This is the 3rd year I have participated by collecting rows and the 2nd year that I have produced a quilt and presented it at a local quilt shop. The process is both exciting and fun! I highly recommend participating in the Row by Row Adventure.
My Row by Row 2016 was turned in at Country Stitches, Burleson, TX on July 5, 2016.
The Home Sweet Home theme is a concept close to my heart as it represents how comfortable it feels to be a resident of the great state of Texas. I just could not envision living anywhere else!
As many of you know, I am just not a Kit sort of gal. I like to do things my own way – challenge myself. Each year, I visit shop after shop and while there I pick out a few fat quarters that I feel will work well with the row they offer. Each year, I try to make the quilt my own.
This year’s challenge centers on values but let me start at the beginning. Just prior to the Row by Row event, my husband and I redecorated our living room. Because of this, I thought it would be nice to make a quilt that would complement the rich, warm brown tones we used. This gave me the inspiration to do a sepia sort of pallet – shades of brown offset by a large white on white fabric.
I actually found this background fabric at the annual spring sale at Golden D’or. I fell in love with the large random floral pattern.
The main challenge for this project is to create balance within a small range of colors. There are many ways to test your choices when working in this manner. Some people will back up from their design walls and squint their eyes until they are looking at a blur of tones – if there is enough of a difference in values, they know they are on the right track. Other folks will take black and white images of their wall to be sure their choices do not run together.
I try them all, and then rely on my gut to sort it all out. If I like the way it looks, I do not overthink.
The blocks I chose for this project are listed below – each of the shops was a joy to visit!
Sandy’s Quilt Shop – Joshua, TX
Country Stitches – Burleson, TX
Quilt Among Friends – Arlington, TX
Cabbage Rose Quilt Shop – Fort Worth, TX
Richland Sewing Center – Hurst, TX
Sew It up Bernina – Hurst, TX
Peggy’s Quilt Studio – Pantego, TX
Suddenly Sewing – Fort Worth, TX
Now compare these rows to the finished product and you can see where the challenge of values really kicks in. (and yes, I labeled this image and printed it out when I turned in my quilt so the process would go smoother – I’m glad I did)
The quilting was done with the intent of making key elements of the block stand out as well as providing a softening element for the overall quilt. A row quilt can get so hectic if for no other reason than that the rows are designed by different people.
I think the most challenging job when doing Row by Row is to create and assemble the rows in such a way that they look like they belong on the quilt together.
This quilt will hang at Country Stitches – Burleson, TX for a while until either they need the room or the contest concludes. In many ways, I can’t wait to get it back. I really grew fond of many aspects of this quilt and I did make it to complement our home too!
Last, but not least, just like last year, I chose my 25 Fat quarters prize to specifically make a couple new projects. Here are the fabrics I choose. Sometime soon, I hope to present the quilts that result from this!
Are you a Row by Row quilter?
I think this quilt is awesome. I love how you have meshed all the RbR together with your color scheme and they look so different from the originals, so well planned out, so right. The materials, and the quilting set off each piece so brilliantly. Thanks for Sharing
Thanks Anne! Each year I try to do something a little different… I wonder what 2017 will hold?
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