Okay, not really. But, we just watched Episode IV of Star Wars with our ten-year-old for the first time, and this quilt did originate a long time ago in a neighborhood far away...so...
When Kate Spain's Grand Canal line came out, I had to have some. I ended up buying a yard of the blue canal fabric, along with a layer cake. I've been slowly using the yardage, and I love it so much. After my husband and I went to Italy five years ago to celebrate our ten-year anniversary, I've been a little obsessed with sewing travel-inspired quilts, and I really wanted to make a Venice quilt to commemorate our time there. I also am still working on my Patchwork City Sampler which I'm doing with travel-themed fabrics, and I have another Italy-inspired quilt waiting to be quilted. Plus, that quilt I had published in Modern Patchwork was inspired by our brief time in Siena. So, yeah. Kinda obsessed.
Nevertheless, I love how this quilt turned out. I bought the Wallflowers pattern by Cluck Cluck Sew specifically to use with these fabrics. I have the Shimmer pattern already, and it's nearly identical. The only difference is the added corners in the Shimmer quilt, and the sashing. And the blocks are a different size. I emailed Allison and asked about the size difference in the blocks, to see if the Wallflower quilt would be a better fit for the amazing fabric, and she kindly emailed back! I'm sure she knew it was kind, but risky, as I could easily do the math from the pattern I already had to duplicate the quilt. Of course, I bought it, though. It's only fair. Be fair and honest to pattern writers, they do amazing work!
Okay, end of soapbox.
I loved picking fabrics to go with the Grand Canal fabric. I had all of the fabrics I used already in my stash, which was really helpful because when I finally got around to sewing it, I was on a fabric diet. We were building a new home, and I decided to cut my fabric spending. I did pretty well, too, and only bought fabric I needed to finish projects, like backings. And just a couple prints I couldn't live without. ;-)
One of my favorite additions is the umbrella fabric from the Charleston line from Art Gallery Fabric. It rained on us quite a bit while we were in Venice, so that's a fun tribute piece. And the geometric ones, of course, are reminiscent of the mosaics everywhere.These blocks really are fun to sew. I love Cluck Cluck Sew patterns because they're always well-written and they're not difficult.
This one is a beauty Becca!. Thank goodness we have a stash to fall back on in these worrying times.
ReplyDeleteI guess your London trip was cancelled? Don't worry, it will still be there when this is all over
stay safe xxx
Thank you! And so much yes on the stash! I'm currently plowing through a bed quilt for a twin which was probably a bad choice of pattern...it has over 2,000 pieces. whoops! But finishing it during this quarantine time shouldn't be a problem, haha. And yes on the cancelled trip, I'm heartbroken. One twin keeps asking when we are going, and then says sternly that we forgot to go to London before the virus. I'm hoping for the fall, but we'll see. We've got nearly all our payments refunded now...waiting on our Lion King tickets, but I just got the confirmation that they're shutting down the theater for a month on so and that refunds are slowly on their way.
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