Friday, October 8, 2010

Stars & Sprigs Closeups
















I've been asked to show close ups of the S & S quilt, so here they are. I don't know if you can zoom in on these photos or not, they are of email resolution. I thought I better not put the high resolution images for a post.
This quilt was made about 10 years ago before I knew about Kaffe's fabrics. I used predominantly reproduction fabrics and shirtings for the stars and lots of scrap fabrics for the leaves. I was given a bag of leftovers from the millennium quilts that were being made around that time, there are a couple of Kaffe's paper weight fabrics amongst the hundreds of leaves in the borders and I didn't know they were his!
I've been cutting up a lot of my old shirtings lately and wondered why there are a lot of portions of the cloth that have been carved out, now I remembered that they were cut out for the stars in this quilt. Looked at my old reproduction fabric stash not long ago and most of them are in fairly bright colours. It didn't take much of a jump to the Kaffe fabrics!
Have a look at Janet's version in Kaffe's fabrics, it is stunning. She is on her last borders now.
Enjoy making this quilt, it's really fun! Cheers, Kim McL




















19 comments:

  1. Kim, as an artist you can be sure your work is meaningful in the way others respond to it. I am one of the blessed, who has seen your work, have been moved, and now acting upon the inspiration. Thank you. I received my pattern today and so I begin, the journey. If you want to see progress on my Jane sassaman applique let me know. I'd be happy to share it. IN GRATITUDE, Pete

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  2. I love it, Kim, when you tell us about your quilts. It's not just a pattern, it's much more than that. It's so exciting!!!
    Thank you:)

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  3. I love it in the repros Kim...so lovely to see it close up and how beautiful it is.
    I'm just trying to work with a little with brights But I'm struggling to get my head around the brights.
    I could do this in repros!
    Julia ♥

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  4. Thank you, Kim, for your willingness to share with us. Your work resonates in ways that are powerful, meaningful, and deeply moving. You have the ability to inspire, and perhaps transform...?!

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  5. 10 years ago! Oh, my..I thought this was a new creation. What a beauty this is. Thank you for sharing it with us!

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  6. Kim that is another stunning quilt I would like to make, thank you for sharing the wonderful pictures with us.
    Have a wonderful weekend

    Christine

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  7. This really is amazing. Of all the patterns, I think this is my favorite. Do you do needle turn on all your applique? You are so inspiring to me.

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  8. Yes, thank you Kim for so generously sharing your applique knowledge. What wonderful patterns you design! Love seeing how the Stars and Sprigs looks in different fabrics and the backgrounds you chose for the stars. The quilting on the cornerstone blocks is wonderful too. My pattern came in the mail today and now I am even more undecided on how I want mine to look.

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  9. Oh My!.what a Beautiful Quilt..Loved reading your story behind your fabric choices...TFS.
    cheers

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  10. my pattern arrived and oh I just love this quilt
    its all about that border and maybe the fact you made this one in my beloved repro's!!!!
    I am learning that repro's do have a lot of brights, I am on the hunt for more as my stars and sprigs will be made in repros too.
    Still searching for oranges and brighter reds, pinks and greens. I tend to buy the darker ones...need to break that habit!
    LOL
    thanks so much for sharing these pictures.
    Kathie

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  11. A big thank you from me too, especially since I've loved every single stitch on this pattern that has kept me enthralled. It really isn't hard to do for anyone thinking of getting started.

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  12. Thank you for the pics Kim! I tried enlarging the pic on the GC site and couldn't.
    Looking at the fabrics it's easy to see how you stepped into the Kaffe style fabrics. You have some nice large scale prints and did some nice fussy cutting. There are some fun brights in there too!
    My repro stash looks so dull and boring next to these fabrics..I have lots of brown. Like Kathie..I need to be on the lookout for some brighter ones?
    Having seen this pattern done in repros and the modern prints it's easy to see that good design shines through no matter what fabrics are used.
    Absolutely gorgeous quilt Kim!

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  13. It is a timeless quilt as is does look like you have made it recently. It is so beautiful and I can't wait to start on it!

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  14. Dear Kim,
    Thank you so much for sharing your talent and your quilts! This is stunning, and I just know it was great fun to make. I do love those repros…
    I fussy cut when I hand piece, but I was just a babe in the woods when I started Roseville. Thanks for stretching this ole' brain. However, it might explode if I tried ‘fussying’ this many leaves I'll never look at a piece of fabric the same way again. Now where are all those 2.5 inch fabric squares I’ve collected over the years?.....
    Happy stitching!
    Brenda

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  15. I can't wait to get my hands on the pattern ... beautiful quilt made in repro's or Kaffe's fabrics!

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  16. Many thanks to everyone with their lovely comments, much appreciated! I think you can make this quilt in any fabric you want, its an easy quilt to do and portable too. You can show off your favourite fabrics in the stars and use up all those scraps that we all collect " just in case" I look forward to seeing what everyone is going to come up with. It will be amazing.
    I still have all those repro fabrics, I did have one project that I had drawn up that was meant to be done in these fabrics, but I probably don't need the whole store room to do it with!
    I might just do it in the Kaffes, it will be fun either way. I haven't started my next major project yet, still playing with the sewing machine learning to sew straight 1/4" seams!
    Julia, you might like to try the brighter repros then that step into the Kaffes is a small one.
    To Karen, yes I do needle turn after basting the pieces onto the fabric, but there are other ways too. As long as the patches are sewn on!
    To Pete, yes I'd love to see how you're getting on with your applique. I hope you feel really confident by now & look forward to seeing your first S & S block.
    Many thanks everyone and look forward to seeing your work! Cheers, Kim McL

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  17. Such a lovely quilt! Definitely on my list of must do's! I like your fabrics as well as Janet's with the Kaffes--guess I'll have to make two of them (at least!) Thanks for the great patterns!

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  18. Kim, I keep looking at this--your fabrics are so pretty! You've done a fabulous job choosing and cutting them!

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