Colorado Waters: The Making Of A Quilt
August 27, 2006
For the past week, I have been working on a new quilt top that was inspired by the Colorado River. The river’s whitewater and the numerous waterfalls seen in the Colorado Rocky Mountains was awesome and the surrounding countryside and rugged mountain terrain was truly beautiful.
Our month-long RV trip out west in May-June 2006 led us into southern Colorado where we travelled alongside the Colorado River and up into the snow-covered Rocky Mountains. We were so fortunate to see the white-capped mountaintops of the Rockies, the waterfalls from snowmelt, and the swift whitewater on the Colorado River.
Being a kayaker, hiker, and nature-lover, the beauty of Colorado was especially alluring. The day that we were travelling through Vail, we were very excited to see the previous night’s snowfall on the mountainsides and all of the cascading waterfalls from snowmelt. Snow in June was unusual for this Virginia woman.
Having finished off a number of quilts this year, it was time to begin the quilt series inspired by our 2006 Road Trip out west. The first in this series is the Colorado Waters quilt. This quilt was inspired by a photograph seen on a quilt blog I was reading. The quiltmaker obviously used strips of scraps to create the ‘fabric base’ for the patchwork triangles. I liked the randomness of that idea, and with so many scraps and a large stash of fabrics, using scrap-strips appealed to me. Since I have wanted to make several quilts inspired by our 2006 Road Trip, I chose to use this style of quilt design for one of my quilts. Perhaps this will become a unifying design for this Road Trip quilt series.
Several years had passed since I had actually dumped my scrapbasket completely out. My scrapbasket is large — 2 feet high and 20-inches across — the basket holds quite a few fabric pieces and scraps. Getting into my scrapbasket made me realize just how crammed those scraps were…..is there such a thing as a pressurized scrapbasket?
When I dumped the contents of my scrapbasket onto the floor, I was on another trip…..I took a stroll down ‘memory lane’ and some fabrics reminded me of times past. Among the scraps in my very large scrapbasket, were scraps given to me from quilts that both my Mother and Grandmother had made. Choosing to work only in blue tones to commemorate the travels in Colorado, I had ample scraps. I also decided to use any of my stash fabrics that were left overs or cast-asides that I no longer cared for.
Although I have made strippy quilts and string quilts before, it has been a number of years since I have made one. There is plenty of blue scrap fabric for the Colorado Waters quilt. So far, I have made 20 blocks (each finished block measures about 8.5-inches square). The Colorado Waters quilt is assembled in a completely random fashion and I plan to make 80 blocks (8 blocks across by 10 blocks down) for a queen sized quilt. At this time, sewn blocks are pinned onto my design wall but the quilt top will be assembled in a random fashion when all blocks have been completed.
August 29, 2006
The Colorado Waters quilt top is progressing at a fast pace. A total of 80 blocks are needed, and 68 blocks have already been stitched. The final 12 blocks and a strippy border are now needed. During the next couple of days I will be sewing the blocks together into larger block-units, then the rows will be put together. I am anxious to finish the Colorado Waters quilt top!
This quilt top must have had some rain-making magic because we have had 3 storms during the past week. In the northern Shenandoah Valley where I live, we have been experiencing a bad drought. If any part of the construction process of Colorado Waters has had an effect on the rain gods, I am pleased. I am happy and very grateful to receive any rain that can be conjured up right now!
The Colorado Waters quilt top has been fun to create. And my frugal side is very content knowing that all of the fabrics used were remainders from the overflowing scrapbasket and from leftover stashed fabrics.
September 18, 2006
Returning home from an out-of-state trip, I am now working on the Colorado Waters quilt top again. It is good to be home where I can retreat to my sewing room and play with fabrics. While traveling, I usually bring a cross-stitch project with me, but I typically yearn to be sewing on a quilt instead.
With my research trip finished, I can concentrate on the Colorado Waters quilt top. I hope to have the top completed very soon. The block sections are being sewn together and the design of the final quilt top is easier to visualize now.
The border is pieced from many of the remaining strip sections and leftover strips, and I am pleased with the scrap look. I may use a thin separator strip in between the border and the patchwork blocks since this border will add a different motion to the quilt.
October 10, 2006
The Colorado Waters quilt top is finished now, and the quilt measures 76″ x 92″. The backing is made from hand dyed navy cotton fabric and will look great when the top is quilted. This top will be machine quilted in a swirling design — to simulate water movement.
May 9, 2007
The machine quilting is finished on the Colorado Waters quilt. Since this was a large quilt (76″ x 92″), it was professionally quilted. In the past, I struggled with machine quilting on a few large quilts and would rather have large quilts machine quilted professionally. I find it’s worth the money spent!
When we were travelling in Colorado last year, we were able to enjoy seeing the Colorado River for several days. One night, we camped alongside the river and even though it was June, we woke up the next morning to 33-degree temps! That morning, it had snowed in the Rockies. The air was crisp, the sky was solid blue and the river was alive with trout. Surrounding us was snow, with snow covering the mountainsides.
The Colorado River was running parallel to the road we were travelling on. The road followed the river and we were able to enjoy The Colorado during our travels as it meandered and tumbled here and there, in and around the mountains. The whitewater portions were so inviting to me and while we were driving, I kept thinking how much fun this river would be to paddle in.
The quilting on Colorado Waters is an overall swirling feather design. The swirl was chosen as a reminder of the Colorado River and its meandering riverbed that moved water around and over the many rocks strewn along the riverbed.
The backing for this quilt was pieced from two separate hand-dyed cotton fabrics. The mottling was achieved by using resist techniques on the fabric before it was immersed into the dye vessel.
