CALENDAR OF EVENTS

Monday, 16 April 2007

The story behind Dark Nightz by Jan Mullen







During a night of reckless bidding in aid of the Quilt Study coffers I successfully purchased a bag of scraps. If I remember correctly I was the only bidder, so was surprised to win these colourful treasures already precut for me roughly cut into big or small triangles. At $15 I think I got the bargain of the night.
This plastic bag of scraps got shoved around the studio at home for a couple of months whilst I occasionally tried to decide on a new quilt for our bed. We plan to sell our current home later in the year and, as I am a career quilter, I thought that the fifteen year old version should be updated. As usual, ideas were plentiful, most revolving around a black chenille jacquard that I had purchased in the USA but I could not committ.
One night the bag of scraps jumped into my field of vision and I decided that using up what I had, these tie scraps and all the black fabrics I could muster, would actually help me when it came time to move.
The process;
I simple paired the triangles, big with big, small with small and edged them with black strips. In my usual style everything is a bit skewed until the final squaring up of the block. Working with velvets, silks, brocades, linen, lining fabrics in different weights was no bother. I had almost enough for our queen size bed, making only about four more blocks from my own tie stockpile.
Quilting was simpler than usual, merely echoing the centre triangles and in the pattern of the jacquard. The bulk and size of the quilt being the only down side to the process - bring on domestic long arms!

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