Thursday, May 31, 2007

Bright Quilts in a Dark Room

I've finally got pictures for you of my latest finished quilts. Here's Hot Crazy Love. The L-O-V-E blocks were fashioned in the same manner as Crazy Love in my last post. It measures something like 35" x 36".

One of the fabrics (I suspect that hand-dyed border fabric) bled like crazy in the wash. Since Iwashed it in the sink I was able to add additional dye-catching sheets so there isn't any discoloration on the quilt. That I've noticed.

And here's Fruit Punch, measuring something like 21" x 20":

I love how both these quilts turned out. No contrast problems here.

Both the quilts are now hanging up in the back guest bedroom, which gets some light in the morning, but not a lot. These certainly brighten up the place, and look Terms of Endearment has a place as well. I put all the bright orange/red/yellow quilts where my husband can't see them - he's not a fan of these colors. Look up in the corner - you can see a bit of the gorgeous molding in this room.

Hot Crazy is hanging to the right of the wardrobe you saw in the last picture. On the right are my fabric shelves, which are covered by a gorgous handwoven piece (tablecloth? bedspread?) I bought in Egypt. And through the door into the hallway you can sneak a peak of my Citrus String Star. I still haven't gotten a good photo of that quilt yet.

Over the last week I've been rereading the first two books of Greg Keyes' Kingdom of Thorn and Bone series and today I finished reading the third, The Blood Knight. I can highly recommend them to fellow lovers of fantasy fiction. As a warning tho, don't take the first chapter of The Briar King too seriously. Seems like a goofy Viking book and you might be tempted to toss it, but that's just the prologue and the rest of the action takes place in another 2,000 years. As I said, I love these books. They go along well with George R.R. Martin, Robin Hobb, and Tad Williams.

I haven't touched my quilting project in over a week, not since dousing the couch in anti-cat-wee formula. The sofa is where I sit to quilt, but I'm not going over there until the smell abates. My husband doesn't notice it at all, but I keep getting more and more sensitive to chemicals. Additionally, I've started cutting strips of Amish fabric, so maybe one of these days I won't have an excuse not to sit down and sew.

18 comments:

Quilts And Pieces said...

I LOVE Hot Crazy Love! And I"m not even a love type person! But the colors and border on that one just really jump out at me! and I love the way you did the fans on that one!

But I"m dying to see your Citrus String Star quilt! I love what I can see, but I really like the idea of those brights and the string stars!

Fiona said...

It sounds bizarre, but one of the things I really like is that the sashing and cornerposts aren't uniform sizes either, it adds so much interest to the work.

Unknown said...

I just love the way the letters kind of appear and disappear in Hot Crazy Love. It's just a sensational concept.

Dianne said...

Absolutely gorgeous, Tonya. Those colors seem to light up the place. I think you're giving me good reasons to make something in a "reasonable" size, instead of always working on such huge quilts!

Deni said...

I just love your stuff!!!! I love the colors the most. For some reason I lean toward the "Thimbleberries" look and colors all of the time. WHY DO I DO THAT? I drive myself crazy! Anyway, keep up the fantastic work. I am glad you are settled in and back online...

Holly said...

LOVE the string stars! Your place looks like home now with all the quilts up on the walls.

Hedgehog said...

Gorgeous - and lively!!

I agree with Dianne - I need to think smaller for a few projects in order to try more things outside my comfort zone. Your work is always good inspiration!!

Tanya said...

Your quilts are so inpiring! I want to have each one in my home!

I "loved" the post about the cat problem. It is an unmentionable but I've been tempted to vent my frustrations with my cats on my blog! The non-cat lovers would no doubt think "why do you keep them at all if they cause so many headaches." Somehow feline love covers all frustrations.

Duyvken said...

just deivine, Tonya. The purple border on Hot Crazy Love works so well with the piecing. And I really like the look of bound borderless quilts so Fruit punch is right up my alley. Your guest room looks lovely and inviting, and how wonderful you have a space where you can hang the quilts your husband doesn't want to look at.

Clare said...

My all time favourite quilt! Roll on September when I can see them for real! The quilting on Hot Crazy Love is fantastique.

Joyce said...

i love the contrast between the wonky bright quilts and the formality of the room. They really do brighten it up.

Ann said...

Hi Tanya! I'm trying to catch up with some of my favorite bloggers. I always love your projects with the letters. I've only used them in one project and want to do more..and I will soon! I love your sting quilt and can't wait to see a better picture of it.

Runner Gurl said...

OMGosh! These quilts are FABULOUS!!!
: )
Gail

Finn said...

Hey Ton, how great to see more of your quilts(including stored ones) on the walls in Paris! You know I love your colors and quilts, but I have to say, I'm so stuck today by the varying widths of the arcs in your Hot Crazy Love. I'm not sure if I didn't enlarge the pic before, but I L.O.V. E. the variation on the widths! And same with the X's and O's one...one block in particular where you "boxed" the square..really grabbed me today! Great choices of where you put the lines of stitches..*VBS* Only another hand quilter, right...LOL Hugs, Finn

whose sinus headache seems to have abated, and the steroids are helping the cough..thanks! (Ebby's still in her 'secret' lair)

Magpie Sue said...

Have you read any Patricia McKillip? I'm not familiar with the authors you've mentioned so I can't tell whether she writes what you'd like or not but I love her work. I'm also reading Dennis L. McKiernan's "Once Upon A Winter's Night," "...Summer's Day," etc.

I'd like to echo the comment above about how nice it is for you to have a room where you can hang the more colorful quilts that you're husband isn't as fond of :- )

atet said...

I do love your two recent finishes. Those colors just sing! Now you're inspiring me to get back to my own bright orange/pink/yellow combo quilt. Soon. Need to put away the quilting "studio" (known as my dining table) for company tomorrow -- then set it back up on Sunday!

YankeeQuilter said...

I love how these all look together! The apartment looks wonderful.

Lily Mulholland said...

Tonya I am 'loving' the triple lines on the fans on hot crazy love!!! What a great idea - they add so much texture to the whole thing and they match the heavy outline (that's probably not quite right) quilting you've done on the letters.

This quilt turned out beautifully - I haven't forgotten about this quilt and hope to do something similar one of these days :)