Friday, October 29, 2010

Blogger's Quilt Festival

Amy's Creative Side - Blogger's Quilt Festival


I've never done the Blogger's Quilt festival before, so I'm excited to participate!

Looking back on all the things I've made this year, my absolute favorite is the Hey Cherri quilt, which is my version of the Dear Jane quilt.

The finished Hey Cherri Top

The original Dear Jane quilt
I sat down with a friend of mine named Cherri (pronounced Cherry) from the Portland Modern Quilt Guild, and we talked about modern updates to classic quilt patterns, and the subject of Dear Jane came up. It's a quilt I really love, but since I don't really applique or paper piece it seems beyond me. We floated the idea of creating a modern version, and that was all it took.

The result was a month and a half of intense creativity, in which I sketched every block I could think of that fit a 4 x 4 grid. I poured over magazines, flickr groups, and books, and made block after block after block.

I started the project in May, and was leaving town for the summer. I knew I needed to finish the top before then, so I really pushed myself to finish it within a short timeframe.

I really love this project, for a lot of reasons. I never would have started it if Cherri hadn't asked me out to coffee, and I never would have met Cherri if I hadn't joined the Portland Modern Quilt Guild. Joining that group has really added a lot of fun and inspiration to my life.

I'm also so glad that I was able to finish it. I've had a lot of creative pursuits that sort of fizzled out from lack of interest, so I'm so happy to finally find one that I can stick with.

30 comments:

J said...

Absolutely beautiful!! Fabulous inspiration. You are very talented. Well done!

Riel Nason said...

Fab-u-lous. A great idea and a wonderful result!!! I really like the arrow quilt you made too.

Mary said...

I saw the thumbnail and I thought "oh my gosh somebody did a dear jane???" That is one overwhelming pattern. I love how you have taken it and made it your own.

Mary said...
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linda said...

love the finishing touch on your quilt, i have a thing for flying geese! ;>)

Deborah OHare said...

WOW!!!
So much work. Amazing!

Angie in SoCal said...

Interesting. I like how you repeated the fabric.

Jennifer said...

This is so cool! Love the modern update...

Jennifer :)

Andi said...

Absolutely stunning and amazing!!!

Mary on Lake Pulaski said...

Whoa Simon - that's amazing! Congratulations on such a creative and beautiful finish! Thanks for sharing.

Laurel H. said...

GREAT job! Wonderful take on the old classic, and still dignified and lovely.

Sew Lovins said...

very cute!!

badlandsquilts said...

Wonderful interpretation!

BJ said...

Great quilt.

verykerryberry said...

So bold and graphic, I love all the different shapes- Wonderful!

SewAmy said...

OMGoodness, it is beautiful. We have a Dear Jane group at our quilt shop, but your's is just stunning.

SheilaC said...

wOw!!! Your quilt is amazing!! I love your choice of blocks and the colors are fabulous :)

Have you ever thought of publishing this? Or even selling PDFs of it via the web?

I can think of at least 1 interested person....... (me!) :)

SheilaC

Becky (My Fabric Obsession) said...

Wow - just wow! I'm speechless. This is gorgeous!

Rene' said...

I also thought it was a Dear Jane from the thumbnail. Your version is great. Love it. Thanks for sharing!

Carol said...

Your modern version looks great. Well done. I'm impressed that you got it done so quickly.

Julie Fukuda said...

I just had to smile when I read about the way you went through the process. That is exactly the way I would have done it. (actually, I was just going through a book of blocks thinking the very same thing)
I love the wild geese corcling the border.
Thanks for sharing.

Marjorie said...

Brilliant! I too was motivated to make something Dear Jane-ish with 6" block, but mine is no where near done. Congrats on a spectacular finish.

Tracey Jacobsen said...

I love it.

Nina Marie said...

Ohhh what a great idea!!! I love Dear Jane too - the idea of updating it is a super cool. Love the color choices and story behind!

Karen said...

Stunning. So much planing and organising. Your quilt looks wonderful
I love the friendships that are made through quilting!

SarahB said...

This is really beautiful! Great work!

Rachaeldaisy said...

This is stunning!!! Absolutely wonderful!!

Allison said...

Very cool looking quilt!

Eileen said...

great!! thanks for sharing a marvelous quilt. have a great day

Doe Harden said...

I like your version of Dear Jane. I especially wanted to comment on your choice of colors -- Excellent!! I do applique but I do not paper piece! I guess I am stubborn or too old and set in my ways, but I just cannot bring myself to paper piece any of Jane Stickle's quilt!