Sunday 30 August 2015

Fair Isla Quilt


I'm sure Winter was warmer making this quilt.


I drew a sketch of a Fair Isle design in my grid book last year and then put it aside. It was a simple design, in just orange and white (the orange marker probably the only one that worked at the time!), and I wanted to mull over it for a bit, think about how to bring colour to it, how to use print, or whether to stick with solids. When I saw a reveal of Anna Maria Horner's Loominous, and it's almost solid, woven lines, I knew immediately it was the perfect fit to help me create that knitted fair isle sock look. I would have movement without the distraction of prints. I would have texture rather than flat cotton. For the first time since I started quilting, I emailed people, asking if they'd consider sending me a bundle to make the quilt, and I was so honoured when Free Spirit agreed!


I decided to make the most of my new EQ7 purchase, and transfer the design to my laptop. I enjoyed this process, but I often wondered if it was taking much longer. I took less risks than I was used to. I didn't dive in. I made sure it worked on the screen first. I kept swapping rows around. I doubted for a long time if I was going to pull it off, and I put it aside to start on Nana McIntyre for a while, so I didn't rush through to finish and regret it. I'm sure it made a difference, knowing that I'd been given the fabric. I made more rows than I needed to, and didn't use all of them. And in the end, I swapped out more for plain rows, because it seemed to make it warmer, and give it breathing room.


I used Essex Linen for the brown row of stars. I intended to use it more, with log cabins and also some applique flowers, but in the end, the log cabins distracted from it, and applique was a whole different head space, and I had enough to finish the quilt.

I loved the variety of making this quilt. It's like a sampler quilt, but I got to spend a little longer with each design. And by far, my favourite part was the hand-quilting. I had only planned sparse quilting, but the more I did, the more I loved, and the more space I wanted to fill with the thick crinkly texture of perle cotton.


I'm so, so thankful I was trusted with these amazing prints. They were such a joy to work with. It's so satisfying when a spark of an idea is met with the perfect execution. And even more rewarding when all that time, and doubt, and making sure, and mulling over pays off with exactly what I hoped for.

22 comments:

  1. What a beautiful quilt - such a thrill to be given a bundle to bring your dream to life too. You certainly did it justice. This will be a real heirloom piece.

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  2. Jodi, this is absolutely STUNNING!! Well done!!!!

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  3. I love it. Gorgeous! What size bundle did you need for this size quilt?

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  4. Beyond gorgeous, both in design and execution! LOVE.

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  5. Absolutely gorgeous quilt! It really does have that fair isle knitted sweater look. And I just adore your row of "knitted" hearts!

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  6. Absolutely lovely. A very different quilt and so worth all your planning and effort. As a hand quilting with Perle fan I love your quilting too.

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  7. It is fantastic! What a great choice of fabrics - they really set off the design beautifully!

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  8. Hi Jodi! This is gorgeus quilt! I love your colourful quilts and I have always loved (and made some) fair isle knittings! So perfect idea and really beautiful quilt! Thank you for inspiration! x Teje

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  9. Wow, this is gorgeous! And your "plain" rows are anything but.

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  10. You couldn't have picked a better line of fabric for this quilt! It is amazing! Your pictures are beautiful (as always)! Hand quilting is something I still haven't tried. All in all...you have inspired me with this beauty!! Congrats!

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  11. Gorgeous quilt! These colors work so well together and your design is amazing. Well done!

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  12. Absolutely gorgeous quilt, and lovely fabrics! Just perfect!

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  13. It's an amazing quilt! I was so curious how this was going to turn out when I saw your progress shots and I am in awe!

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  14. You certainly have an eye for color! What a stunning quilt! You made your design just sing with the color combinations chosen. Any chance of a pattern forthcoming?

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  15. It's stunning, and those Loominous fabrics really do the pattern justice.

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  16. Yes! To all that hand quilting, I'm so pleased you did a close up of it ... it really adds to the knitted sock look and texture :)

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  17. This quilt is breathtaking! It looks totally different when it's far away and different at closer look, which is a great advantage of it (because you have two quilts in one:). I love every detail of it!

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  18. Just lovely! Will there be a pattern or more detailed notes? This is a great inspiration for the Loominous bundle waiting in my stash.

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  19. Wow. You, lady, are amazing. This is the most beautiful and interesting quilt I've seen in a long time. I just want to reach through the computer screen and snuggle up in it.

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  20. This is an absolutely beautiful quilt and is the sole reason I decided to pick up a Loominous bundle! Hoping I can make something even half this good. :)

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  21. I love, love, love this quilt!! Beautiful!!
    Please create a pattern that you can share!!

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I so love your comments! I read all of them and reply when I can. If you don't hear back, I'm lost under a mound of scraps or outside jumping on the trampoline with the kids. Jodi. xx