Blogger's Quilt Festival... Proverbial Sunshine!

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Name:  Proverbial Sunshine

Design:  Proverbial Quilt, Denise Schmidt

Size:  75" by 78"

Fabric:  Scrappy yellow and grey, with Wild Carrot in Straw, Madrona Road, Violet Craft for Michael Miller.  Bound with Haystack in Graphite from the same line.

Quilted: by me with Aurifil 50 wt in white

I started making this quilt last summer as part of a quilt along with Krista from Poppyprint making use of Denyse Schmidt's Proverbial Quilt pattern.  I had to think of something to say on a quilt.  It didn't take me very long to figure it out as this has long been something I sing... just because.  I knew it had to be in yellows and greys.  That just made sense. I wanted the letters to be scrappy grey and the background to be a mixture of yellows.  I added in some special yellow prints like the Seed Catalogue fabric, some with clocks and there are even some yellow prints with fleur de lis. My husband is French Canadian, a farmer and has a special interest in the big ideas around time and this one is for him.  I knew that the Wild Carrot print in straw from Madrona Road would be perfect to add into the quilt and that the Haystack in graphite would be the perfect binding.  I just had to make all the words.  So I did.  I worked away at it one word or phrase at a time.  I sang a lot.  How could you not? Then I had a quilt top!   I love it.  I backed it with a vintage sheet with faded yellow daisies.  But when I took pictures of the quilt just the other day, I forgot to take a picture of the back so you are going to see one I took when I finished the quilt with some snow on the ground back in December.  

 The quilting was a bit of a puzzle because I could not decide what to do about the words.  I ended up leaving them alone.  I quilted the sashing in straight horizontal quilting, about an inch apart in Aurifil 50 wt in white.  I waited to do the rest until I opened my Christmas book wish, Angela Walter's book on free motion quilting.  I used the u-turn quilting leading up to words and between words.  The quilting is quite dense in these u-turns and adds a great texture to the quilt.  I will say that the u-turns are not perfect but I really like the look. 

and the back with snow from last December when I finished the quilt....

  I made it for my husband and it brings with it sunshine, love and song.  Proverbial Sunshine.  And a perfect choice for me to enter in the Blogger's Quilt Festival.  It feels good.  Did you sing along?  Linking up with Amy for the Blogger's Quilt Festival Spring 2013.