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Plain Spoken - check!
I finally finished the Plain Spoken quilt I pieced together in February and I have Kim to thank. After seeing her stunning p.s. top for the Modern Quilt-Along I actually turned around and took another look at the quilt that has been hanging over the back of my sewing table chair for 8 months. I just love the bright rich colors Kim used for hers and was wishing I'd gone brighter on mine. Oh, yeah I did. I remember now -- I love these colors! Funny thing is I've been working on a quilt design to use some of my folky prints and the solid colors I wanted to use were a mustard yellow and a dark dark blue/gray. Oh yeah, those colors are right here. You know when you crave certain foods because your body isn't getting enough of a certain vitamin or something. That's what this was like. I never got my mustard/gray fix and was planning new projects to sate that craving. Now I'm all set and can put that other project on the backburner and start working on my quilt for the Modern Quilt-Along, "Book Club".
The quilting came out ok. Nowhere near as beautiful as the tiny little perfect waves I saw on this same quilt pattern at the FunQuilts studio when I took my class, but ok. It's so difficult to quilt a big project on a home sewing machine that I'm always happy that it turned out at all. This pattern was funny because as I was yanking and pulling the quilt from side to side trying to make those turns I could feel myself making this crazy face -- leaning my head to the side and grinding my top teeth back and forth over my bottom teeth. Too bad I couldn't set up the camera to capture that for SPT!
So I had one little snafu (of course). When you leave a project for 8 months you kind of forget where you left off. I remembered I'd bought thread for the quilting, but I didn't remember I'd bought 2 different grays. So of course, half the quilt is quilted in dark gray, the other half in light. Sweet!
September 14, 2005 | Permalink
Comments
Just wonderful! Colors are the BEST. Feel good checking that project off the list.
Posted by: Cindy | Sep 14, 2005 2:23:38 PM
hillary! its amazing! the 'nowhere near perfect waves" are perfect! the colors and overall tone of the quilt is just spot on. great work, as always.
Posted by: robin | Sep 14, 2005 2:30:56 PM
Just so beautiful. And the two thread colors add to its beauty, really. OK, quilt-making time for me.
Posted by: jess hutch | Sep 14, 2005 2:34:02 PM
hillary it's gorgeous! the colors are perfect. i hope to someday gather the courage to try making a small quilt!
Posted by: sunni | Sep 14, 2005 3:14:11 PM
Wow it is beautiful, the mustard, red and grey work wonderfully together.
Posted by: jackie | Sep 14, 2005 3:18:10 PM
It's gorgeous, I love the simple pattern, and those colors are so great!
Posted by: corinne | Sep 14, 2005 3:20:22 PM
wow! that is a great quilt, so simple and yet stunning. i love it.
Posted by: Aimee Roo | Sep 14, 2005 3:21:19 PM
mmmmm
lovely.
Posted by: laura r. | Sep 14, 2005 3:22:23 PM
DAMN! It's GORGEOUS! I guess the time away from a project does do a body good.
Did you have a "big idea" behind your colors?
Posted by: Kim | Sep 14, 2005 3:23:45 PM
That is exquisitely beautiful.
Posted by: Jill | Sep 14, 2005 3:29:01 PM
It's gorgeous and just in time for fall.
Posted by: myra | Sep 14, 2005 3:40:55 PM
Superb. I am gasping. Excellent work.
Posted by: A.J. | Sep 14, 2005 3:40:57 PM
Wow, it is gorgeous, really. I love the colors, the stitching, everything, great quilt. Makes me want to sit on your couch.
Posted by: Shelba | Sep 14, 2005 3:40:59 PM
Awesome! It's really quite amazing. Nice work!
Posted by: caro | Sep 14, 2005 3:47:43 PM
Hillary that quilt is just BEAUTIFUL!!...Yummy scrummy colours....I can't stop scrolling back and looking at it!
I know what you mean about getting a fix on certain colours :o)
Thanks so much for sharing.
Anne.
Posted by: Anne | Sep 14, 2005 3:59:52 PM
Looks beautiful! You always inspire me to be more adventureous with my quilting designs. Someday soon I will try something besides straight lines!
Posted by: Laural | Sep 14, 2005 4:01:44 PM
Great colors - I love the finished product.
Posted by: Katie | Sep 14, 2005 4:02:18 PM
It's simplicity and choise of colours is what makes it so beautiful. Awesome!
Posted by: plump-pudding | Sep 14, 2005 4:18:49 PM
wow-wow. really stunning! good god! must feel so good. I need to get a quilt started in the worst way-maybe revisit the christmas prints again??
Posted by: amy k. | Sep 14, 2005 4:27:00 PM
I'm VERY impressed, that's beautiful.
Posted by: lyn | Sep 14, 2005 4:52:29 PM
I think it is simply lovely, Hillary!
Posted by: Giao | Sep 14, 2005 5:00:47 PM
I just love how the quilting works with the rectangles! And the colours are perfect, cheerful but not glary. You've got me itching to make a quilt now...
Posted by: suzy | Sep 14, 2005 5:24:42 PM
your quilt is gorgeous, i love the colours.
Posted by: Nichola | Sep 14, 2005 6:39:21 PM
Wow. I've been wondering how that was turning out because I've been wanting to make the same thing. How many different colors, and how much yardage of each did you use?
So beautiful!
Posted by: Jill | Sep 14, 2005 6:42:56 PM
Stunning! The combination of colours looks amazing.
Posted by: Jacqueline | Sep 14, 2005 7:44:30 PM
You are such an inspiration, Hillary!!! Now I want to make a beautifully simple quilt. It is gorgeous!!!
Posted by: Susanne | Sep 14, 2005 7:48:57 PM
SO AMAZING!!! you are the real thing. xo : mav
Posted by: maria | Sep 14, 2005 7:54:40 PM
Sigh.... it's soooooo lovely! So what if you used 2 different shades of grey? If anyone says anything tell them it's a "sunshine and shadow" quilt!
Posted by: Marg | Sep 14, 2005 8:18:35 PM
I am in love with that quilt! The colors are so amazing I want to lick them.
Posted by: Jessica Kenenske | Sep 14, 2005 8:51:01 PM
Love it! You are amazing with color. Can't wait for book group.
Posted by: Stephanie | Sep 14, 2005 11:37:17 PM
So beautiful in its simplicity!
Love, love, love your color choices!
Posted by: Leslie | Sep 15, 2005 1:49:31 AM
It's so so beautiful, and the colours are perfect! Lovely work! :-)
Posted by: terhi | Sep 15, 2005 3:59:54 AM
Breathtaking... really beautiful work!
Posted by: Fiona | Sep 15, 2005 4:28:49 AM
looks great hillary! i'm so impressed you stuck with their quilting plan on your home machine! i am picture you jolting it from side to side!!! :)
Posted by: carolyn | Sep 15, 2005 5:58:04 AM
oh MY
I am sorry... but I must add to all the gasping :) It is stunning. Truly gorgeous. The colours are inspired... I would never think to put such vibrant tones together like that but DAMN it works so well! :)
And I can't believe you quilted it yourself. It looks perfect to me. I can't see any imperfections at all ..
congrats. Gosh. I will need to lie down and recover now. xx
Posted by: Lucy | Sep 15, 2005 6:14:52 AM
Great quilt! I really like the colors, and I think the quilting is great too. How on earth do you manage a whole quilt in a home machine? I want to try that, but I am scared!
Posted by: amanda8 | Sep 15, 2005 6:23:15 AM
Beautiful quilt! And I love that it's quilted in two different grays.
Posted by: Jan | Sep 15, 2005 7:38:30 AM
Fabulous!! And thanks for giving the close-ups and story. It looks amazing in detail and at a distance, and I love the way the colours work.
Posted by: Jane | Sep 15, 2005 8:24:42 AM
What a beautiful and intricately worked quilt. I love the colours, especially when fall is upon us soon.
Posted by: vania | Sep 15, 2005 8:25:23 AM
Wow! That is BEAUTIFUL!
Posted by: Donna Huffmaster | Sep 15, 2005 8:39:48 AM
hillary, your quilt is just as stunning! i loved your narration of your battle with the sewing machine, i know i make crazy faces while i am working all the time. i think this is the part of quilting that scares me the most, the quilting. from the few, very small (one yard!) baby blankets i have done with some "mock" quilting, i cant even fathom how you would wrangle a queen sized quilt under there!
Posted by: hannah | Sep 15, 2005 9:44:13 AM
I am so in love with the quilt. You are so inspirational!The colors are absolutely lovely.
Posted by: Claudia | Sep 15, 2005 10:19:29 AM
wow, truly gorgeous! im new to stitching, sewing and the like...so of course, i'm absolutely fascinated by this piece. and i just love the colors so much!!
Posted by: jenny vorwaller | Sep 15, 2005 11:32:47 AM
this.is.beautiful
Posted by: natalie | Sep 15, 2005 11:40:14 AM
you are such an inspiration.
Posted by: Lisa | Sep 15, 2005 12:03:32 PM
I love it!! Sooooo cute. I didnt know if you knew abut http://projectlinus.org/ but you make such beautiful things, i didn't know if you had a place for all of them to go. FANTASTIC job keep it up!!!
Posted by: tanya | Sep 15, 2005 2:40:52 PM
Wow - that quilt is just gorgeous! You are so talented - I absolutely love checking out your blog to see what fun things you've created.
Posted by: heather | Sep 15, 2005 2:55:22 PM
I think your quilting looks fab! I know what you mean about wrestling with the quilt... I remember coming home sore and exhausted after my nights of doing free motion swirl patterns on Brynne's quilt. Just trying to manage the weight of the quilt was almost too much - let alone get decent looking stitches! Phew!
Posted by: kelly | Sep 15, 2005 3:00:46 PM
uauuuu! beautiful!
Posted by: sonia | Sep 15, 2005 3:05:40 PM
it's the most gorgeous quilt i've ever seen - the colors are just stunning, all in combination with another. brilliant!! i wish i could quilt (but i have short attention span and am very lazy haha) xo stella
Posted by: stella | Sep 15, 2005 5:10:50 PM
Kim's is great, but yours is just as fine...it's the main strength of that quilt design....if you get the colors right (no matter what colors) the quilt is beautiful! Wonderful job!
Posted by: Rose | Sep 16, 2005 8:54:26 PM
Great quilt, going to make one similar for sure. My favourite quilts to make are squares and rectangles, and I have a superquilter that is great for meandering. Love the all the things you do, so talented.
Posted by: sandra lamb | Sep 17, 2005 1:04:03 PM
It's wonderful!
Posted by: Camilla Engman | Sep 18, 2005 4:22:07 AM
I love your style, site, photography, and of course your creations, especially this quilt. Wonderful colour combination. It looks as though it's been washed since you've done the quilting, it has that beautiful texture... Come over and visit me, I have my quilt posted. I'm new to blogland.
Posted by: Becky | Sep 18, 2005 9:21:21 AM
I'd never have thought of putting those colors together. You have a sophisticated sense of color. That's a really beautiful quilt!
Posted by: ivy | Sep 18, 2005 4:09:19 PM
I love these colors and I love the modern pattern. I've got this huge bin of fabric scraps and this just might be the pattern that gets me to give quilting something big a try again.
You just continue to amaze me, Hilary.
Posted by: Cinnamon | Sep 19, 2005 2:35:32 PM
Really? I have NO idea how I got to this posting in your blog but I am totally and entirely in love with that quilt. Seriously. I would divorce my husband tomorrow for that quilt. It's soooo pretty....the kids are going to be sent to orphanages tomorrow so I can learn how to quilt. It must be done.
Posted by: Jenny Wren | Sep 19, 2005 8:48:50 PM
Like all the other commenters here. WOW! This quilt looks great. I've got the book at the home and this wasn't a pattern that had jumped out at me. But having seen your's and Kim's versions, it may well be added to ever-growing "to do" list.
Posted by: Paisley | Sep 20, 2005 1:37:21 AM
This quilt is gorgeous!
Posted by: abelle | Sep 20, 2005 12:22:40 PM
wow! soo pretty. im starting to make this quilt too and now im even more excited. hehe. ohh i have a question for you...did you use batting? ive never done this before and i cant tell if i really need it or not? let me know if you have time!
Posted by: Lauren | Sep 28, 2005 5:09:48 PM
