A touch of summer, Palm Springs-style

What's calm, cool and refreshing like a cool glass of iced tea? 

Wendy's "Tulip Time" quilt, featuring Contempo's Palm Springs collection! 

It's perfect for creating a summertime feeling, especially in this cool colorway. You can find Wendy's pattern in the April/May issue of The Quilter magazine.

"Tulip Time" by Wendy Sheppard
Photo: The Quilter magazine

What attracted you to Palm Springs and what made you choose the cool colorway?

Two reasons: First, I like the cheerful and slightly crazy prints in Palm Springs.  I normally work with more "serious" fabrics, and I think the contemporary and bright and busy prints in Palm Springs challenged me to get out of my usual box. Second, I chose the cool colorway because I liked the aqua tonal fabrics in the collection, and really wanted to do something with it.  And of course, I ended using the aqua fabrics as a subdued contrast to the bright dotted print in the collection.

 

We love the alternating block centers--why did you decide to do the two different versions?

Again, it's contrast. I felt like a person looking at the quilt should be immediately drawn by the dots, but then, if the block centers were all dotted, the desired effect I wanted wouldn't be achieved. So, I used the aqua tonal fabrics in the alternate blocks for a "receding" effect so that the dots can shine in the other blocks.

Why do you like having the two different background colors?

I guess "contrast" is the buzzword for this design. I like even my background to have contrast, so the light taupe and white are perfect.

Tell us about that fussy-cut stripe border.

That tulip stripe print fabric is one of the most fun stripe prints I have ever used. One could really cut it however one likes. I decided to go for a fussy cut narrower border. And that particular section of the stripe print gave me the perfect width.

What do you like best about this quilt?

Though not difficult to construct, I like that the design has a soothing and cool feel to it. I feel like despite some of the busy prints used in the design, the quilt exudes a calm feel that relaxes my eyes.

How did you machine quilt it?

It was kept simple - orange peels, and straight lines to keep the simple and open feel of the quilt.

Anything else you'd like to add?

I can definitely see this quilt being used as a throw, or a table topper for a late spring or late summer tablescape. At least that's what I plan to do with mine.  For those wondering about using quilts as tablecloths, I use cork-based placemats in addition on my table so that I keep my quilt/tablecloth stain-free.

To read more about Wendy's quilt and how she quilted it, visit her blog. 

See the entire Palm Springs collection here.

Find the kit for the Tulip Time collection here.

Find The Quilter magazine here.