Talk about the endless creative possibilities with the Rocky Coast Quilt!! You can really morph this pattern into whatever you want, which is one of the reasons why I love it so much. For this sample I really wanted to expand my comfort zone and step away from light backgrounds, and play with colors that really felt the most ME. This quilt truly feels like me, and I think it's one of my favorite makes to date!
In addition to it really evoking a nostalgic feeling, it also holds a lot of new happy memories. This quilt joined me along my journey to Phoenix, AZ to attend my very first QuiltCon! It was my first time submitting a quilt and my first time being accepted in show! Those are awesome memories within themselves BUT during this trip I also met some friends that I've been talking to for months now on social media for the first time!
THE FABRIC/BACKING
Most of this fabric was found in my stash. It's a mix of Michael Miller solids, KONA solids, and peppered cottons. I'm not exactly sure what each fabric is, so I've compiled a list of KONA look a-likes for you to recreate this version:
- Color 1: Spice
- Color 2: Spice (same as color 1)
- Color 3: Spruce
- Color 4: Willow
- Color 5: Regatta
- Color 6: Periwinkle
- Color 7: Sienna
- Color 8: Cedar
- Color 9: Pansy
- Color 10: Petunia
- Color 11: Chili
The backing is a kitchen woven by Lamb & Loom Fabrics.
THE MEMS
One of my testers - also named Taylor, who happens to also have the same birthday as me, has become a close 'insta' friend over the past year. We took the big risk of sharing a hotel room together for four nights without ever having met each other! It was amazing how comfortable we immediately were, it was like we'd known each other IRL for years!! We met up with a couple more people and my stomach hurt from laughing so much! Added bonus - we could nerd out and talk about quilts for five days straight and not get bored of it (unlike my non-quilting friends)!
It honestly just felt like random things in life were aligning perfectly with this quilt. We went to a bar in Phoenix that felt like you had just walked into a time machine back to 1972, and it matched this quilt perfectly! We asked the bartenders if we could come back and take a few photos with our quilts and they agreed with excitement!
THE LABEL
At Quiltcon, I went to a lecture by Laura Hartrich that was all about labeling your quilts and I came away with A LOT of notes. For starters - I will most likely never leave my quilts unlabeled ever again. I used to just finish a quilt and toss it in a pile or send it on it's away unlabeled... as if people would just know who made it, and when/where it was made.
I wasn't treating my quilts with the respect they deserve! In 20, 30, 40 years, will I remember what pattern that was? When I made it? Where I was located at the time? Will my grandchildren know why or the inspiration behind that random quilt that their Grandmother made?
The answer is probably not.
One thing she touched on that I really resonated with was - what if Instagram were to vanish (or should I cynically say... when it eventually vanishes)? Is that the only documentation of your work? Not saying don't document your work via social media, but don’t rely on it to be around forever! So if you're not sold to start labeling your quilts, here’s her explanation on 'the why' in simple terms that I think will sway your mind!
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Do it for yourself - respect your work and don't trust your 'memory' to remember anything about that quilt in the future.
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Do it for others - inspire, intrigue, provide provenance, and deepen the connection/appreciation
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Do it for the quilt - endear to the recipient, and better chance of preservation
HANDMADE BY: Taylor Krz
DATE COMPLETED: March 2022
PATTERN: Rocky Coast Quilt (Toad & Sew)
MADE IN: Seattle, WA
This quilt top traveled with me along my journey from SEA to PHX in winter 2022. This trip was significant because it was my first time going to QuiltCon, having an accepted quilt hung up at the show, and meeting new people that I can now say will be lifelong friends. This quilt was photographed at the Thunderbird Lounge (PHX) and Northlight Studio (SEA) by Kassidy Sherberne
I really wanted to show the places it went with me and the memories this one quilt holds. In the future, someone may pick this quilt up at a thrift store and consider getting rid of it but maybe if they read my label they’ll be more likely to relate, dive into the story, and most importantly preserve it.
How I created the label:
I designed the label on my computer and uploaded the PNG into Spoonflower. I ordered a test swatch of each label I wanted. Each test swatch is 8"x 8" squared and they're the perfect size for a quilt label!
There are tons of different methods for creating labels. You can use scrap fabric and a micron pen, embroider, or get it digitally printed like I did! I'm sure there are tons of different fabric printing options but I chose Spoonflower as an exploration! I may test other fabric printers in the future!
THE QUILTING
The last part of this quilt that I wanted to talk about was the thread it was quilted with! Last minute I chose to quilt this with a 12 wt Aurifil cotton thread instead of my normal 40-50 wt thread. I was sooo excited to see how it was turning out - I didn't even consider the fact that I would have nowhere near enough thread to finish it. I ran out about a quarter of the way in and quickly realized that with the impending deadline I wasn’t going to be able to get more thread in time. I went to my local quilt shop, although they didn’t have the same color red they had several other brown colors that I could choose from. I picked a nice orange/brown thread and headed on my way… about an hour or two later I ran out again!! I went back and had to settle on a darker brown thread because they were out of the other color. So even though this quilt has three different color threads, it was a happy little accident!!
I know you’re probably wondering my opinion on quilting with 12 wt. So let me tell you my takeaways!
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I had to use a jean needle - my normal quilting needles eyelets were not large enough to handle the thread.
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You may need to bring your tension down - mine was at about one on my Juki TL 2010Q.
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Use 40 wt Aurifil cotton in the bobbin (not 12 wt).
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You will go through much more thread than you think!! In hindsight I wish I used it as accent quilting rather than the entire quilt! It’s a little spendy if you need to keep buying small spools like I did!
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The texture is amazing and I will definitely use it again!!
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