Louvered

It's time for the second stop on the Stash Statement blog tour, and this week, it's all about the Louvered quilt.

With its more rustic colors, this quilt gives a nod to my Louisiana roots.  Brick red, mossy green, robin's egg blue, tan, and antique gold are common colors in French Quarter decor, and I designed this pattern to mimic the way light shines though the shutters that grace almost every building in the Big Easy.

The French Quarter is nothing if not lush, so I thought this quilt needed a quilting motif to fit the mood, and the floral pattern works so well.  I used Aurifil 40 wt. #2920, Light Brass, and it's subtle, but it stands out just enough against the Kona Bone background.

On the backing, I used two French General fabrics.  I didn't get a close up of the red fabric, but the print is actually tiny fleur de lis, and this tan floral from the Le Marais collection is just a perfect fit for the design, and even includes all of the colors.

These colors and fabrics are a little more on the traditional side, but even so, the improv piecing still looks fun and fresh.  It's a technique that really works for any style of scrap fabric you happen to have on hand!

Lindsey at Primrose Cottage Quilts and Diann at Little Penguin Quilts are today's stops on the blog tour.  They each took the Louvered pattern and modified it to make a smaller project.  Since the projects in the book are all scrappy, that's SO easy to do!

Here's the entire blog tour lineup, and if you missed the kickoff last week, be sure to head over to check out the two awesome versions of the Grand Bazaar pattern (and enter the giveaway, which ends on Wednesday afternoon).

Stash Statement Blog Tour Schedule-

4/16- Grand Bazaar    Shelley @ Cora's Quilts

                                      Connie @ Freemotion by the River

4/23- Louvered  Lindsey @ Primrose Cottage Quilts 

                            Diann @ Little Penguin Quilts

4/30- Precarious  Jess @ Quilty Habit                       

                              Myra @ Busy Hands Quilts

                                                            

5/7- Beach Retreat  Sarah @ Sarah Goer Quilts                               

                                  Liz @ Savor Every Stitch 

                                                           

5/14- Fire Pit   Alison @ Little Bunny Quilts                                          

                         Preeti @ Sew Preeti Quilts

                                                            

5/21- Detour    Laura @ Slice of Pi Quilts                         

                         Shelley @ The Carpenter's Daughter Who Quilts

                                                            

5/28- Murrina    Yvonne @ Quilting Jetgirl             

                            Leanne @ Devoted Quilter

                                                            

6/4- Scattered    Jayne @ Twiggy and Opal                      

                           Christine @ Triangles and Squares 

                                                            

6/11- Bloom Chicka Boom   Chris @ made by ChrissieD            

                                               Michelle @ From Bolt to Beauty

                                                            

6/18- Regatta   Susan @ Quilt Fabrication                             

                          Debbie @ A Quilter's Table    

                                                            

6/25- Catch a Falling Star  Cynthia @ Quilting is More Fun Than Housework        

                                              Anja @ Anja Quilts

                                                            

7/2- College Prep   Hilary @ by Hilary Jordan                 

                                Lori @ Crossquilt

                                                            

7/9- Take Flight (free bonus pattern)  Kelli @ Seriously, I Think It Needs Stitches 

                                                             Paula @ The Sassy Quilter

Signed copies of Stash Statement are available in my Etsy shop, and the book comes with the bonus Take Flight pattern.  You can also find it on Amazon, Shop Martingale, or ask your local quilt shop to carry it!

Louisiana Courtyard

I had a wonderful visit with my Mom and Dad this weekend, and I finished up my latest quilt on Thursday night, just in time to give it to my Mom when she arrived.

The brick layout of this quilt, along with the colors and prints remind me of the secluded courtyards and patios that you find tucked away in some homes in Louisiana.  Here are a couple of pictures (courtesy of tripadvisor.com) that give you an idea of what I mean-

Red bricks, scrolled wrought iron, and lush plants create a gorgeous space where I think this quilt would look right at home.

Somehow, the wooden deck, iron chair, and brick on my house don't create quite the same ambiance, but hopefully you get the idea!

I used every bit of the layer cake in the front of the quilt, so there wasn't any left for the backing, or even the label.  I used a tan tonal paisley for the backing, and as a bonus, it came in an extra-wide bolt, so no seams necessary!  I also had to find a fabric for the label that would blend well with the French General for the label, and decided to go with a red and tan gingham to keep the French-country feel.  The binding is Kona Espresso, and I just love that rich brown with the reds and shades of beige and tan.

My mom absolutely loves her quilt, and I am so glad.  I just know it will look perfect in their home in Louisiana.

Not Quite a Repeat

I mentioned in my last post that in addition to finishing up Candy Dish, I also managed to get another quick quilt top put together.  This is now the third quilt that I've made with the Chateau Rouge fabric line by French General, and this one's for my Momma.

Last year, I made this big D9P for myself using a layer cake of this line and both my mom and grandmother fell in love with the fabrics.  Incidentally, this was my very first foray into free motion quilting, and let's just say that I'm glad you can't see the quilting up close in this photo.

Since they both loved the fabrics so much, and mentioned that they would love a quilt made with them, I snatched up two more layer cakes and put them away until inspiration struck.  I don't usually enjoy repeats, but I ended up spacing these three quilts out enough that it didn't get boring at all.  I made French Quarter Charm for my grandmother and gave it to her for Christmas.

The toughest part of making three separate quilts with identical layer cakes has been trying to make each one a little unique.  Also, I wanted to be sure that I didn't cut the squares too much.  A lot of cutting means too many seams, and too many seams would shrink the size of the quilt, and when your fabric is limited, that just won't work.

As it so happens, my Mom is coming to visit this weekend and I would love to be able to finish it up so she can take it home with her!  

French Quarter Charm

I just love this Chateau Rouge fabric by French General.  The fabrics are vintage French prints, and having been born and raised in South Louisiana, this quilt feels like a piece of home to me.

The rich red, warm golden tan, and weathered olive colors look just right with wrought iron, fleur de lis, and Spanish moss;  and will look perfect draped across my grandparents' sofa in their South Louisiana home. 

I chose to quilt with a meandering stitch, and bound the quilt with Kona Chocolate.  The binding isn't super matchy, but I like how the warm brown frames the quilt.

As a nod to all the beauty of my home state, I'm calling this quilt French Quarter Charm.  I love that these fabrics are fantastically French inspired without being kitschy.

I know my grandmother will love this quilt, and I can't wait to show it to her this weekend- when I go for a visit back home.

Chateau Rouge Top

We are in our very last weekend of baseball- The World Series!  So, we have practically been living at the baseball field for the past couple of days.  I did manage however, to get my grandmother's quilt top finished- hooray!

As I mentioned in my last post, I'm using Chateau Rouge by French General fabrics.  I opted for a very simple, modified rail fence pattern.  To keep the prints intact as much as possible, I made the center rail wider than the others.  

Since the seams shortened my layer cake square to 9.5 inches, I ended up having to trim my blocks down in the other direction as well.  That's really the only thing that bothers me about doing the pattern this way.  I just hate cutting off perfectly good fabric- even if it is only half an inch!

There is one little mistake in the top.  Well, technically it's not a mistake, but I would have preferred that the fabrics be placed differently.  I don't know how I didn't notice it before.  Do you see it?  Look toward the top right side at the yellow rectangle that is completely bordered by red.  It looks boxy and kind of stands out- and it's the only place in the quilt that's like that.  Oh well!  There's nothing to be done about it now.

Tomorrow (between more baseball), I'll get this baby basted, and maybe even start on the quilting to wind down the day.  That's how I roll on a Saturday night- wild and crazy, I tell you!