Tuesday, June 01, 2010

Shakespeare In The Park Quilt X4

OK - here is a photo of 2 of my Shakespeares (purple is #2 and blue is #3)... the 1st one I made - well it looks alot like the blue one, but the photo isn't as clear and besides - that photo is on another computer.  So, just imagine 3 ok?  And now... I am cutting out my 4th Shakespeare.  Pattern by Judy Martin, by the way.


Here are my fabrics.  I had a plan for these fabrics, but the ruler I need isn't here.  And honestly, this is probably enough fabric for 2-3 quilts.  So, I'm cutting into it and whatever is left over can be used for my original plan.  This quilt won't have as much contrast as my others, but with careful cutting, I think the pattern will work.
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Here's what I do... Use the fabrics with the MOST contrast (the darkest and lightest) for the biggest pieces and usually the smallest pieces.  I especially like the snails trail pattern to show up so I try to make sure I use strong contrast for those big outside triangle pieces.The medium contrast colors - you usually can get away with for the medium pieces.  By the 3rd quilt I learned to use a little bit of zinger fabrics - they are fun for the smaller pieces.  I used some ugly fabrics for the small pieces too - the ugliness gets lost in the design and that fabric is out of my stash and somehow transformed into a beautiful quilt!


OK - here we go!  To stay organized I label a bunch of freezer bags A-K and line them all up.  As I cut - I put the pieces in the correct bag.  To get a good variety from each fabric without cutting it all up, I start with a bigger size piece (you don't need as many large pieces as small pieces), cut the big piece and then move on down to a smaller piece and cut those with what is left-over from the strip after cutting the big piece.  Usually you can cut a few different sized pieces from 1 strip.
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I use the pattern in my Quilter's Newsletter Magazine Jan/Feb 2001 (No. 329), but never fear - if you don't have this issue the pattern is also in one of Judy Martin's books.  It is not a hard pattern to make, trust me!  It just takes a bit of time to cut out and yes, some of the pieces are small, but it all goes together perfectly and if you save the big parts of the snails trails for last... well toward the end you will think that this quilt just flew together!  Because those snail trails go together fairly quickly.  Just cut it all out and then chain piece away.
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So, that's what I am working on.  I am interested to see how these fabrics will work out.  Not shown is white - I can always use white fabric if I have to... as the saying goes...  nothing ventured, nothing gained.

Edited to add:  I have had so many e-mails about my Shakespeare quilts that I thought I would add this information.  I now know that you can find the pattern in Judy's book, The Creative Pattern Book.  If you want to make this quilt, I would recommend a rotary cutter (if you already have a cutter - put in a new blade!), cutting mat and a variety of rulers to make the project easier - all of which you can click on in my links below!  It is not a difficult pattern, you just have to keep track of all the pieces and go step-by-step!

If you are buying something from Amazon, I would really appreciate it if you used my links. Thank you so much!




5 comments:

Lori said...

what an inspiration. I have the book, and although I admire the pattern, I have not made it--all those little pieces. But when my life slows down a little, I could maybe do like you, cut into baggies and then piece. I am very interested in seeing how it turns out with the colors you have.

Shelina (formerly known as Shasta) said...

That is going to look lovely in that colorway! I still haven't finished my first one - have one problem corner, which is an easy fix for when I just get around to it.

Vivian said...

I was orginally attracted to your blog because of your beautiful "Shakespeare" quilts and my amazement that you've made three of them. All the references I found online for the pattern were that it was in Judy's "Creative Pattern Book" which I finally got a copy of last year. Now to find out that I had the pattern all along since I've had that issue of QNM since about 2002 or 2003!

Knowing how quilting serendipity has worked in my life maybe this is a sign that this is my year to make one too? Looking forward to see how yours progresses.

Unknown said...

This is my favorite pattern ever. I am going to order the book and make this for a friend. Do you think this would look okay in a King size? Did you use white on white for the purple one.

Can't wait to see the scrappy. If it turns out, may make one for me.

Great job

Gramsews said...

Your site says 9.99 for the book...Amazon wants 34.95. I only want the pattern not the book.