Thursday, March 03, 2016

Throwback Thursday {Volume 8}

Welcome to Throwback Thursday @ A Quarter Inch from the Edge! Each month, we share tales of our quilty pasts.
As for my offering this month, hold on to your hats, people. there's batiks. And lots of them!
Rhythm of the Sea from McKenna Ryan, entirely in batiks. It all started when I made Saltwater Symphony as an anniversary present for Himself in July 2005. It's the lower block in this pic and features a crab. Himself is a crabologist, so we likely have more crab-themed items in our home than your average family.
I purchased the patterns and a fabric kit (for the entire quilt!) from the (now long gone) Harbour Quilt Company in Antigonish. It was the most money I'd ever spent on a quilt all at once... and it was 50% off!

Each piece is backed with fusible web and ironed into place. Many, like this octopus, have layer upon layer of fabric pieces.
This was one of the first quilts that I quilted on my (no longer) new Pfaff Quilt Expression 4.0. Each and every wee bit of fabric is outlined in FMQ to hold it in place. And I did a little bit of playing with thread to create textures. If I were to do this quilt now, there'd be a whole lot more of that texture. But at the time, I think I just wanted to get it finished!
 Love these wild roses and lupins, traditional Nova Scotia flowers.
Flanking this quilt in my living room are the chairs where DT have had their bottles pretty much their entire lives. We used to be convinced that BT would stare at this block, likely the only one with enough contrast to be visible to him in early days! I look forward to them learning the names of all the creatures of sea and air in this one, even those dirty old shags that photobombed this orca pic. Or cormorants as the rest of the world calls them.

I love many of McKenna Ryan's patterns, but I think this is the only one I will ever make. They cry out for the depth and texture of batiks. Not my thing anymore.

Now it's your turn! Link up a blog post about a project from your dark quilty past. This month, we have a 25$ gift certificate from Dinkydoo Modern Fabrics.
If you're a fan of modern fabrics and pre-cuts, this on-line shop is for you! How to win? There are three ways.

  1. Link-up a blog post telling all about a quilt from your past. Don't forget to link to A Quarter Inch from the Edge in your post or grab the Throwback Thursday button for your sidebar.
  2. Leave a comment on this post telling me about a style of fabric you used to love, but just can't do anymore. 
  3. And a bonus for followers of A Quarter Inch from the Edge. Just leave a comment saying how you follow. 
The giveaway is open to International participants until Sunday, February 10th at 11:59 Atlantic Time.


Hope to see you back on Sunday, March 13th when I'll be hosting Sunday Stash for the incomparable, Molli Sparkles. And perhaps again on Friday, March 18th when I host TGIFF. And of course, for TBT {Volume 9} on Thursday, April 7th!

J

37 comments:

  1. I have always wanted to do a McKenna Ryan, but all that appliqué...cutting of teenie-tiny pieces makes me twitch. This is just so rich and so well done Jenn, even though I get that you'd add FMQ to it. However, it is just beautiful the way it is and I can totally see why BT would stare at it. I have a Santa's sleigh one to do...

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  2. I knew as soon as I saw the quilt it was a McKenna pattern. You can't miss her quilt patterns. Love the quilt, you did an amazing job on it.

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  3. Absolutely stunning, Jenn! Over the top! I'm sad that Harbor Quilts is gone. Antigonish is no longer one of my desired destinations anymore. I used to like to work small, tiny, even, but I just can't work up the enthusiasm anymore. XO

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  4. So much work and love put into that, even if it's not your thing anymore! I follow on feedly. Thanks for sharing.

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  5. Beautiful. I can see why you would not want to make another one (what work!) but it does not take away anything from its beauty!

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  6. I commented on your quilt, but now that I've read the details about the giveaway... used to be a fan of civil war repro, but don't use anymore.

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  7. ... and I officially follow you on Bloglovin, though I usually just click on the link to your blog on my own blog or our MMQG blog.

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  8. Thanks for sharing your quilts and the closeup photos. I'm with you with "used to like batiks for landscape quilts", but now I don't due to the prevalence of "muddy colours).

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  9. I follow you by getting your blog posts emailed. Very glad I do!

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  10. Not here to enter the giveaway and no throwback to share. Just... wow!

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  11. I'm following and like you these patterns are great but time consuming so I'm glad I have newer interests. Nice quilt!

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  12. I cannot do calicoes and even a lot of patterned prints. I do like bali's, tone on tones, hand dyes and solids.

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  13. I follow you by email! What a beautiful quilt you made and even though your tastes have changed, it still is a wonderful quilt.

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  14. FOLLOW BY GMAIL!
    msstitcher1214@gmail.com

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  15. HI,used to like yellows,now rarely use them! Thanks for a neat giveaway! msstitcher1214@gmail.com

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  16. One of my first quilts was a McKenna Ryan. I was also learning to sew, at the time, and her pattern taught me a lot. It definitely made me more comfortable with my machine.

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  17. I know batiks get a bad rap these days, but you just can't beat them for art quilts and landscapes--or in this case, seascapes. I haven't really met a fabric I don't like in some way, but if I had to choose, I'd say cutesy little calicos. And yes, I still have some in my stash, weighing me down. Getting ready to donate them to an upcycle group for art projects. Someone else will probably find a genius new way to use them and make them modern.

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  18. Oh, and I follow you on Bloglovin'.

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  19. I follow you on my blogroll.
    sewpreetiquilts@gmail.com

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  20. I don't like dull colors, never have. Civil War fabrics are not my favorite. They never were.
    sewpreetiquilts@gmail.com

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  21. I missed Throwback Thursday today, but how fun seeing this! Batiks have come a long way in the years since I first started to quilt! Your quilt is wonderful! There will always be things you would do differently on older quilts, we all feel that way! I out grew batiks and civil war reproductions, oh and feedsack....but I think they are all worth revisiting at a later time!

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  22. I love that piece. You did a great job. Good way for DT to learn animals.

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  23. I used to put unbleached cotton on the back of quilts -- that's what I was taught to do. No more!! Good thing I only stitched in the ditch back then.

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  24. I am with you on the batiks. I tried making a quilt a few months back, it didn't turn out, so I will use it for an applique project someday.

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  25. I follow you through e-mail.

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  26. Such a fun wallhanging and so much for DT to look at! I'm partial to the octopus, but the orcas are nice too! :)

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  27. What a great idea!!! I'm so over precuts. I'm trying to use up what I have and stop buying them. Follow you on Bloglovin:-)

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  28. Wow! What an incredible piece! Of course I am drawn to all of the animals. This quilt is so worthy of hanging in a place of honour!

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  29. The detail in your quilt is amazing! I've grabbed the Throwback Thursday badge and am following you in my blogroll, as I don't want to miss any! lol Thank you for hosting this, it's a lot of fun.

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  30. Well, I've only been quilting for about 6 years, so there isn't much that I 'used' to use that I don't anymore! BTW your quilt is lovely.

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  31. I follow you on bloglovin'.

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  32. Florals are probably the fabrics i use the least. When i started quilting 20+ years ago there were mostly florals available, so i got my fill of them then.

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  33. What a lot of work and so well done! Although I don't use my batik collection anymore, I still like to see them in action.

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  34. and...I happily follow you via BL and GFC

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