Quilt for Traveling Show

This is my quilt for the traveling quilt show. The flip of a quarter at our

guild meeting was the beginning of this quilt. See statement below.

GOOD BOY, CHEDDAR!

Modern quilting is the license to explore, the chance to step out of your comfort zone, to stretch and to try new things. I have seen the quilting world explode with wonderful new fabrics, exciting fabric designers coming from unusual backgrounds and many vehicles to acquire fabric. In addition, there is the Internet with its many creative and inspiring blogs. This is the new quilting community; this is the modern way to connect.

The idea for my dog quilt came out of a monochromatic block challenge to make a block using the color Cheddar – that warm yellow orange color. Right away I thought, wouldn’t it be fun and challenging to make a yellow lab in that cheddar color using non-traditional fabrics like dots, stripes and checks. It was a bit ambitious for the block challenge but an idea was sparked for future use.

I like the iconic (and tacky) nature of those dog paintings where the canine is king. I tried to translate that feeling into my quilt in a modern way. This was a true stretch for me: finding an image, drawing up my own pattern in the fractured Ruth McDowell style, and finding the right fabrics that would give the value, perspective and quirkiness I envisioned.

For the dog’s head I used 5 fabrics to create the values of light, medium and dark. Some appliqué and satin stitching was added for definition. With the background I used a group of intense blues and greens to create the foliage surrounding him. I wanted the background to be as powerful as the dog and to radiate out of him, suggesting the majestic nature of this being.

In this piece, I was able to design, sew, poke fun and stretch. All in all it was a great exploration and journey!

P.S. For the record: I don’t own a dog. I have one cat at home and he’s not too happy about this quilt.