Saturday, September 1, 2012

A Snake in the Garden

Today I would like to present my newest quilt "A Snake in the Garden". This quilt was created specifically for the http://www.slmqg.com/ contest EZ Dresden Challenge.  It is celebrating Darlene Zimmerman's 20th Anniversary designing quilting tools for EZ Quilting.  The linkup is September 1st - 6th with the winner being announced September 17th.

Did I mention prizes?  Oh yes there are lots of them.  Please go enter your own  quilts, I would hate to compete alone.

Before I talk more about this quilt, I want to first say that I am a member of the SLMQG (contest is open to all by the way).  I have attended the last 3 meetings and I have to say it's interesting going to a quilt guild and being the new guy.  I so far feel like the odd man out (Maybe that is because I am the only guy).  I am hoping that by doing my best in this contest, I can gain some respect with the gals in the guild. If not, well I am not going anywhere so I guess they will get used to me.
In making this quilt, I did not want to just make Dresden plates.  My assumption is that if I am in a modern quilt guild, I have to make it well more modern.  As I searched different quilts for ideas, I saw many snake like shapes and I knew that I wanted to do that.  But then again, I also wanted to have some traditional plates so that I could decide how I liked them and decide if I wanted to make them again.

I am happy to say that I enjoyed the process of making the plates a lot.  I used the ruler that I received from the guild that was given out as part of this contest.  The ruler was fun and easy to use.  The fabric that I chose for this quilt is from one of my favorite lines Reunion by Sweetwater for Moda Fabrics.  One thing you might find interesting (its a guy thing) when picking fabrics from this line I avoided the "Flower" fabrics in that line.  For the back ground of the the top I picked the light gray dots from that line and for the back I chose the large number print in multi color.  To make sure I came up with some great pictures, my wife Tanya and I took the quilt to the International Peace Gardens near my house for a photo shoot.


These posts here talk about the creation of this quilt

19 comments:

Gene Black said...

it looks great!

giddy99 said...

It's pretty awesome! I like the modern spin (heh, heh, get it?) on a traditional plate design. :)

quiltmania said...

I love your snake pattern, very creative!

cspoonquilt.blogspot.com said...

Hey Richard, Nice quilt. I like the background fabric. It makes a good foil to your red-yellow-black-white plates, nice combo all the way round. I like the asymetry of the design to, creates a lot of interest.
I meant to mention that my local guild now has several gentlemen sewer. Actually Mike MacNamera has been our Pres. a time or two. He's featured in Joe Cunningham's recent book about men quilters. You may be in the minority but you are not alone. I suspect you will win those ladies over in no time!
cheers, Claire W.

Tanya said...

Awesome quilt, Richard! And, you have our respect, sir :).

Mary said...

Great job! Don't let anyone discourage you as a man. Lots of men would sew, hook rugs, run a loom or whatever they could to fill the time in winter months before we all had TVs and all the external entertainment.

Cherie said...

A great name for the quilt and a great finish! =D

Barbie Mills said...

Nice job! I like your design a lot.

I think I only came to one meeting before you started coming, and it is taking me a while to feel really comfortable too, even though I'm not a guy. =) It's a good group to be a part of, though.

Christine M said...

Your quilt looks great Richard. You must be very pleased with it.

Teresa in Music City said...

Absolutely love your quilt Richard! So fun and whimsical - and modern :*) A really great take on the dresden block!

Unknown said...

I like the combination of traditional plates and the dresden "snake"! How did you quilt this?

Anonymous said...

Your photography is getting pretty creative, too. I voted for your quilt on the quilting gallery contest. As it happened, it was one of my four favorites. =)

KaHolly said...

Looking good!! Best of luck!

thepalmierifamily said...

Great quilt! Funny, I used to belong to the quilting group but moved to Italy (almost a year ago), and I grew up by the peace gardens. So I liked your pictures too. Brought back good memories.

Kizzie @ KizziesKorner.com said...

Hi Richard!! Wonderful to see some more male quilters in the world! I think its fantastic!! Especially to see quilts constructed from a male's point of view!! I love the snake concept!! Goodluck in the competition!!! :)

Barb and Sharon said...

I like this quilt without the flower fabric.it looks very modern.
Barb@Witsend

My Sister Made Me Do It.... said...

Good job, Richard.....and quite unique! I understand your "guy thing" about the floral patterns....I have three sons and when I make quilts for them I usually try to avoid flowers unless they are really tiny.....good luck!

Foster said...

That is so cool looking. I like the photo in the peace garden!

Needle little Balance said...

I like you quilt (and your attitude with the SLMQG)! Soon you´ll not be just the new guy but they´ll proudly show you around-'we´ve got a man in our group and he makes fantastic quilts'...

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