Scottie Quilt Fini!

If you are reading this, it means I successfully managed to package up myself, my camera, my kids, my lint roller, and this freshly completed Scottie Quilt, and ventured out into the Spring afternoon to take pictures. The last stitch in the binding went on late last night. This quilt is headed to France for my Aunt Nina's birthday in May.

This is a value quilt. You'll see the play between the dark and light colors is what makes the design pop. I also wanted to use Pearl Bracelets fabric by Lizzy House. They add such wondrous movement! There are two slim scrappy borders, one light value on the inside and a  dark one against the binding. The binding is mostly black with little Champagne-style bubbles.

This quilt is a bold, super eye-popper with a bright radiating diamond design which is done in black, red, white and gray.  Honestly, I feel like the boldness got away from me and flew a little out of control. My Aunt Nina is a gentle soul who loves floral fabrics and I hope she remotely likes it. In fact, I want her to know it's okay if she re-gifts it. It's that bold.

Choosing the back was challenging as well. What do you put on the back of such an eye-popping front? I would have chosen a rich soft cotton flannel plaid with reds and greens, but could not find it. Instead I chose  a primary color scheme with a little french blue and soft yellow.

Hopefully as Aunt Nina snuggles with this quilt, the charming Scotties and light value fabrics, especially the Riley Blake stitch instructions, will come into view. The all cotton batting will keep her lap (and cat) warm, and the love I sewed along with each stitch will melt all around her. It's a handmade quilt, after-all. Before the fabrics, colors, and design are chosen, there's love. 

 Linking up to Finish it up Friday! Happy Quilting!

Scottie fabric - Great Scott by Greta Lynn for Benartex Fabrics
Red and black plaid -  Great Scott by Greta Lynn for Benartex Fabrics
Pearl Bracelet fabric, black - Lizzy House and Andover fabrics
Stitch instructions - Lori Holt of Bee In My Bonnet for Riley Blake Designs.
 

Framed it!

I should, and I would encourage you, to wear some sunglasses before viewing the following pictures. It's a bright and bold one, this radiating diamond.

See, I could move foreword and baste the quilt in the first picture here:

But...then I thought, I haven't done a border in awhile. So here is the same quilt with a snazzy scrappy (and value-conscious) border:

I like it! When I was in my 20's, living in any-old apartment, I would nail, tack or tape art on the walls for decoration. It was easy and the whole place could be easily re-arranged. Only recently has the beauty of framed art made its way into the deepest cockles of my heart. There's something regal and classy about framed art - even a greeting card looks fancy in a frame. I notice too how a frame tends to draws the eye towards the art within its center. That's what I wanted with this quilt. I wanted the radiating diamonds to feel like they were radiating, but then at the same time, I wanted the radiating to stop and be contained within a frame.

I decided to do a slim light-value border followed by a thicker border using the same dark-value colors that make up the radiating diamond.  This value-play is something I am most extremely excited about and the frame just makes is fancy.

Triangle (and value) Love.

The more I quilt, the more I fall deeper in love with the triangle. At first, it was an intimidating foe, those three pointy sides. Now, it is a welcome symbol of versatility and design freedom. The other thing I am overjoyed to integrate into my quilting is value. For me, it's more of a feeling than anything I can define but it is usually summed up as, the difference between light and dark color intensity. The contrast between light colors and dark colors in the photos below is what makes the design appear to your eye. The dark colors appear to move into the foreground and the light colors recede. 

Here's six reasons to love the triangle, made from the same blocks:

DID YOU SEE THAT?! 6 different designs made from the SAME 1/2 square triangle blocks! Maybe I don't get out much, but THIS is the kind of art-magic that I  LOVE! And notice the versatility of the 1/2 square triangle blocks - triangles, I'm telling you, best shape EVER.

Now, which design do I choose for the quilt?
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And, special thanks to my most supportive assistant.