The Jewel-Bright Sampler Quilt

For this Sampler quilt, the theme was predominantly reds and greens in jewel-bright colours. There are fifteen blocks set on point and joined with sashings and posts. The triangle in-fills round the edge are a Turkey red print, a repro fabric I bought for another project which I never got round to.

The quilt was put together and quilted by my friend, Debbie, who is a whizz at machine-quilting large quilts. Using nothing more technically sophisticated than her domestic sewing machine, she quilts each individual block to suit the pattern. I Like this way of machine quilting much better than the 'all-over' patterns you get when you send the quilt for long-arm quilting, which to my eye results in a rather deadening effect on the surface and detracts from the individuality of the quilt.

Sampler Quilts

2006 began as usual - with deadlines! However things looked up considerably when the proofs of The Quilter's and Patchworker's Colour Mixing Bible were checked and dispatched. But then that felt a bit odd as I'd been on deadlines more or less continuously for four years.Freedom is elating - then you have to consider what to do with it. A cold, hard look at the workroom provided some clues: there were boxes containing over 300 patchwork blocks, returned from the publishers when various books were finished. Too good to waste and I was too mean to give them away, even if anyone had wanted them. Trying not to dwell on the investment of time and money they represented, I decided on a practical solution: Sampler Quilts.This turned out to be a much more interesting exercise than I could possibly have imagined. This one is an assortment of blocks made for the Saturated colours section of The Quilter's and Patchworker's Colour Mixing Bible. The sashing fabric, mixed bright colours on a black background, echoes the colours but is dark enough to add a litle drama to the effect.