chlorophyll quilt
I finished my 'Chlorophyll Quilt' early last week but couldn't work out how best to photograph it. Finally I remembered that the quilts in Quilt Road were all photographed, quite stunningly, around Holmfirth and the Rowan mill. What better photo opportunity could I possibly have?
Alice gamely did a 'Kaffe' and posed like he does in a leafy lane with the quilt around her shoulders. The Joseph Technicolour Dreamcoat effect was enhanced when she put out her arms.
The quilt is based on the KF 'Rosy' pattern which is in both Quilt Road and Patchwork. He does a Tawny Rosy and a Leafy Rosy; mine is a Jungle Rosy. It's very simple and is based on alternating single 9" blocks and blocks made up of nine 3"x3" squares (all finished measurements). I made it square by using 49 (ie 7 by 7) blocks. It's machine-pieced and hand-quilted. The fabrics are designs by KF, Martha Negley and David Wolverson.
I don't usually add a border but, because this was such a dense design, I put in a stripe and then the sky-blue fabric to frame the whole thing. Thomas, my quilting apprentice, disapproved of my choice of border. As I was was laying out various options, I kept coming back to find he'd removed them and devised his own. (He really should make his own quilt now to give free rein to his very definite colour and design ideas.)
The edges are different at either end because I ran out of fabric, but it turns out I like the effect.
The backing fabric is a vibrant KF dahlia design which pulls no punches. It's brilliantly bright and uplifting.
Which is vital, because this quilt can look pretty moody in certain lights.
It was Thomas' suggestion to call it the 'Chlorophyll Quilt' (no prizes for guessing what he's doing in biology). I'd been through a range of names: 'You Give me Fever' (as in the Peggy Lee song), 'Jungle' (or 'Jungly' as Phoebe wanted it to be called), 'Happy Valley' (as in Karen Blixen 'I had a farm in Africa...'). But 'Chlorophyll' stuck because it's at the heart of the theme of flowers and foliage.
I did love Lyn's observation that it reminded her of an Henri Rousseau painting. I looked at his work and found this, which I think is incredibly close in palette and feel to the quilt.
The quilt has been claimed by Simon. After some resistance to the darkness and density, it's been accepted by all of us as a pretty unusual variation on my usual theme.
Wonderful!!
Posted by: Isabelle | May 02, 2006 at 10:16 AM
Wow, it is fabulous and you seem to have completed it so quickly. The backing fabric really lifts the whole thing. I am fascinated by how lively the whole thing is, such dark and dramatic fabrics could have looked quite oppressive but the whole thing seems very lively and vibrant, just like one imagines the rainforest in fact, I can almost imagine the birds calling and the monkeys shrieking.
Rebecca
Posted by: Rebecca | May 02, 2006 at 11:27 AM
Beautiful! I love the tag, too. I think you have such a wonderful name.
Posted by: wenders | May 02, 2006 at 12:17 PM
GORGEOUS! (as usual!) The display truly is enhanced by the setting for those of us Westminster junkies. :-) The colors are so striking. My Rosy is a blue rosy. I feel a strong urge to remake this quilt with a little more drama.
Cheers!
Amy
Posted by: Amy | May 02, 2006 at 12:18 PM
Splendid. Both the quilt and the photo shoot. It's wonderfully rich and moody.
Posted by: di | May 02, 2006 at 01:07 PM
love the pictures of you in the quilt - so regal and loverly!
Posted by: Lia | May 02, 2006 at 01:23 PM
Wow....you whipped that quilt up so fast! Love the picture of you in front of rowan!
Posted by: Kim | May 02, 2006 at 01:31 PM
I think Chlorophyll is the perfect name -- there is so much quiet activity in the quilt, and to such bold effect. And like Rebecca, I can hear the rainforest when I look at it.
Your tags are lovely. Where do you have them made? Or do you do the truly amazing and mak them yourself?
Posted by: Kathe | May 02, 2006 at 01:50 PM
what a lovely chlorophyll jungle... :) man i have GOT to finish something, you are quite the motivator...
Posted by: carolyn | May 02, 2006 at 02:31 PM
That is stunning, it reminds me of the first hotel we stayed in on our honeymoon in Australia.
Posted by: claire | May 02, 2006 at 02:45 PM
FABULOUS!!!!!
Posted by: Laura | May 02, 2006 at 02:53 PM
deeply gorgeous!
Posted by: P-la | May 02, 2006 at 02:58 PM
It's breathtakingly gorgeous!
Posted by: Jennifer | May 02, 2006 at 03:01 PM
Posted by: Rosa Pomar | May 02, 2006 at 03:40 PM
Your Chlorophyll quilt is wonderful! Such rich, lovely colours, and your photos are great. And you only started it yesterday (almost), didn't you? It really makes me itch to make another one for myself!
I made a quilt from the same pattern after participating in an international block exchange several years ago; http://www.flickr.com/photos/mathea/139097962/ It was a great experience, but you have to let go of the control of the colours, when you take part in something like that (it was amazing to see all the interpretations of the colour "grass-green" LOL!), so if I had planned it from scratch it would have turned out quite differently. Maybe the time has come to try a different version...
Posted by: mathea | May 02, 2006 at 03:56 PM
What a fun photo shoot! The name is perfect. Tell Thomas I want to see one of his quilts next!
Posted by: Kate | May 02, 2006 at 04:10 PM
I love this! Had you shown me the squares individually I might not have gone for it - together they are dramatic. There is a lot of movement and energy to this. I love the green square with the orangey red blobs, very science project!
I need to make a quilt, I need to make a quilt...
Btw, Suse is up for the non partial biscuit judging ( that would be by me!) if you are.
Posted by: Elizabeth | May 02, 2006 at 04:12 PM
A triumph.
Posted by: Wren | May 02, 2006 at 04:20 PM
Your new quilt looks fantastic. If only I had the patience to try that. Maybe one day.
Your model looks so elegant. My first thought was she looks like a queen. Beautiful photos.
May I be so bold as to encourage Thomas as well to have a go at quilting. It would be very interesting to see what he comes up with.
One question for you, where did you get your lovely labels?
Great post. You've brightened up my morning.
Posted by: Adriana | May 02, 2006 at 04:29 PM
that is absolutely beautiful. and i love how you displayed it for the picture!
Posted by: mia | May 02, 2006 at 04:36 PM
love these photos. the quilt is beautiful.
Posted by: lisa | May 02, 2006 at 05:03 PM
The quilt and photographs are beautiful.
Posted by: Zoe | May 02, 2006 at 05:16 PM
Outstanding! I was just thinking to myself the other day "I wonder if Jane is working on a quilt like me right now". Your photos make me want to trapse through the streets with a beautiful quilt. You are truly a master of vibrant color combinations.
Posted by: Blair | May 02, 2006 at 05:26 PM
This is such a lovely quilt! You have a wonderful sense of color and what will work together.
Posted by: Robyn | May 02, 2006 at 06:21 PM
Kudos on the photo shoot -- what a fantastic opportunity. I am in love with that dahlia fabric. I put it on the back of my Kaffe Optical squares quilt too. I am so inspired by your hand quilting! I really hate the way machine quilting looks and I don't enjoy doing it. I just don't think I could finish more than a quilt a year if I hand quilted. Maybe I should just give it a go.
Posted by: Amy | May 02, 2006 at 06:32 PM