Every week RJR Fabrics presents us with a quilt made by a maker that they’ve been giving free reins to use their Cotton Supreme Solids. I’ve been following this on IG for a long while and when I got the chance to make a quilt of my own, I jumped at the opportunity. I’ve written a blog post (my first) mainly about the process of making my Paper Round Quilt but also a little bit about me. You can also find this, and a giveaway of the fabrics used, on RJR Fabrics’ blog http://quiltwithlove.com/ . Here we go and thank you for joining in:
My name is Jenny, I’m a Swedish quilter in Sheffield. I’ve been in the UK for nearly two decades and moved to South Yorkshire from London two years ago. I’m trained as a pattern cutter and have been sewing my whole life but I’ve been making quilts full time for the last 5 years. With no graphic design background I just make what I like and most of the time that involves a curve. I love using the computer to design as it’s very exact (a habit from my pattern cutting days perhaps) and because my drawings by hand never turn out the way it looks in my head. At the moment I’m using Touchdraw on an iPad Mini that I share with my kids (not ideal but restrictions can be good, right?). I’m dreaming of a bigger screen, Adobe InDesign and Illustrator.
My main tool when making curves are my custom templates (#pappersaxstentemplates):
I often use one of the shapes as a restriction/rule when designing. Or, if I’ve got a new shape/template in mind, I’ll start my design around that. http://pappersaxsten.com/templates/
The #paperroundquilt was no exception. I had just released the Triple Drunkard’s Path set (#tdptemplate) and I was playing with the shape:
The design I came up with reminded me of newspapers stacked up ready for the paper round and I immediately thought of RJR Fabrics Cotton Supreme Solids for the quilt.
The chart they sent me had all the colours I love and choosing was easier than I’ve ever experienced. This is my pick:
(298 Slate, 327 Poolside, 289 Proud as a Peacock , 368 Goldilocks, 367 Bandana, 281 Cloud 9, 333 Bougainvillea, 294 Cove, 285 Golden Topaz).
The colours have altered a smidgen but apart from that, I did not stray far from the original design (thank you Michelle for your input). This is the norm for me at the moment but maybe the future will give me more time to experiment, go crazy, step on the orange (the latter is a blogpost in itself). I now particularly like the kick of that light blue newspaper on the top of the pile:
I did find it a bit jarring at first and I nearly unpicked/and remade that part. Now I’m very happy I kept it. My Swedish “matchy, matchy” aesthetic needs an ice cube down it’s neck sometimes or it will all get too safe and cozy. The top went together beautifully thanks to these lush solids. These fabrics are easy to cut, sew and press. They really live up to the Supreme part of the name.
When it comes to quilting I’ve got lots of ideas but my tiny domestic machine is not ideal for what I had in mind. Instead I went looking for a longarmer. I love the graphic quilting designs of Cristine Perrigo and Jodi Robinson but the cost of shipping and customs and the wish to use a more local quilter made me ask around on my home turf. Joë Bennison’s name popped up more than once and I’m very happy she could take this on. These are my initial drawings for Joë:
The photos of the finished quilt are taken in the Antiques Quarter in Sheffield by Lee Thompson. I love working with Lee as he always surprises me and finds an angle I would never have thought of.
There are lots of exciting things happening involving this quilt that I can not yet mention but I can tell you this:
Making this quilt and working with RJR Fabrics has been big for me as it led to a collaboration with artist Cecilia Björk, one half of Artyfact Gallery in Sweden, and to our exhibition ‘Art Quilt’ at that Gallery at the end of March.
Sign up to my mailing list for news on the pattern release (yes, it will happen this year!) and any other curvy news.
Thank you and keep making,
Jenny
