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Tuesday, December 1, 2015

Tumble



Some quilts are just meant to be.

I picked out the fabrics I used in this quilt with the intention of making a pillow for the Pillow Talk Swap on Instagram. One sunny Saturday afternoon I took the stack of fabric near a bright window to snap a picture with my phone. My husband always makes fun of the people who include their toes and/or shoes in pictures, so noticing that the shoes I was wearing actually matched the fabric, I smirked and included them in the shot just for him.

It was fate.


I really love these shoes, but, truthfully, they are a little big on me. The next day we went for a Sunday walk and in the midst of a lovely visit on a perfect fall day, my right foot stepped off the sidewalk and onto the grass. It was the smallest of missteps and disaster didn't strike until I tried to regain my balance with the bulk of my weight on the opposite foot. That's when my foot slid around in my too-big shoes, was sprained pretty badly, and I ended up as a heap on the sidewalk.

Ouch.

In less than a second, I was surrounded by my husband and children. They were so concerned! My bleeding hands were examined. My back was patted. My pants were brushed off. Tears were shed on my behalf. The boys took turns walking their scooters next to me as I limped home. My daughter heard me tell my husband that my hands were on fire and kept pressing her cool fingers against my scratched palms to make sure I was okay. Once we got home, Daddy was carefully supervised while he helped me lay down on the couch with my foot propped up. My boys brought over the glass of water that I swallowed the Tylenol with. I closed my eyes and tried to rest.

That SO wasn't happening. I didn't have my eyes closed for 30 seconds before the first child sidled up to me and asked, "So what's for dinner?" Within the space of 5 minutes, all three of them had found a time to individually approach the couch to wonder about my dinner plans. The questioning may have been a little jarring and a bit inappropriate at that particular time, but I do get a kick out of my three little foodies. I love making bread and recently have discovered Peter Reinhart's Artisan Breads Every Day. We've been systematically working our way through his recipes and the kids have been loving every minute of it. My seven year old was surprised when no one at his lunch table was as excited as he was that I'd packed a Nutella sandwich on brioche for his lunch. Just yesterday I was reading a book with some Spanish vocabulary in it to my little girl. I asked her if she remembered what the Spanish word for 'hi' was and she emphatically answered, "CHALLAH!" I didn't correct her. I think pie is pretty universal for hospitality and challah definitely counts as hello....at least in my world.

So, with this experience fresh in my mind, I went back to the fabrics I had originally chosen and started thinking. What I finally decided on was that my fabric choices were very gentle and soothing. I thought it would be fun to add two more colors to work as the jarring, insistent question in that sea of quiet solicitation. I chose the hot pink and turquoise because I knew that they would vibrate next to each other. I used this combination as the center of every log cabin block that I constructed. I love how all the differently shaped centers help to create movement and make the name "Tumble" work for more reasons than just my embarrassing fall.

I made log cabin units in sizes that would be easy to tile together. The smallest blocks are 2.5" x 2.5," and the largest are 6.5" x 8.5."

Somewhere in the middle of piecing the 20" square I decided that my Pillow Talk partner wouldn't be receiving this as a pillow. I also decided to enlarge it to the 35" x 35" it is right now. I matchstick quilted this with Aurifil #1246 (grey). I also used the super-thin Quilter's Dream Request batting.

I took the quilt to the local recycling center with the awesome concrete walls (and convenient protruding bolts) for the pictures. I thought it seemed fitting for the quilt that became something different twice in its life. I also took a picture of it with the shoes that I love/hate because they seem to be cosmically linked. The coordinating socks were a happy accident.







Don't worry about my swap partner, either! I went back to her IG wall and found a picture of a cashmere scarf that she loved. Fully intending to purchase it, but waiting for it to drop lower in price, she ended up missing out. This pillow was inspired by the scarf she loved and does not own.


I'd like to end by sharing that my "Heading West" quilt won the Original Design category in the Blogger's Quilt Festival a few weeks ago and that "Finding Jade" was nominated for a Viewer's Choice award. For those of you that took the time to nominate/vote for these quilts, you have my heartfelt thanks. It truly means a lot.

Linking up to Finish it Up Friday at Crazy Mom Quilts.

46 comments:

  1. Love the addition of the vibrating colors! I'm trying to get more savvy about that and not always have a 'calm' quilt. Your quilt is just fantastic! Congrats on your win and your nomination. You definitely had my vote.:)

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    1. Thanks, Audrey! I'll be honest and admit that I had never heard of vibrating colors before until I went to a workshop taught by Jacquie Gering. She told me that the colors I was working with (it was the beginnings of Finding Jade) were vibrating. I nodded and smiled like I knew what she was talking about, then went home to look it up! ☺

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  2. Oh you make me laugh everytime~"what's for dinner?". Kids~you HAVE to love them, right? Your quilt looks beautiful and I hope you're feeling better :)

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    1. Thanks, Diana! I had an awfully sore foot for a day or two, but I think it was my pride that took a bigger hit! I did feed those darling little wretches too!

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  3. Awesome shoes! The quilt isn't so bad either! Who knew that turquoise and hot pink could work so well with all these other colors? Glad that ankle is feeling good enough to quilt. Congrats on your other quilts, pat yourself on the back.

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    1. Thank you, Brandie! I am wearing the she's right now, so I guess I'm not holding a grudge! My favorite outfit from back in the day was my turquoise henley and hot pink overalls, but that might not be much of a recommendation! ☺

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  4. Great post, great quilt, great kids!

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    1. Thanks, Heidi! I love sharing stories and making things, but I am most proud of those kids.

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  5. Thank you thank you thank you for the lovely story. I can just see the foodies forgetting all about the foot when there's a possibility of fresh bread in their future. It would have been the same at my house. I might need that book...

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    1. Thanks Lisa. You definitely need that book. I've checked it out, renewed it and put it on my Christmas list. He's a big believer in long, slow (the recipes aren't loaded with so much yeast that the bread tastes "off"), cold rising in the fridge. It makes bread so much more convenient!

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  6. Your shoes and that quilt were just made to be together.

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    1. Clearly they are both a product of the same mind! I promise, though, that the rest of my life isn't so matchy-matchy!!

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  7. Such lovely colours! Your projects are always so beautiful!

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    1. Thank you Lisa! ❤❤❤ I have been clearing out some of my fabric and took a long look at a piece from Innocent Crush by Anna Maria Horner. It got me thinking about putting slate and gold and brick red together!

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  8. Great kids - bread definitely comes first! And I want your shoes (though my husband has started telling me my footwear is 'age-inappropriate). I love the way you work with colours; the addition of the pink and turquoise really adds to the rest and I love the way my eye bounces from them to that dirty ochre-y shade.

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    1. age-inappropriate footwear ~ hahaha

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    2. Kaja, I fully intend to be age-inappropriate for the rest of my life!! And, you can't have my shoes. I stole them from my husband first!! (Thus the slight slop factor.) I am totally serious about doing your print challenge, too. Ever since I committed yesterday, I've felt nervous and edgy. It's good not to get too comfortable!

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  9. Sorry about your fall, but you really did end up with a gorgeous quilt! Those bright turquoise middles are just the thing...the whole quilt just speaks to me and I love it!

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    1. Thanks, Frankie! If you could see my jewelry box, you would not be surprised by the turquoise AT ALL.

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  10. I will have to look up the whole vibrating colors thing, as I know nothing about that - but I can say with certainty that everything you make SINGS!!!! Beautiful colors and designs, brought more fully to life with your wonderful stories, and this quilt is no exception. I love it!! (that's a lot of pieces in a 36" square!)
    ah, kids! My children's births were spread out over 22 years, so I still have youngin's, even though I've been a momma for 28 years. I gotta say, I am SO tired of the "what's for ___________" question. It causes a stressful feeling to rise in my chest whether I have an answer or not (but more when I don't ;-)
    Congrats on the (well deserved) win and nomination in the BQF!! :-)
    ~ Tracy

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    1. Thanks, Tracy! It was a lot of pieces. I kept looking at the design wall and wondering how many more dang log cabins I'd have to make. I do love them, but I may need a teensy break after two quilts worth. As for dinner, you have no idea how often I say "food." If pressed, it becomes "delicious food." That last one, with a significant look, can usually buy me about 10 minutes.

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  11. I enjoyed every bit of this post. I love the quilt, the story, the shoes, the added sizzle of turquoise and pink, the challa and Nutella, and the final pillow

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    1. Thank you! I wondered about whether I should write the challah part, but I thought just a little baking wouldn't be too weird on the PIE Lady blog!

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  12. I think you might be the only person I know who would take a sprained ankle and turn it into this beauty! :D I love those shots of aqua which seem to lift the whole thing up.
    And the pillow you made for your partner? Holy crap gorgeous.

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    1. Thanks, Anne! Inspiration is everywhere, right? ;-) The pillow was so much fun to make! It is always fun to be partnered with someone who shares part of his/her life on IG. I'm not so good at that...probably because I'm too busy oversharing here!!

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  13. I love the colour scheme of your quilt. And the photo shoot as well ;-). The design of the pillow is really interesting.

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    1. Thanks Sophie. I really enjoyed working with that palette of deep, rich colors. I was really happy with that concrete wall at the recycling center. I will definitely use that again sometime!

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  14. What a gorgeous quilt! Loving its quilting, and the pillow, too!

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    1. Thank you, Denise! I picked up the thread for another project thinking that I'd found the perfect shade of a deep slate blue. No one was more surprised than I when I went to reorder by the number and found that it was grey. I ordered a cone of it last week!!!

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  15. Oh that quilt is just stunning! What a gorgeous colour combination, they really zing!

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    1. Thank you, Carie! There are so many shot cottons in the quilt and the colors in that line never, ever disappoint. Kaffe Fassett is a color master, that's for sure.

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  16. Your quilt is just stunning! I love the design, the colors, and the quilting, just beautiful!

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    1. Thanks, Cheryl! Log cabins and I are going to be on a little break from each other after this, though. I sketched out a new quilt yesterday and realized that I'd have to make and trim about 250 flying geese units....maybe I'll long for the log cabin after all!

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  18. You have such a great way with color and with improv piecing. I really like Tumble, as well as Finding Jade and Heading West, and the pillow for your swap partner.

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    1. Thank you, Ben! I'm working on a piece now with a tropical rainbow of color. It's much different from what I normally do, but so fun! Thanks again for a lovely comment!

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  19. oo very great quilt..I love your style:)

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    1. Thank you. I submitted this one to Quiltcon, so I hope you think this thought so hard the jury hears you!!

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  20. I was wondering to myself how I missed this post and realize now that I was on vacation but let's just say I really like your quilt and enjoyed your narrative. Assume you are all a-ok by now! Also love that pillow!! All in all I just like what you do! ;-)
    p.s. did the quilt make it to QC?

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    1. Ha ha! Yes, I am well recovered and a bit more cautious...both of which are wonderful traits to help survive winter. Thanks for the lovely words, they help as all of my Quiltcon entries were turned down. Hopefully it turns out to be a positive for me since I've spent the last few weeks researching other show. Onward and upward, right?

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  21. So like your Tumble quilt. Seems like it is important to keep centers same color? It brings unity and pleases the eye. I want to try it. Right now, working on your free form birds; about to quilt it but cannot decide. Did you just quilt side to side with straight lines or curves, cannot see in your picture. I can send you a pic via instagram, if you tell me #. I am "phatquarter." thanks, fran

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    1. Thank you, Fran. I love doing log cabin quilts! Before I begin, I set a few guidelines for myself. For this quilt, I decided to keep the centers the same color and vary the size. I like the rhythm. For Red Letter Day, I did side to side quilting with straight lines. On Instagram I am pieladyquilts.

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  22. Hi Jill! I saw your quilt yesterday at the Iowa State Fair- last day. I think it was this one called Tumble. Do you have a pattern? My cousins husband loved it and I'd like to give it a try. Thank you

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    1. Hi Anne! I'm glad that you enjoyed the quilt and the fair. It is a yearly highlight for our family! I do not have a pattern for Tumble but it wouldn't cost you more than a sheet of paper to give it a try. I sketched one out with each box representing a 2" finished square (2.5" unfinished). For instance if you made 2x2 boxes, that means that the log cabin block would finish at 4" (4.5" unfinished). The real fun is in the variation of the block sizes, but it would still be very interesting with every block being the same measurement. Have fun! 😃

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