Friday, June 10, 2016

From Start to Finish: Faded Denim Jacket

This is a post that follows the making of a quilt from my initial design inspiration to the finished quilt.

For years, I have been looking up at the ceiling in our church sanctuary. I'm not sure what they are called technically, but they help with the acoustics.
Here is a closer view of just one set.
I knew there was a quilt pattern in there somewhere--with three distinct values of light, medium and dark.

And suddenly the quilt idea popped into my head. I was visualizing a well-worn denim jacket and a soft floral button-down shirt with a white collar and cuffs.

A couple of months ago I had ordered the Robert Kaufman Railroad and Chambray fat quarter bundle from Purl Soho. They are beautiful, with lovely textures. While a few are heavier and more "denim" like, most of them are very soft, with a nice drape.

Robert Kaufman also has a line of lawn prints called London Calling. While I have some lovely authentic Liberty of London scraps, none of them were large enough for the quilt I was envisioning.

I was able to get two charm packs of the latest London Calling line. Having never actually felt this line, I was thrilled to find out that it felt so much like the Liberty of London scraps.

I based the entire quilt on 5" unfinished squares, and added Kona snow for the lightest value. It's basically a seven-by-seven block, done four times for this quilt.

It is really such an easy quilt to make. You lay out the block identically for each of the four blocks, sew each one,  and then just rotate them so that one light corner square is always in the center. I easily sewed it together in one day.

And then Mark and I took it to the coast by Monterey and Carmel for some beauty shots.
I backed it with some soft chambray, and boy do I wish I could remember the manufacturer. For whatever reason, I had six yards of it! Note to self: be consistent in labeling solids and near-solids for future reference.

Then Darby worked her quilting magic on it.

This quilt is wonderfully soft. It is the perfect weight for a summer quilt. Well, a summer quilt for somewhere other than the central valley of California, that is.

And then we stopped for a picnic on 17-Mile-Drive. It was a perfect day.



Quilt: Faded Denim Jacket
Size: 70" x 70"
Designed and Made by: Cindy Wiens
Quilted by Darby Myers

I'm linking up to Crazy Mom Quilts, Fort Worth Fabric Studio, TGIFF and Confessions of a Fabric Addict. Have a lovely weekend.

18 comments:

05 08
Amanda Jean said... #

It's such a beautiful quilt. Love the simplicity of it and the story from inspiration to finished quilt. Your photos are great as well.

Thanks for linking up to finish it up Friday!

Archie The Wonder Dog said... #

It's lovely!

Cynthia Brunz Designs said... #

I love it Cindy. I was curious about those denims and how they would quilt up. Thanks for sharing!

Robby said... #

This is a terrific quilt that would be at home so many places. Curious what, if anything, you put in for the batting as I've been considering a summer weight quilt for those random coolish nights we get.

lindaroo said... #

I got to see and touch this quilt at Cindy's trunk show, and it is soft, soft, soft! It will surely be someone's favorite snuggly quilt.

Kat said... #

Beautiful quilt! What great inspiration.

Tami Von Zalez said... #

Excellent backgrounds to highlight your quilt. I am partial to grey tones and love their use in yours.
http://thriftshopcommando.blogspot.com

Celtic Thistle said... #

It is beautiful Cindy!

Charlotte said... #

It's so lovely! And I think those are called 'baffles' :-)

Jayne said... #

Its a beautiful quilt, and a beautiful photo session! Having the lighter corner blocks become a highlight is a wonderful idea!

Unknown said... #

This quilt is so beautiful and inspiring! I love the large blocks of fabric

Unknown said... #

This quilt is so beautiful and inspiring! I love the large blocks of fabric

Susan said... #

A lovely finish Cindy, based on those acoustic tiles! The random red squares are a great foil to the grey and white!

Carla said... #

That name is brilliant : ) Happy stitching today. I haven't forgotten about your license plate either. Will get that in the mail soon along with some smarties for your kids ; )

Sarah Goer Quilts said... #

What a lovely quilt. I really appreciate you sharing your whole process. The quilting gives it the perfect texture. Thank you for linking up with me for TGIFF.

Susana Neiger said... #

I love the "whole story" version of the quilt ... and I love that I'm not the only one who sees quilt-design inspiration everywhere - a coffee mug here, some random tiles there ... Beautiful work!

Susana Neiger said... #

I love the "whole story" version of the quilt ... and I love that I'm not the only one who sees quilt-design inspiration everywhere - a coffee mug here, some random tiles there ... Beautiful work!

Anne / Springleaf Studios said... #

I love knowing the whole story from inspiration to final quilt. It's lovely and the beach photos are just wonderful. I lugged 4 quilts to the mountains recently but we only managed to photograph one of them. Next time I need to make more of an effort.