Tuesday, November 09, 2010

red

Way back in early 2008, I started making a series of monochromatic scrap quilts. Anyone remember that? I started with yellow. Then I made a green one, blue one, and pink one. Yes, I really am crazy. (As if there was any doubt!) Monochromatic quilts are quite fun to make. Even though this most recent one has taken me a long time to complete, I'm glad I have this on-going project.

Sometime last week I finally finished a red one.

It makes me happy. I added some uneven borders-the top and left sides are smaller than the bottom and right sides-just for something a bit different. I generally don't do borders, but this one needed it. They contain all the chaos. :)
I quilted loops all over. I used 3 spools of red thread that I had on hand...no two colors exactly the same, but close enough. I'm beginning to detest small spools of thread!
I had to make the binding slightly scrappy, too. I love this detail.
And a very predictable pieced backing. I used left over chunks from my candy cane quilt for the patchwork. Pretty handy, since they were pre-cut and they were just the right size.

The quilt measures 59" x 69".

Red was my grandma's favorite color. It's also my sister's favorite. Some days it's mine, too. Today it definitely is. :)

Now, I wonder what color I should move on to next...

92 comments:

Katherine said...

I love all your monochromatic quilts, but I have to say this is my favourite. Great idea for the borders to be offset. What a happy quilt!

Cris A said...

What a fun quilt! I love the loopy quilting!

Mary said...

I just bought a 15,000 yard thread of piecing spool in Houston at the quilt festival. It's DREAMY! I am just dreaming about how many trips to the store that will save me...

Michelle said...

do a purple one next!

Lisa said...

I love the scrappy binding. I have been saving up all the ends of my bindings for quilt just like this. I guess an orange or purple quilt next makes sense. Can't wait to see it.

Kimberly said...

Thanks for the smile! It's lovely!

Molly said...

Love the quilting!! I vote for a brown one next.

Erin @ Why Not Sew? Quilts said...

I love the red. I think you are exactly right about the border. I was going to say purple too for your next one!
I wanted to ask you, if you keep track of how many quilts you have made? Did you take pics of all of them? Just curious. I don't have pics of all of mine and now I wish I did for a quilt journal(off line) am trying to make for my family.

Becky (My Fabric Obsession) said...

Fun!! I love monochromatic quilts and i haven't gotten up the courage to do one yet. You should do purple because that's first on my list! HA

Unknown said...

No! I'm going with Michelle and Becky on this one! PURPLE!!! I'm always up for black and white, too, though... ;)

Cascade Quilts said...

I love the monochromatic quilts you have done! FAB! You should do a tutorial on the random-pieced technique, I just can't wrap my head around how to go about it! I guess I'm too ''traditional'' in thinking.....

Pam said...

I truly love it. It looks so 3D. Makes me want to put on 3D glasses to see if it pops even more. this is indeed my favorite of your mono's.

JHNickodemus said...

Im with your public...purple purple purple! I love that you're working on one in every color!

RosaMaría said...

that quilt is fantastic and makes me want to try to make a monochromatic one!!

what color on the next?
Purple!!

ps. LOVE the quilting!!!

Live a Colorful Life said...

Oh come on people! Is there any real doubt? Orange. Definitely orange!

Leeanne said...

just lovely.I got married in red.I'm not a fan of small spools of thread, give me a minimum of 500yards.Love the scrappy back and bindings, very cool.

Coffeebean's Dailies said...

purple! It's my Mom's favorite color too! I love it. How fun! What was your process?

Anorina @SameliasMum said...

It's gorgeous. Loving this red quilt.
Next one... Purple. Definitely.

Anonymous said...

Love this! I especially like your border and binding!

Diane said...

Your loopy quilting is great. I always manage to loop myself into a corner.

April Mae said...

umm, orange!

Sara said...

Love this quilt...

Anonymous said...

The scrappy binding is the icing on the cake: REALLY great <3

Andi said...

It can be hard to 'move on' from red.
Love your quilt and your quilting.
Andi x

lori said...

I'm so glad you are still working on these! I really love your yellow one.
I vote for you to do brown next because I'm really curious how you would do it!

Heather said...

I'm new to blogging and found your blog. I love your quilts. I really like the green circle one from your previous post. I have to concur with the popular vote -- Purples!

Kimberly Whispell said...

I love it! Red is such a great color!

PunkiePie (Jen) said...

Orange!

love the loops. Love the whole quilt!

Tivoli West said...

Purple or orange. Love the quilt, might have to do something similar. Thanks!

Angel said...

I'm with Karin...you need to do a tutorial on how you pick the pieces and sizes. I have lots of scraps I'm dying to do this with but am afraid to take the first step.

Kelly O. said...

orange next!

Terri said...

I do love orange... of course purple is also a logical choice. I have more orange in my stash... maybe that is how you should choose, by how much of the color is already available.
<3 Terri

SandyQuilts said...

They are all wonderful. At last I think I know what to do with my huge stash of scraps. Thank you.

Marta said...

I love your quilts but I love the most is the two little set of hands holding onto the quilt for you to take a picture of. It brings a smile to my heart.

Jocelyn said...

Love the quilt! Love the LOOPS :-)

Anonymous said...

I am really liking red after seeing so many awesome red fabrics! That quilt is beautiful! I love the loopy quilting.

Michele said...

I'm not a fan of small spools of thread either. Great quilt!

anne said...

Awesome as always....hey I am sure we all would love a tutorial on how you do this and yeah I am with the ORANGE gals.. GO ORANGE...lol..thank you for sharing

Jessica Christensen said...

Red is my favorite color too. And you should do brown next. You know -- since you were asking for my opinion and all . . . ;)

Ashley G. said...

The quilt is beautiful, love the red loops! Definitely something I want to try for quilting!

The second you asked for another color immediately purple came to mind. I would love to see what you do with that! Keep up the good work!

Clair said...

Well, I like the part with the red quilting on the white fabric with red dots. I need to make a red and white quilt for myself to keep.

Herding Grasshoppers said...

I love the red! And I especially love the four little hands that are holding up the quilt in the first pic ;D

Next?

TURQUOISE!!

Karen said...

Yes, I remember those quilts! I love the red one you show here! I hate those small spools and currently only use large ones that I get through a mail order catalog.

Have fun quilting!

beth said...

you got little helper hands peeping out. How cute! The quilt is nice too, of course.

Rubiy said...

Love it! Love everything about it!

Just started reading your blog, as quilting is a new avocation for me. I have to say, after looking at some of your projects, I can't wait to get to my sewing machine!!

Mama Urchin said...

I love your color quilts. I think grey would be really pretty and challenging.

Tara said...

Loving it's offset-ness. Hit the jackpot at Mama Said Sew for prizes--will keep the 14 fat quarters of Innocent Crush to share with you--yeah!

ktquilts said...

If voting counts, my vote is purple!!!

Laurel H. said...

Fabulous quilt, just all of the other monochromatic ones you've done! Now, how about orange?!! (ROFL) Just kidding; that would be impossible (who has a quilt's worth of ORANGE scraps?!!) Purple would be nice, as ktquilts said. Or black!

Unknown said...

Beautiful Quilt! Love the uneven border, adds a interesting dimention to the quilt. Well Done.

Amy said...

I hope orange is next...you just can't get more cheerful than orange. Your red quilt is lovely, and so is the freehand quilting!

Anonymous said...

I love this quilt! I have been keeping a stash of red and white fabrics to make a quilt, and I love the way yours came out. Can't wait to see what you make next!

Lee Ann L. said...

I'm loving the idea of making monochromatic quilts! Maybe I should do the same thing. It certainly would make me learn a few new things and expand my horizons.

This red quilt is gorgeous! It's vibrant and full of life. :-)

pratima said...

The loopy quilting and the borders and the bright happy red, everything makes it such a fun quilt! It is beautiful!

Andrea, the little collector said...

Does it make you want to keep your toes painted red at all times? Lovely! I love me a patchy binding. (And very handy quilter hooks there on your banister. Tell them good job too!)

Anonymous said...

PURPLE!!!! I vote for purple with blue! I love the wonky borders! I do so wonder when you find time to sleep and eat! LOL! I was laid off for almost a year and except for some doll quilts (from your pattern) I was unable to create. I don't know how you do it! You are always an inspiration to me. You brighten my day! Thank you for being there when I find myself needing a lift!

The Gaertegang Homestead said...

I think the yellow and the red are my fav! Cute!! THANKS for sharing!

Melissa said...

I gotta tell you, I love this idea so stinkin' much. I've been staring at fabrics in my stash that I wasn't sure what to do with since they don't match my current tastes and don't go at all well with the collections I have in but omg, this is *perfect* I love the yellow one best of all. Next? I say purple. :)

Amy Jo said...

LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this!!! and I vote for Orange!! :-)

Brittany said...

I know there are a lot of purple votes, some orange, and some brown.
I also saw black and I say BLACK only without using white because I know how you love white;)

Terriaw said...

Your red quilt turned out fabulous! Love that loopy quilting. I bet it feels great to finish this one. I didn't realize you had made so many monochromatic quilts over the years. Definitely an orange one should be next, or maybe a black and white one. Would that be considered monochromatic?

Emily said...

I am happy you didn't abandon your monocromatic series (thought you had...)! I love seeing what you come up with...

Lurline said...

Look at me, look at me! Yes, you are gorgeous!
Hugs - Lurline♥

Mary on Lake Pulaski said...

Nice finish Amanda! I think I may have seen this quilt in process - right? I've never done monochromatic - I might have to try it. Yes, how about orange or turquoise next?

Thimbleanna said...

Gorgeous as always you crazy woman! I love it. And I love that cute little peek with the red cross. Now...AQUA! Or Orange!!!

Oleander said...

so cute!

I should know the answer to this question but i'll ask anyways:

Do you do all the quilting with your regular machine just with a different foot? You don't have the fancy freehand machine with the quilt frame right? How do you keep it from bunching?

Anonymous said...

I love the idea of monochromatic quilts. This red one is beautiful. The uneven borders fit perfectly with the whole quilt. Did you have a quilt pattern for this quilt? I just love the look of it.

Janet

Emily said...

Beautiful! Do you do anything with your red fabric to be sure it doesn't bleed when you wash it?

Anonymous said...

ohhhh I remember those quilts... that was when I first fell in love with your crazy quilting ways!

eva said...

beautiful - as always!!

i love the hands on the first picture!!

xo
eva

Deb said...

It's gorgeous!! And I am with the purple crowd too :-)

Annie said...

I love it!

The Newfie Quilter said...

LOVE the red! It is my favorite color. But with all the fall colors starting to go away where I am, I love the idea of a quilt with rusty oranges to keep my thoughts away from winter as soon as possible!

Fabulous quilt (and quilting)!

Cindy said...

Red is my favorite color too. I love that quilt. It is calling to me. Make one like me, it says.

I think you should make an orange quilt next. That'd be happy.

patty a. said...

This series of quilts is fantastic! I have boxes and boxes of scraps so I think I will follow your lead and make my own series. Thanks for the inspiration. I can't wait to see what color the next one is!

Esch House Quilts said...

I love the monochromatic quilt series!

I belong to the Brighton (MI) Modern Quilters and we are about to start working on a modern sampler quilt. I hadn't been able to decide what fabrics to use but I think I'll borrow your idea and pick two colors from my scraps. Thanks!!

Lisa said...

i love revisiting quilts that aren't finished. I agree with the thread thing...i've moved to a spool adapter and am using long arm thread cause nothing is worse than being almost finished and having to change out the spool! Beautiful quilt!

Cheryl Arkison said...

What great borders and binding!

Anonymous said...

Hello,
Your quilt work is very nice and creative! You do a great job with your free motion quilting! I was browsing a few sites yesterday and when I saw a particular site, I thought of you. A quilter has a blog with all her different creations with FMQ. She is designing a new design for 365 days. Here is her site address in case you are interested.
http://daystyledesigns.com/
(I noticed she has a store too, not sure which site I gave you here.)
I hope to learn to free motion quilt one day. I enjoy looking at your great work!!
Beverly in WA

Alexis said...

I love the little hands holding the quilt at the top. The quilt is very nice too.

WendyLou said...

Orange!!

Stray Stitches (Linda G) said...

I love your red quilt!! Red is my daughter's favorite color - when she was little she would always say her wedding dress would be red (it wasn't - lol)

Anonymous said...

my vote is for orange

Shauna said...

How appropriate for Remembrance Day - Red. Beautiful as always!

Sherry said...

Well, there is PURPLE and ORANGE.

How about doing a monochromatic NEUTRAL/TAN/BEIGE???

Sorry, but you sort of asked for suggestions.

Keep Stitchin' said...

I love it. I love quilts where you can use scraps leftover from other projects and turn them into yet another quilt; I love looking them over again and again picking out my favorites and remembering which quilt I put them in. Monochromatic quilts are fun... Great way to really put to use those scraps we may tend to have way too many of one color!

Mystica said...

I've done a red log cabin (which is on my blog) nothing close to your work but I follow very closely all your tutorials! I have also done a half square triangles (like your red and beige one) but in different colors as well. Love your blog.

Benta said...

Hi, I love the red monochrome scrappy quilt, especially the randomness of it. I'm mostly a see-it-and-work-it-out sort of patchworker, but I can't get my head around how you did the blocks on this one. I read the comments, and see some others have requested a lesson - can I add my signature to that petition :-)

Benta@SLIKstitches.co.uk

tusen said...

This is such a gorgeous quilt. I love the binding, too.

One Second Needle said...

Thanks for this post about your monochromatic scrap quilts. I really like the red!

Becky (My Fabric Obsession) said...

I love this! The Philly Modern Quilt guild is doing a monochromatic challenge. Can I use a photo of this as inspiration on our blog? http://phillymodernquiltguild.blogspot.com/
Obviously, I will link back to you.

Becky (My Fabric Obsession) said...

I already posted about how much I love this. I'm wondering if I can use a photo of this as inspiration for the Philly Modern Quilt Guild Monochromatic Challenge? I would like to list in on our blog and I would link back to you. Let me know, thanks!