Sunday, June 6, 2021

Quilts and Classics: Delta Breeze/1969 Ford Mustang

 Delta Breeze may very well be my all-time favorite quilt, certainly my favorite of those I have designed myself.

The inspiration for this quilt began here, some upholstery fabric on a church bench in Lodi, California, located in the California Delta region between Sacramento and Stockton. I didn't think it was particularly appealing fabric, but somehow the palm frond-like design reminded me of the bear paw block. I had just been sent a fabric bundle of Soho Solids by Timeless Treasures and needed an idea for a quilt. I came home and sketched two sizes of the bear paw block and Delta Breeze was born.

This quilt has had the most extensive and varied history of all of my quilts. 

It has been published:
There was a tutorial, originally published on the Timeless Treasures blog and then republished here on my blog.

Sharon Holland reached out to me with one of her new fabric lines and I chose the Delta Breeze pattern to see what it looked like when made in prints rather than solids.


It was one of three of my quilts juried into QuiltCon 2016, an amazing accomplishment for me as there are usually more than 3000 submissions and only around half that number of quilts are juried in.


The back:
Beautiful quilting by Darby Myers:
Members of a quilt guild (the name of which I cannot remember) made their version of Delta Breeze.
For awhile it was on the cover of my iPhone.

Mark made a fused glass version, which hangs in my office.

And very special to me, it was the inspiration for these note cards by Molly Lam (@tokodots), which are still available in her etsy shop!

Needless to say, this quilt is near and dear to my heart. Some of the colors were the perfect match for this beautiful 1969 Ford Mustang, my dream car, owned by good friend, Rod McNeely.








When I was photographing last month's quilt, Basket Weaving, I took Delta Breeze along and here are some bonus shots.




This is definitely a quilt that has captured my heart like no other.

Design: Original design by me
Size: 48x48"
Quilted by: Darby Myers

7 comments:

05 08
Needled Mom said... #

I remember seeing it with you in Pasadena. It is lovely! It’s such a great pattern.

Anne / Springleaf Studios said... #

It's so fun to hear even more about your favorite quilt. It's a beauty and so are all the photos you captured. I like the print version a lot too but the solids sure make the blocks pop.

Lu said... #

Love ,love your quilt and the car wow if only my dreams came true!

Margaret said... #

I want you to know how much pleasure your blog gives me-reading about your lovely family and beautiful quilts it is one of the good things about the internet, how it allows us to see lives so entirely different from our own. Thank you !

quiltingbydawn said... #

Cindy, I can see why it is your favorite (both the quilt and car)! The colors are so beautiful together! Your photo shoots are always so fun to see! Your quilt design has had a amazing life!

Rochelle aka Bella Quilts said... #

I love all the photos you took of the quilt (and the car) and the later ones you recently did. The solids really pop and catch the eye. I haven't worked a lot with only solids but I can see the attraction. The wide use of the graphics (note cards, phone cover, etc) really emphasize how versatile that design is. Thanks for sharing the back story for the quilt.

Robby said... #

I remember when you made this, but I had no idea the life this quilt has had. Just goes to show, classic design never goes out of style, but it can get a glorious update now and then.