Home. Homespun. Yes, count me in. I love being home; I’m probably too much of a homebody at times. But it is the space I enjoy with the people I love best, so HOME, yes. Always.
When this pattern, Homespun, was published by Morgan at http://www.modernlymorgan.com, I knew exactly which fat quarter bundle I would use from my collection. I also knew that a bit of fussy cutting would be thrown in, so I got to work. This pattern comes in three sizes: baby, small throw, and large throw. I made the large throw, which measures at 64″ x 80″.
Bright on Bright
I used my stash of Alison Glass Fabric, the Trinket collection. It’s bright on bright, which I believed would be a fun spiral of color in this particular pattern. I also switched from my favorite bleached white background to a denim blue by Art Gallery Fabrics and that was a good decision. I rarely do it, but I’ve not been disappointed when I shift to dark backgrounds. There is so much color in the piecing, the denim blue anchors it all.
Priorities
At the time I started this quilt, I was testing patterns for three other designers, so my personal projects were last on the list. I always meet my deadlines and knew I had to finish the quilts that were pending my written edits and sewing; this one had to wait. I had set out the Homespun pieces on a large foam-core board so that I could eventually lay-out each individual block and ensure the direction of the fussy-cut centers. I almost feel that “meticulous” cut is a better description; maybe we should start calling it that instead of “fussy”. But there it sat, in various stages of completion while I worked on the testing deadlines. It was never far from sight, but it was also 4th on the list of studio work to be done. And you know what happened? Two years passed. TWO years. I worked on other things, this one never far from my machine. Embarrassing? Yes, a little. However, in that time my skills had improved and this went together so quickly once I restarted.
The bees. How stinking cute are the bees? I had used this Art Gallery Fabric in another quilt and could not get enough of the bees. I bought more & more and then sort of hoarded it. I HAD to have these as the centers of these Homespun blocks. While I didn’t spend an exorbitant amount of time thinking about the layout of the other colors, I did spend a lot of time ensuring all the bees were in the right places, directionally correct. Then it was a matter of chain-piecing until it was done.
Fast forward to 2023
It’s now 2023, 28 months since the first cut was made. I had a trip to Utah on my calendar and was intent on bringing this along. I got it finished and packed up. I bring quilt tops in my carry-on bag; never trusting all that work to cargo, that’s for sure. This was day three of our trip and elevation sickness found its way into my life the night before this photo was taken. Goodness. Wow. Ugh! It didn’t occur to me right away what the culprit might be. I underestimated the toll on my body from a day of travel, a day of hiking and then adjusting to 7K+ feet shift in elevation. I recommend giving yourself some time to acclimate. Lesson learned! I’d already had a sneak peak of Bryce Canyon the night before and there was NO WAY I was skipping this adventure. No way I was quitting; I was hiking that canyon, nauseous or not and if it took me all day, I was going to do it. My husband’s patience was a godsend. It was hot and so steep; we stopped often for me to collect myself, but we got it done. It was absolutely awe-inspiring and I’m so glad we pushed through. Just as I imagined, these colors in that canyon – magic.
I say this with almost every single “Quilt in the Wild” photo, but the pictures never do the real thing any justice. I thank God for this beautiful world and for the capacity to see just a smidge of it in my lifetime. Travel and exploration is worth every penny and every minute. It certainly puts life into perspective when you see how small we are in comparison. As “homebody” as I can be, travel, sightseeing, meeting other people and experiencing different cultures (even within our own country) is a blessing. To see my quilts in the places I’ve traveled with my husband or our family, it means a lot to me. It’s a documentation of work & fun; a combo scrapbook of sorts.
Curiosity
This might be one of the funniest memories and photos from the quilt photo vault.
As we traversed the canyon, I saw this crevice where I thought my husband could stand and be SAFE from the edge with a steep drop, but also have a pretty dramatic photo. Of course, we gave right of way to all the other hikers and patiently waited for an opening in the path. I was standing uphill, around another bend, thinking I would politely call, “now, do it now”, when no one else was around. I think this gentleman totally missed what we were doing and as soon as hubs unveiled the quilt, this man STOPPED in his tracks. Of course, only I could see him. I waited, he didn’t move. I waited more, he kept looking. I’m sure my husband was thinking, “Take the darn photo! Can I put my arms down now?” Our fellow hiker continued to look. I was both amused and curious what he was thinking. We are usually alone when documenting quilts, so to see a complete stranger take a hard stop in his own journey to watch this, made me smile. I have wondered many times how he told the story, or if he ever did, once his hike was done. This photo is one of my favorites.
The Hoodoos
One last shot of my Homespun quilt, among the Hoodoos of Bryce Canyon National Park. This may have taken me years to sew, but I always say that things happen for a reason. Maybe it was meant to be photographed here. Finish too soon, miss the shot.
Back home & finished
It was long arm quilted by Jenn, http://www.knottedthread.com with a honeycomb pantograph. The binding is a navy and white stripe; the backing is Alison Glass’ Art Theory. So much color!
It’s now 2.5 years since this began and it’s done. It holds a lot of memories and a lot of miles and for that, I think it finished right on time.
-Happy Quilting!
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