The Colors of Santa Fe

It's been over 6 months 

since I finished this quilt.

The Colors of Santa Fe

But I was waiting for the right 

backdrop to highlight this pattern.

You might recognize it as 

the quilt of the year 

designed exclusively for

The Quilt Show by Sue Garman in 2017

called Halo Medallion.

This past weekend I had two tall sons-in-laws

who were willing to stretch their arms and brave frigid temps

so I could finally take a photo. 

The majority of the piecing 

for this quilt had to be done using 

a paper piecing method.  

That can be a challenge for me.

But it was definitely necessary, especially for these
 fabulous flying geese.

But what has made this quilt so wonderful

is the beautiful machine quilting that

my machine quilter and friend, Kathy Herman, 

of Hearth and Home Quilting so skillfully and

artistically stitched.

This quilt has become one of my favorites.

The colors were inspired by my many

trips to Santa Fe and incorporating

the color palette found in the American desert areas.

Colors such as sand, adobe, terracotta, and mahogany.  

I emphasized the neutrals.

It's wonderful to finally be able to share this properly.

The Colors of Santa Fe

86" x 86"

Until Next Time-

Kyle

Halo Medallion Quilt

It is so difficult at times trying to 

keep my halo perfectly centered.

(sigh)

And the same has been true 

as I've worked on my Halo Medallion Quilt,

the BOM available from The Quilt Show.

But, I'm happy to say,

the top is complete

and everything does appear to be perfectly centered.

 92" x92"

 The quilt was designed by

the late Sue Garman.

And working over the course

of the last 12 months, I have come to a few

new realizations. 

1.  Paper Piecing is not my cup of tea.

The entire quilt was presented as a paper piecing project.

I learned early on

 that  I would use that technique only when absolutely necessary,

like with the center medallion and, of course,

the circular flying geese. 

Most of the other borders that were

 pinwheels or hst's I felt I could 

use other methods and be just as accurate.

Isn't it great that there are a variety of 

ways to achieve the same results?

2. Fussy Cutting is not for the Frugal Fabric Cutters

If you can't stand having your

favorite yardage ending up like this skip ahead to #3,

but for those of us who get a burst of excitement and pleasure

out of creating wonderful secondary patterns and designs with the fabric

this is just a natural consequence. 

3. Round and Round We Go

When a quilt is made with a center square and then entirely of borders,

we may not realize how many times you must sew around and around.....

This quilt consists of 19 individual borders beyond the feathered star center.

Do the math

4 sides X 19 borders = 76

That means sewing around the quilt 76 times 

and trying to keep it square!

As the quilt grows so does the amount of time

and the amount of yardage you're wrestling 

with each application.

4.  Floaties are a Life Saver

Okay, that's a good thing at the pool,

but it's also true in quilt making.

Knowing how to figure out the size
 of those floating border strips

between the pieced borders is essential.

Just because the pattern says to cut them a 

particular width and length, we all know

that isn't always right. 

As my quilt grew and grew, I found

I needed to adjust those floaties.

Learning to adapt a pattern keeps

everyone happy and merrily swimming along. 

Each new quilt and stitching project

can give you new insight into what you like

or not like to do.

It can add more tools for your tool belt

as we continue to create the quilts we love.

Both of myself and the quilt are super happy

to be finished.

In fact, I'm simply beaming.

 Until Next Time-

Kyle

Remaining Neutral

Using colors from nature

 can be a way to help remain neutral

when choosing a color palette.

But when there's a rainbow of colors

surrounding us, it can be a challenge.

Last January I began working on the

BOM found on The Quilt Show

designed by the late Sue Garman.

I looked to the colors of the southwest,

the desert tones.

Starting with the center medallion

and adding each new border
month to month.

The most challenging
has been what I've called

 "geese flying in circles"

It was paper pieced and seemed
to take forever.
Wait, it did take forever!

On a recent trip to Santa Fe
I took my quilt top and
found a lovely adobe room
in which to photograph it.

It's not finished yet.
But the colors are definitely what I was striving for.

Last week I worked on the next border, pinwheels.

All those half square triangles were
trimmed and perfectly sized and
the borders  went together lickety split,
or as fast as you can sew a pinwheel border,
which isn't really very fast.

Two floater borders had to be figured out,
 sewn on and
then finally,
 those spinning pinwheels.

This is where I am today.

Next up,
more flying geese.
Not Running Man's favorite visiting yard bird!#@!

 I'll remain neutral
and continue on.

Until Next Time-

Kyle