Here comes Summersville

I was lucky enough to get a little stack of Summersville prints in the post from Lu Summers.  I knew before they even arrived what I was going to do with them.

I have been doing a lot of spools blocks recently.  At the Fat Quarterly Retreat I will be teaching a couple of classes focused on making blocks like these and conquering the Y seam.  A selection of spools patterns (and more) will be going in the accompanying FQ retreat special issue too so spools have been on the brain, and my brain as I have mentioned before is an obsessive place.  I think they might even make their way into a Ringo Pie spool block for Amber.

I had seen a pic of Tamkio's on Instagram- http://instagr.am/p/JXabsvvn1o? and it really inspired me.    It was one of those ideas where I had to hold myself back and let less be more.  I used cross hatch quilting to echo the cross hatch fabric.  So easy to do, the walking foot practically does this itself, although it does take ages!

I used Aurifil 50wt colour 2310 thread and Vilene 640 fusible fleece, which is the best stuff for making cushions, I have just ordered more from Julia at Gone to Earth.    My top tip for using this interfacing is to make sure the fabric you are going to attach it too is very well pressed.  I go over all my seams with a damp cloth and a hot iron just to flatten out the lumpy bits before using the damp cloth again to press the fleece to the reverse.   The cream solid is Kona Snow, from Mandy at Simply Solids.

Lucie's designs take me back to childhood doodles and felt tips.  The splodgy print reminds me of experiments with blotting paper and paint brushes and the  line drawings are so appealing.  I was an arty child and spent a huge amount of time scribbling and designing.  Lucie has captured that feeling in these fabrics and the simple fresh colour palette.  The brick colour is my favourite.  

I like to treat the back to a little pattern so these little spools/butterflies/bow ties take the design to the inspiration source.

 I love binding on a cushion, it provides a great frame and the solids finish it off nicely.

And here it is in its new home.  Damian often sits here as do our cats and dog so it is going to get a lotta love.  Here it sits in the brief period before it gets covered in cat hair etc.  Such is our house!

And when you get some Summersville of your own,  Lu has created a Flickr group so you can share and inspire.  Instagram is a fun app if you haven't tried it, free and such a quick and easy way to share pics with a nice little community of new and familiar faces, I am on there as verykerryberry.  Now I am going to start my Bloom quilt!