I thought I'd do a quick blog about my latest quilt, "Glimpses" this week. I just finished the top this morning, and my scrappy backing is in progress, awaiting a couple more yards of fabric.
The fabric is a from a collection named "Shimmer & Shine" by Kanvas Studios, manufactured by Benartex. The collection is "enhanced with pearlescent" as their website says, so it has just a hint of shimmer to it. I'm usually not a big yellow or floral gal, but this collection absolutely called my name. There's 26 different prints in the collection, and I'm using 6 of them (plus a few Kona solids) in my quilt top.
The prints are pretty big - 5 to 8 inches across the diameter of the flower, and because it's so big I knew I wanted to showcase the prints. I'm not a huge fan of fussy-cutting, so having a nice, big block would be necessary in my design. There are lots of great bigger block designers out there . I first started looking at Nancy Zieman's huge portfolio. Tons of great patterns and ideas on her site. Then I found Amy Smart, and her pattern Chain Link. It was perfect! I love the linear look; it's very modern, and there was a focal block to showcase the prints nicely. The only down side was those squares were only 5 inches wide, and I needed at least 8. Bummer!
That's okay though! I knew where I wanted to start and I have EQ8, so all I had to do was a little math. I downloaded the swatches from the Benartex website, and started designing with my inspiration in mind. My design isn't exactly like Amy's Chain Link pattern. Mine has broken or half blocks on each row and I added a border. (But seriously, go check out Amy's page; she has A LOT to offer.) And has an added bonus, having just purchased the AccuQuilt system, I decided this would be a good excuse to use that as well. So all the pieces were cut using two AccuQuilt dies; the 8.5 inch square and the 2.5 inch strip die. Here's my EQ8 pattern to the left.
I'm very pleased with how my pattern turned out. It's 83" by 92" - I call it an oversized throw. And I can't wait to get this on the longarm. I'll post the finished product in my gallery. Until then, here's a view of the entire top.
Thanks for stopping by my Quilt Lab! I have several experiments already brewing including two store sample and a scrappy string quilt. Back to the lab!
Cynthia
P.S. Here's a list of websites for the above mention names and products. Please note that I do not receive any sponsorship from them; I just thought you'd like to know. Enjoy!
Benartex Fabrics - search for "Shimmer & Shine" under the Kanvas Studio tab
Nancy Zieman
Amy Smart - search for her pattern "Chain Links" under Downloadable Patterns
AccuQuilt