Friday, February 16, 2018

L'Arc en Ciel

A special quilt deserves a special name, so it's no coincidence that I named this really special quilt after my favorite Japanese band. L'Arc en Ciel means The Rainbow in French, and it is a fitting name for this rainbow-themed scrappy Irish chain quilt from Melissa Corry's Irish Chain Quilts.

This quilt was made from leftover fabric. Well, almost. I didn't really have much in the way of low-volume scraps for the background and dug into my fat quarter stash for that, but the colored fabrics are all made from leftover strips pieced into crazy blocks. It was a lot of work, because I was making my own fabric essentially, but it was totally worth it when I saw the results at the end.

This quilt was slow to piece, but easy and enjoyable. I enjoyed all the different rainbow fabrics, and I particularly love the way the low-volume background looked. To make this quilt, I think I pretty much exhausted my almost-white prints, which means I need to replenish that.

When it comes to quilting, I had several ideas in mind. It ranges all the way from improv, to a more structured design. Ultimately, I chose structure because the piecing has enough improv in it. I quilted a secondary design in the background with diamonds lying beneath each chain cross. It's an easy, minimal marking design that also puts straight lines next to curvy fillers, which is my favorite way to employ contrast.

I had to resist the urge to quilt this as densely as I secretly wanted to. I usually like to quilt fillers at a super dense scale, but I just felt this quilt was busy enough that it didn't also warrant super dense quilting. So ... I used closer to a 3/8" scale, which was honestly a bit painful, but on the bright side, it means the quilt is slightly cuddlier.

This quilt has a sparkle to it because some of the fabrics I used has a metallic sheen. I adore it, and it's just perfect for brightening up those Chicago winter days! (Although, I don't think Chicago winters are all that dreary.) I toted this quilt all over the house, trying to find a good "stage" shot. I really think photography is the hardest part of being a quilt blogger!

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Linking up with: Crazy Mom Quilts, My Quilt Infatuation, Busy Hands Quilts, Confessions of a Fabric Addict, Cooking Up Quilts, Sew Can She, and Powered by Quilting.

16 comments:

  1. Lovely! The improv piecing in the colored blocks really adds sparkle, and your quilting totally enhances the overall effect.

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  2. Beautiful! Killer job with the quilting!

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  3. This is absolutely gorgeous! I love the combination of the line quilting and the filler quilting.

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  4. The combination of quilting and colors definitely keeps my eye moving around this piece. :)

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  5. Beautiful rainbow, Liz! You're right, it sparkles, and not just with the metallic prints. The impov piecing gives each color a depth that's hard to describe. Well done!

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  6. LOVE. It!!! You did a spectacular job on the quilting, as well.

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  7. I love this design and the quilting is awesome! Thanks for sharing.

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  8. You outdid yourself! Love the scrappy background for it supports the strong colors of the rainbow colors. Oh, the quilting!

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  9. I stumbled across your blog on Crazy Mom's quiltblog and have gone right back to your beginnings. I am stunned by your journey and your creativity in such a short time - and aspire to become as good as you - but not with a longarm! I pick up my new Bernina soon and I have, for the first time, bought a quilt kit from Craftsy to practice on. Your work is absolutely gorgeous and I love to dip in to see it every week or so.

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  10. Once again, this is a lovely quilt and your quilting is stunning! I really love the way you quilted it and that you made the background scrappy, like the colors. A beauty!

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  11. What a beauty!!! Exhausting a color category of fabric is a good thing--makes room for new acquisitions. Especially with Quilt Con coming up. I'm amazed at your improv piecing and your awesome quilting. Great job, Liz!

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  12. Your quilt photography loud and pretty as usual and yes taking photos of my quilts for me is the hardest part of blogging. The interior of my house is so much darker than yours and I always the sunlight that comes through your house. Your quilting is beautiful and I think it's pretty dense and intricate. I wonder, if anything, taking classes with you know who, you are going to bring home and, of course, looking forward to seeing what you've learned. Have fun at Quilt Con and I'm pretty sure you're going to be able to replenish your low volume stash there. I may be a little jealous of what you bring home. Have fun!

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  13. Hi Liz,
    WOWEE - b.e.a.u.t.i.f.u.l does not at all fitting to describe this quilt. I love, love, LOVE it! Oh my, the colors in this are just great and those low-volume whites and almost whites do their job spectacularly. I think your quilting is spot on and it sure makes me want to cuddle underneath it. ~smile~ Roseanne

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  14. Your quilting is fantastic as always! I love the combo of the straight lines and curves, they move the eye all around the quilt.

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  15. I know I'm a little late here, but I love everything about this.

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