took some time to figure out how to make it work. This is one of my favourite quilts ever, and I am so happy with how it turned out.
I believe I am a very conscientious fabric buyer. I stopped buying fabrics just because they are pretty a long time ago, and with very few exceptions, I only buy fabric that I need for specific projects now. I do not have a big stash, but my scrap drawers still seem to be overflowing. They are organized by width, ranging from 2″ to 6.5″. I throw out everything under 2″, except for white fabrics, because I use those for sashing and background pieces. It is still plenty to deal with, and the other day, I saw a picture of a quilt online, I don’ remember where, and immediately thought it would make a good scrap project.
The top came together quickly. The big squares have a finished size of 5″, and the smaller ones are 3″. I have already bought the backing fabric for this one, so hopefully, it will be quilted soon and can be donated once it is finished. I am quite happy with the result. Even though the fabrics are all over the place, the white frame around every other square gives the quilt some purpose and provides the eyes with a place to rest. On a side note, my 5.5″ scrap drawer looks a bit less crowded, but I cannot really see any difference in the 3.5″ drawer, so I think I will have to make more of these.
A few days ago, I walked through my living room, where I have lots of quilts on display, and my eyes stopped at the Coming Up Roses sample quilt. I realized that it has a very similar pattern, just with a smaller square in the alternating blocks.
If you feel inspired and need a pattern, the Coming Up Roses quilt pattern is available here:
I finished a second top with my Kiwiana fabrics in the meantime. There is definitely enough left for at least one more quilt, maybe even two. For this quilt, I used a free pattern called Garden Tiles from Robert Kaufman. I adjusted the measurements to suit my needs, as well as the number of rows and columns. The basic idea looked similar to the Shadow Boxes pattern I used in my first Kiwiana quilt, but the result is quite different.
For this one, I can actually see some custom quilting. The sashing forms a secondary pattern of white crosses, and these areas are just begging for a nice custom design.
But no quilting will happen anytime soon for this top since I do not have a suitable backing. I am working hard on the idea of another trip to New Zealand, but it will have to wait until summer in the southern hemisphere. Until then, it will go on a hanger and into the closet, and I will keep thinking about possible quilting patterns that echo Maori designs.
If you are interested in this free pattern, you can find it on the Robert Kaufman website by following the link below.
