Play in the Sunshine was finished a little while ago, but getting a photo and then sitting down to write about it has taken (almost) as long as finishing the quilt!
I named her after a song from my favorite Prince album, Sign O' The Times. I like to name quilts after songs, or lyrics (like I Don't Mind and Stars Are Never Sleeping). As a teenager, I kept notebooks of favorite snippets of song lyrics -- yep, rock music was my poetry. In fact, I still scribble song lyrics down in notebooks and sketchbooks to this day. "Play in the Sunshine" (the song) is an upbeat, celebratory song that bounces around with love and happiness, and I think is a suitable inspiration for this bright, sunny quilt.
I asked my bee mates to make me a quarter log cabin block, using yellow and orange fabric for inner logs, and a true, tomato red for the final, outer logs. I asked for the blocks to finish anywhere between 10 and 16 inches. I tend to favor a slightly wonky, imperfect look to most of my quilts. I also find that having the challenge of fitting together different sized blocks can lead to a lot of fun and to surprising design decisions! I suggested that I would also welcome smaller blocks if anyone was so inspired. As usual, the generous and talented ladies of the Love Circle did not let me down.
One of the great things about the log cabin design is that there are so many options when it comes to arrangement. I think I played around with every possible option before deciding to go with simple rows and keep the blocks all pointing northwest. I chose to "float" some of the smaller blocks in a solid background. To make the different sized blocks fit together, I inserted strips of "coping" fabric. And I somehow managed to place two of the smaller block facing the wrong direction, which I didn't notice until we took the photo! But I think that just adds to the fun. I finished up with some Carolyn Friedlander wide-back grid (becoming my signature, oh dear!) and some fabric from bee-mates: Ivy gave me the cute kids for the strip on the back, and Yeechi gave me the wild red and orange print which I used for the binding. The quilting is a simple diagonal grid, done on my trusty Juki 2010.
Play in the Sunshine has already been sent to the Love Circle's chosen charity, Wrap Them In Love up in Washington. Wrap Them in Love quilts go to children all over the world, from local food banks and shelters, hospitals, to orphanages, to soldiers and earthquake, hurricane and tidal wave, mudslide and fire victims.
I think she is quite a jaunty, cheerful quilt and I hope that she will brighten up someone's day soon.
'Cause one day, everyday will be a yellow day...
