The dramatic appeal of Moonflower

If sleek elegance and vibrant colors speak to you, we'd like to introduce you to Sandi Irish's "Moonflower" quilt. Featured in the fall 2013 issue of Quilt Trends, this contemporary design uses magenta and olive green to pop off a black background, courtesy of the gorgeous prints of Kanvas' Floral Philosophy collection by Maria Kalinowski. 

"Moonflower" designed by Sandi Irish;
featured in Quilt Trends magazine, fall 2013

Here's what Sandi had to say: "The magazine picture is stunning! Can I borrow those vases?" Keep reading to learn what she has to say about designing this beauty.

What attracted you to the Floral Philosophy fabrics?

I LOVE magenta and the colors just pop on the black background. The color combination is a favorite of mine, and the quilt turned out simple but elegant.

Do you have a favorite print in the collection?

It's a tough choice to pick just one but I really like the paisley print. It would make a great tote bag, I could even see it in a shirt.

Talk about your design and fussy cutting decisions.

I had actually designed this wall hanging several years ago and had been saving it for the right fabric. Big fabrics need big spaces. This fabric almost gives the impression of hand applique and it's a good fit.

Why did you choose the olive color as the tonal print for the quilt?

When looking for an accent for the main fabric, I didn't want to "over pink" the quilt; since olive is a near opposite on the color wheel, the contrast is nice.

Want to see more Floral Philosophy? Read our post about Kanvas' spring Quilt Market booth, decorated in Floral Philosophy.

See the entire Floral Philosophy collection here.

Find the kit for this project (and learn more about Sandi) here.

Find Quilt Trends here.

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Lovin' the Lime!

Lime green isn't only a summer color, but it's sure looking good right now! Sandi Irish fell in love with the lime and navy prints of Catalina, a collection by Greta Lynn from Kanvas that is based on the classic American bandanna.  She used it to create "Calypso," a classic star pattern with a twist.

"Calypso" by Sandi Irish;
featured in Quilt Trends Summer 2013

Sandi shared some of the details of "Calypso" with us.

What drew you to the Catalina fabrics?

I love the fresh colors! Lime green has always been a favorite of mine and it looks like spring!

Catalina in both the lime and red colorways

Why did you design a quilt with this type of star?

I had made this same quilt in the country reds, creams and blues first, but when the chance came to use the Catalina collection for a quilt I knew the design would also work well and create a totally different look.

Love that you made the star without y seams or set-in piecing. What prompted you to make it that way?

I have designed a template set that I used in this pattern (although paper templates are included in the magazine) and as I continue to add patterns to the Quilted Jewel Pattern series, my goal is to keep it easy without set in seams. I might need to do a partial seam at some point but no Y seams allowed! Since the quilt is assembled in rows, avoiding Y seams also came easy.

It looks like you fussy cut one of the fabrics for the stars.

I did fussy cut the bird; it was just a perfect fit for the template. It would be pretty even if it is not fussy cut.

Was it easy to choose the inner and outer border prints?

I tend toward the traditional look of small solid inner border and printed outer border, but the small print in the inner border blends nicely from the white background to the large scale flowers in the outer border.

 

Learn more about Sandi Irish here.

See the entire Catalina collection here.

Find the kit for the project (and the templates) here.

Find Quilt Trends magazine here.

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Do you love to monkey around?

Monkey lovers, we've got something for you to jump up and down about! It's called "Going Bananas" and it was designed by Sandi Irish. You can find it in the June-July issue of McCall's Quick Quilts. 

"Going Bananas" by Sandi Irish;
featured in McCall's Quick Quilts June-July 2013 issue

The quilt uses prints from three Kanvas collections: Monkey Business, Tree Frogs, and Jungle Jive.

We asked Sandi a few questions about her cuddly monkey friends. 

Do you have a favorite print in the collection?

The bananas are great but I really like the main monkey print. The faces have so much character and if I think about it too much I'm sure I would start seeing the faces of people I know! 

How did you come up with the Rail Fence pattern variation?

 I wanted a simple quilt that would be fast and easy. I had a slightly more complicated design in mind but I just couldn't get it to work out without adding a lot more seams or doing partial seams. Sometimes the simple route is better. I also wanted to make sure the faces were all going the same way, which worked out well with this design.

How did you machine quilt it?

I kept the actual quilting design simple. I wanted the focus to be on the fabric, just did a meander in the blocks and a wavy zig-zag in the strips. I have a long arm machine but it is a table mounted version so I spray baste all of my quilts and machine quilt like you would on a regular domestic machine.

What do you see this quilt being used for?

I'm sure this would be a great kids' quilt but I'm betting there are plenty of monkey-loving adults that would enjoy it!

What do you like best about the quilt?

It's quick and easy. Sometimes you just need a quilt that you can 'git 'er done'! This is one of those quilts.

See the entire Monkey Business collection here, Jungle Jive here, and Tree Frogs here. 

Find out more about Sandi here. 
Find the kit for this project here.

Find McCall's Quick Quilts here.

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