Thursday, February 20, 2020

Quilt Reveal: Color It Red


Welcome to the Color It Red blog hop!

 I really like red and white quilts so for my Blog Hop day, I was originally going to finish an old project that had red in it, but decided to make a brand new red and white quilt. Starting new quilts are so much fun, and since I have an excuse, I may as well take advantage of it!




My quilt started with some red yo-yos I made for my yo-yo coverlet. I decided that the red yo-yos were too bright for my coverlet.

If you are new to my blog, as way of background, I am making a yo-yo coverlet to replicate an antique one I saw when I was in New Orleans. Welcome, and feel free to look around once you are finished with this post. I make lots of different types of quilting and other craft projects. If you are a regular visitor, I am sorry for bringing up the coverlet yet again. Consider this post to be a vacation from that coverlet. I promise I won't mention it again in this post.
 


Instead of sewing the the yo-yos together to form a rectangle, I decided to use them to surround a red and white quilt. I thought a silhouette would make for a simple applique, and a profile portrait would make for a more interesting portrait. I looked up some silhouettes on the internet and found a silhouette profile with flowers in the hair. I thought that was a great concept for my quilt.


I used dots fabric to resemble the dots portraits in old newspaper articles and books before photography. It's a little reference to my genealogy addiction.

I traced it, but made lots of changes in it to make it my own. I put fusible on the back of the fabric and cut out the shape and fused it to the background. I then free motion quilted and bound the quilt. I threw away the rest of the fusible so I don't ever accidentally use it again.  It gummed up the needle and made it very difficult to quilt.

I think it looks great as it is without the yo-yos. Some of the dark splotches in the photo above are due to my lazy job washing the washable marker out. Some of it is winter lighting.  I am sure it will be fine after a second wash.


When I quilted it, the face received dimension on its own so her jaw line is pronounced and her eyes are set in.  I really like that. I added a layer of batting behind the hair so it would also stand out. It made a small difference. I used permanent fabric markers to make the eyes, nostril and lips. The  shadow under the eye is a mistake but I think it makes the face more interesting.


Since the point of the quilt is to use the yo-yos, I added them around the quilt as planned. I think it is good practice for future use. You know, in case I ever need to know how to join yo-yos.

The inside quilt is about 6" x 8" and with the 2 inch yo-yos, it is about 10" x 12".  By the way, did you notice that the portrait uses a different fabric than the yo-yos? I was happy to find that I had two different dot fabrics in the same shade of red.

Thanks for visiting me. I hope you enjoyed your stay. You're welcome back anytime. Feel free to look around and see what else I've been up to over the last couple decades. There are links in the sidebar to help guide you to whatever interests you. When you are done here, visit the other participants on the blog hop.


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Also linked with: Beauties Pageant

30 comments:

Rebecca Smith said...

I like the idea behind your dot fabric and silhouette quilt. It does look a little like the dot cartoons.

Stitchin At Home said...

What a neat idea! I like your silhouette quilt completet with yoyo's.

Elizabeth Coughlin said...

What a clever and sweet project! I adore yo-yos, so I'm happy to see you use them to finish off the piece.

lynn said...

Thanks for a very interesting look into how your creative process worked during the making of this quilt. It is sweet, and such a great idea.

Carol said...

Awesome project! I really like how you did the silhouette! Great job!

Jan Snell said...

How original! Thanks for sharing.

Carol Swift said...

This is an interesting and artsy red piece you created, Shasta...I love it! Those little yo-yos are really cute, too. I like the way you did the quilting to add depth to her face. Nice job and so inspiring! Thanks for hopping with us!

tink's mom said...

This is a stunning quilt with a lovely trim. Very interesting construction, thanks for the background info.

Calicojoan said...

This is so cool! It just amazes me the inspiration we can get from searching online for ideas. You took it to another level! Nice job.

Karrin Hurd said...

Great project, and wonderful idea! Thanks so much for sharing!

Farm Quilter said...

What a great silhouette quilt! Love the reverse applique and the quilting that defines everything!!

Julierose said...

Beautiful Silhouette piece--I love the yo-yo surround! So creative.
Are you making yo-yos wth a yo-yo-maker or just cutting circles?
I have a few that I've begun in all blues..they make a lovely take along project don't they? Relaxing and easy...nice work hugs, Julierose

Joyful Quilter said...

Looks like another fun project! I like how you created the curls in the hair with the batting and cut aways.

Charlene McCain said...

Great quilt block! I can just imagine a whole quilt of silhouette faces. You did a beautiful job. The yoyo's around the block are really cute. Thank you for sharing such a unique block.

Sharon said...

Such a unique quilt project! Thanks for sharing.

Cynthia's Creating Ark said...

Very beautiful. I never thought to use yoyo's around the outside of a project.

Allie said...

You are so creative - this is stunning!

Marian said...

I really like the silhouette, thank you for sharing your project and how you created it.

LJ said...

Very neat little quilt. The silhouette is wonderful and I like that you added more batting to make her hair stand out. Thank you for sharing.

Siouxzq64@gmail.com said...

Great idea. When I originally looked at the piece I thought you had machine embroidered the flower in the hair. Love the yoyo's. I have a yoyo coverlet I work on sometimes too. But it is different than the antique one you shared.

Karen's Korner said...

A very interesting technique. Love how you did the "flowers" in her hair.

Raewyn said...

Such a fun idea!! I like the way you did the hair, and of course, those yo-yos are the perfect finishing touch :-)

Kate said...

Beautiful and bold mini. A very creative way to use up those cast offs from the coverlet.

Susan said...

What a great idea! Love the yo-yo border

Dix in Canada said...

What a unique block! Nice feature adding the interior stitch lines to show contour for the facial & hair features. Thanks for sharing with us.

Vroomans' Quilts said...

What a lovely little piece using these different technique's. I love the look of yo-yo's but Iam terrible at making them.

dq said...

Shasta, the creativity you have exhibited in this project leaves me speechless! I love everything about it from the color, to the design, to the fabrics!

Tanya said...

Very nice! I didn't notice that the polka dot fabrics were different until you mentioned it. I love the way you did the flowers in the hair and I think the added batting behind the hair makes it poof. It all looks just great!

Brenda @ Songbird Designs said...

Very interesting technique! I love the yo-yo's surrounding the little quilt silhouette! Beautiful!

Kim Sharman said...

Oh woww, your silhouette of a lady is exquisite! Love all the details and as for the red and white polka dots fabric ....truly inspired. Those flowers in her hair are just gorgeous. A few Love too, the border of yo yo's.