summertime bliss with vicki welsh ~ giveaway!

have you ever had the pleasure of touching, creating, and quilting with hand-dyed fabrics?  i have ~ and it’s pure bliss! it was an easy “yes!” when vicki welsh asked if was interested in playing with her fabrics!  they are simply one of the must-haves in my fabric stash ~ no matter whether you want to do piecing, quilting, landscape, whole-cloth, stamping or painting on them!  having hand-dyeds in my collection makes me giddy! but it really means i can create something special, unique, and entirely original.  they just inspire me in ways i never can fully plan, and i like that kind of adventure!  i also truly enjoy reading vicki’s blog: field trips in fiber.  i’ve learned facts about her dyeing processes, to how she takes extra effort to wash them out so they don’t bleed, to color theory, and cool quilt designs and pattern work using her fabrics.  vicki also writes a  monthly newsletter, offers special prices on her fabrics, and has a flicker group where you can share projects and win a 25% discount, too.   this girl’s “got it going on!” i hope you’ll check it out, as well as her etsy shop where she sells these beauties!  {and don’t forget she offers custom colors, too!}

today’s project features vicki’s geranium gradient with a design taken from a favorite book of mine, “flowering quilts” written by author and quilter Kim Schaefer of the Little Quilt Company. while it’s an ‘older’ book nowadays, it can’t be beat for inspiration and sweet flower designs ~  perfect for this beautiful bright green and pinky-red mottled fabric.  

 i hadn’t made this particular design before, and i thought it was the perfect style for the geranium gradient. {get it here}

 i enjoyed some quiet time, choosing, fusing, and cutting my fabric choices for the fun, whimsical elements of these cute flowers and flower pots that would complement the gradient fabric.

i thought the pots would be a little more interesting with just an extra touch of a simple design accent, so i added a heart in a beautiful turquoise thread. love how it contrasts with the brown fabric.  i decided not to put it on every one, {cuz that would be too predictable} so i only did a few. 

 and of course, i had to add free motion couching with my bernina #43 foot. i used a hand-dyed yarn, too.  it does double duty, for sure. i was able to make it look like two separate colorways;  one pinky, one turquoise blue toned, and then combine them, too.  {you have the same kind of versatility in hand dyed fabrics, too} very fun! i really do love  the basket of beautiful yarns i’ve collected in the past years . a valuable design tool as far as i’m concerned, and wonderful for embellishment. this was an expensive one, but it has been soooo worth it! i’ve got alot of bang for my buck, and i love having it on hand.  

i decided to quilt the center blocks in a graceful free motion serpentine style, using a yli variations green polyester thread. not only is it really easy to do, it accents the lovely gradient fabric blocks, adds to the soft, poofy texture of the quilt, and lets the flowers ‘pop’ in their bright colors and styles, too.

 i chose a  kaffe fasset print for the inner border, as it just ties everything together in my opinion, from the hand-dyed gradient fabric, to the flowers, and the beautiful hand-dyed yarn.

 for quilting the border, i kept it simple with just a graceful, swirly pattern, lightly done.

 and below, a little bit of a snafu, apparently i accidentally cut into it, which i didn’t realize when i was cutting other fabric.  oops.  change of plans… but no worries… ! 

bound and finished!

just a few close-ups of the flower darlings!

 and i changed the free motion details on each of the flowers… giving them each their own little personality.

 you can see where i had to substitute a stronger red block, {below} for what i had hoped to be the lighter pinky red block?  but i like it really just fine.

this little quilt was an unexpected delight… not what i had planned at all when i first picked it out from the fabulous variety vicki has in her store. just another lesson in expecting the unexpected!  i do love how it turned out! i hope you’ll take a few minutes to check out vicki’s wonderful offerings.  

and now for the give-away!  vicki is giving away to my blog readers,  two half-yard gradients or one yard of one gradient design. just leave a comment on this post.  i’ll choose a winner on sunday, june 28th… oops i mean the 23rd!

and if you prefer not to wait, or take your chances… just enter a free shipping coupon for anyone: LESLIESHIP. vicki is offering free shipping on US orders over $40. international customers can add the code to the comment box on their order and she will refund $5 of their shipping cost.
thanks so much vicki!

thank you for taking a few precious summer minutes to stop by.  {i’ll have more gradient projects to show, too, and hopefully a little give-away of my own to add}  
xoxo
leslie