Last year when Hoffman California Fabrics announced the fabrics for their annual design challenge, I knew right away I had to have them! They were an enticing selection of watery greens and blues, just begging to be sewn into something with a seaside theme. To top it all off, they were batiks; how could I possibly resist?
The prestigious Hoffman Challenge is an annual , long running event; you can read more about it at this link. This is the second time I have entered the challenge, the first being in 2015. My entry that time was also juried in as a finalist, and travelled around North American for the duration of 2016. It was a wonderful experience to be part of this show, and I was excited to try it again. Here are the fabrics to be used for the 100 year anniversary challenge:
My first hurdle - and this was no small one - was to source the fabrics from a quilt store in Canada. I am a strong believer in supporting local whenever possible. The collection was to arrive in shops at the beginning of April. I began my hunt shortly after Christmas, contacting shops first in Nova Scotia, then the Maritimes, and finally in all of Canada, to see who had it on order. Not having any luck, I broadened my search and contacted the Canadian distributor for Hoffman Fabrics, who supplied the name of a shop who had ordered them, but when contacted, the shop denied having any knowledge of such an order. Disappointing. This was now late April, and time was running short, so I finally gave up and purchased the fabrics online from The Fat Quarter Shop in the U.S., who put them in the mail immediately. No complaints about the service, and no issues at the border...which sometimes happens. I had already purchased the accompanying Aurifil thread collection, and I couldn't wait to match them to the fabrics.I stitched a practice piece from similar colours to get the proportions of the little sail boats. Although my sketch had looked fine, I didn't feel the sailboats showed up well on the pale background, so I tried again. You'll also notice I changed the orientation of the boats.
With these many hours invested and my plan of action decided, it was now time to start the real thing. I began the process all over again with the challenge fabrics. The centre Mariner's Compass in this quilt is 10" across, so there are lots of tiny pieces to work with. Much patience was required, and many days ended in frustration, trying to get the points as sharp as possible.The letters were a nightmare, both to cut out and to stitch. Leave it to me to choose a skinny, curly font.
Living on the Bay of Fundy in Nova Scotia, home of the
world’s highest tides, the title aphorism is well known. Even JFK knew it! The design is inspired by the watery blue batiks
of the challenge. The quilting is free hand, free motion (not marked) to
mimic the rise and fall of an uneven tide. Centre compass is 10-1/4”, quilt
perimeter is 129”.
Congratulations. It is a great tribute to Nova Scotia.
ReplyDeleteInteresting to read the background story!
ReplyDeleteI love the quilt...and all that went into it. Such a work of love and such an honor to be in the exhibit!
ReplyDeleteThat’s beautiful, Karen! I enjoyed hearing the thought process that went into the quilt, and seeing the various iterations. Congratulations!
ReplyDelete