When I look at this quilt I think of the ocean. The colors as well as the swirling designs and pebbles give me a mental picture of that place where I most feel peace and communion with nature; it really takes my breath away. I’m not an outside person by any stretch of the imagination, with one exception: I love to stand by the ocean, looking out over the expanse of water, waves rolling in calmly, and just breathe. Because I really do breathe more full and peacefully there. The air is different and being in that place looking out so far past the edge of firm land gives me a sense of freedom. Somehow, quilts in colors like this take my mind on a little trip to the coast.
In the meantime I sit here in my northern Alberta home looking out the window at snow – yes, still snow all over the ground – thinking that once again we will move straight from winter to summer with no spring in the air. Some years are like that here – nothing we can do about it, it just is what it is, and as long as the sun’s shining and the sky’s blue I don’t really care what the temperature is outside, because my work is being creative inside my house any day of the year. And I have this view on my computer desktop; fake as it is, it does make me smile …
Most quilts are straight forward fun projects that come from ideas I see elsewhere and adapt to my own preferences or patterns I’m attracted to for their custom quilting potential. Once in a while a quilt reminds me of something totally off topic. So most often I post photos and talk only about the technical details of finishing a quilt, but here and there the more philosophical side of my brain needs a voice! haha
Now for some of that technical stuff:
This quilt was an improv exercise for me. While it looks orderly and planned, even symmetrical, it really just started out with some pieces I had from a layer cake (Angela Walters’ Drawn fabrics in various colors). I pulled out the blues and greens, along with some fat quarters I had on my shelf that happened to coordinate, and went to work using an idea for the centre blocks that I had seen on pinterest (the prints with the triangle sections changed out in each one).
From there I built the quilt top on my design wall as I went along, according to the amount of fabric I had in each color for borders, until I got to the outside edge. Then I had to leave it for a bit because I had thought it would be done at that point but I decided it needed another border of print, which is no longer available in stores. I was lucky to find a piece on Etsy of the exact print I wanted and that border tied everything together for me.
I love the blend of turquoises and blues and greens in this one. Do certain quilts take your mind to a special place?
Ann Walsh Quilting 