Friday, August 13, 2021

Sunshiny Day Quilt


It's always a great sense of accomplishment when you finish a quilt, often tinged with a little sadness knowing the journey is over. I definitely feel this way about my Sunshiny Day Quilt which was completed yesterday.

I'm incredibly grateful Jodi (Tales of Cloth) approached me about being one of her volunteers to stitch some blocks prior to the release of this quilt, her club/quilt-along for this year. I'm also pleased she is happy for people to add their own twist to her designs. The original pattern has 48 blocks and no borders. As you can see, mine has only 25 blocks and a fun border.


This is my first ever quilt with circles, yet there are NO curves to stitch! Each block is hand stitched using English Paper Piecing (EPP), then appliquéd by hand onto a background square, with the squares later being machine sewn into a quilt top. A wonderful combination - all the fun of creating EPP blocks, without the arduous task of stitching them together. Not only that, but this quilt includes three slightly different circle patterns - Dawn, Noon and Dusk, allowing for even more possibilities.




I chose fabrics from my collection which met my 'sunshiny' criteria, aiming for a quilt to give a little sunshine every time I look at it. Early in the year I settled on a border option, so I made a start and cut fabrics for these 2" eight point diamonds and 2" half-square triangles. The border stitching was perfect for those times when I needed a more portable option and didn't want to be making lots of fabric choices.





Lustrous silk thread in sapphire blue (Gutermann R 753 silk, colour 960) was my choice for hand quilting around each circle and little square, as well as one internal 'star' row of stitching inside each circle block. At this point I decided the centres of the Dawn and Noon blocks needed some definition. I used any colour matching fine thread, making tiny stitches along the seam line to be 'invisible'.




Eventually I settled on Perle 8 cotton in a deeper golden shade (DMC 741) to hand quilt the borders. This is a thicker thread than I usually use (often a Sulky 12 wt) however I thoroughly enjoyed the stitching and the effect. I can see more Perle 8 in my future!

 





I do believe Sunshiny Day is my favourite quilt ever - and my husband's also. Another great design by Jodi Godfrey of Tales of Cloth. Remember, her original varies from this - it has 48 blocks and no border. My background squares are slightly larger too. Jodi has mentioned the possibility of releasing her Sunshiny Day Quilt as a kit/pattern in late November this year - I would highly recommend it.

PS If you look closely you will see the same fabric in my centre block used for the mini corner circles and the backing. You may also notice a little 'cross' of four sunflower blocks and other minor features to keep one looking 😊🌻🌞

Quilt Details

Sunshiny Day Quilt 
Designed by Jodi Godfrey - with my alterations as mentioned above
54"/137cm Square
Started November 2020
Completed August 2021
Legacy natural cotton wadding with scrim

11 comments:

Susan said...

This is gorgeous Karen! Each individual block is like a little jewel box of gemstones! The border is the perfect containment for your jewel box!

Karen @ Pieces of Contentment said...

Thank you so much Susan, that's a lovely way of describing this quilt. I'm really happy with how the border turned out.

Kay said...

Oh my, this is a beautiful work of art. I love absolutely everything about it from the fabric choices to the borders to the hand quilting. x

diane b said...

It is beautiful. You are so clever.

Cathy said...

Absolutely beautiful, and a very appropriate name for this quilt too. I have alway enjoyed your quilting work. I like to appliqué so this type of quilting would be something I would enjoy too.
How are you all doing in Australia? I hear of the tight restrictions. Is that true where you live?

Karen @ Pieces of Contentment said...

Thank you Diane, it’s been a bright and cheerful project to focus on.

Karen @ Pieces of Contentment said...

Thank you so much Kay, I'm pleased you like it too. :)

Karen @ Pieces of Contentment said...

Thank you Cathy. The title Sunshiny Day was a great choice of name by Jodi. I used the title to guide my choice of fabrics. The combination quilts of EPP and appliqué might be just right for you.

We are all doing fine. We have two daughters in Sydney, so they have had tight restrictions for a while - but are both still working, one in childcare, the other working from home. Our whole state went into lockdown yesterday - for at least a week. It doesn't make a big difference to us at this point. No sport for the girls, church was online only today. We still homeschool and are free to have long walks in our beautiful neighbourhood. One of our sons is planning to marry in December - not sure how/if that will be effected at this stage. Things change daily. Currently there are no Covid cases in our local area.

Lynda said...

Such a beautiful quilt - perfect name.

Jeanne said...

Totally gorgeous quilt Karen. Hoping all is well with you!

Karen @ Pieces of Contentment said...

Thank you Lynda and Jeanne. Yes, all is well. I am recovering from a recent back injury and should be healed enough to enjoy our younger sons wedding next month.

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