Monday 7 May 2018

St Ives Quilt

 It's been the brightest and sunniest bank holiday monday ever here today......and here i am at last to share more pictures of my st ives quilt......
 ............st ives is filled with magical memories for me....from childhood times, family times, to romance and a love of art and history st ives has always had a special place in my heart and my imagination.....so i decided after our visit in 2016 to begin a quilt to capture the feeling and memories for me..........(in the picture below the little heart was made by the ceramics designer maggi gooding).....
 ..............i was inspired by antique quilts but with a modern touch.....i'd been planning to make a quilt inspired by the quilts i saw at the V&A 2010 exhibition and had looked at the book i brought back with me many times as i chose design elements that i wanted to use one day.....when i was an art student in the 70's we studied historic textiles and i've always had a love of old as well as new designs.....
 ...........i made a medallion for the centre like many old english quilts had.....
 ...........and i added 8 inch square blocks around the centre, each with an applique design....birds, boats, cottages, stars, fish, anchors and some geometric motifs from the old quilts.....all the colours were kept soft and neutral as i wanted it to feel older and less bright than a lot of my work is .......
 .........i did add some subtle reds to give the design a bit of zest though.....
 ...........i had some lovely number printed fabric by tim holz that i wanted to use...my husband sails as a hobby so i put his boat number onto the quilt, and then his previous boat number....and then i liked the numbers very much so added a few more....
 .......in the collage above is one of the inspiring antique quilts from the 2010 exhibition book....the star from my quilt centre.....postcards from st ives......and the sweet banner from a quilt show held in the church at zennor (close to st ives) that we saw in 2016.........my family used to stay in zennor in a lovely old cottage every year and it was there that i sewed my first hexagon patchwork one summer in my teens.....
 ............here is the bedroom of this year's little house in st ives (i showed you a different view of it in my last post)........i love staying in different houses and taking pictures of the interiors (especially with my quilts in them), looking out at the views and enjoying different atmospheres...........
 ...........lots of tiny stars twinkle around the border of my quilt.................the clamshell design was so beautifully quilted for me by debbie holland of longarm quilting.......
 ...........my quilt is all done now and i am happy it has captured lots of memories for us.....here is a print called the st ives typographic heart which you can find here and below another little view of the harbour..........
 ...........one last picture of the waves at porthmeor beach.........
............thank you for dropping by dear readers, and thank you for the lovely comments you leave me...it is such a pleasure to hear from you........wishing you a happy week filled with crafty inspirations................back soon xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

21 comments:

Elizabethd said...

Very beautiful scenery and quilts.

Blondie's Journal said...

This is a beautiful quilt, Helen. The best part is that it holds such meaning for you. I love the nautical feel and charm. You amaze me!

Jane

Salty Pumpkin Studio said...

All lovely
I love the versatility of your quilt. Its a beautiful representation of your memories.

Little Quiltsong said...

What a lovely post! So enjoyed seeing close-ups of your beautiful quilt and reading about the special memories it has sewn into it. Also what pretty scenes from your holiday!

bj said...

I've never,ever seen such a lovely quilt. Just takes my breath away. I may have asked before but....do you ever sell your quilts ??

Gracie Saylor said...

This is one of my most favorite of your always beautiful posts, Helen. Thanks for sharing the story of your lovely quilt...how it came to be. Once more you have inspired me! Today I packed some Christmas themed calico material that I inherited from my mom. I do hope that once I am settled again I can be more productive in crafting. Happy Week to you and yours! xxxx

Christine B said...

Hello Helen! What a fabulous quilt you have created.... made with love and filled with so many happy memories.... I love it! Sorry not to have been to visit for a while. Life has been busy and I have recently moved house.... it is a BIG undertaking but we are settling in nicely now and there is more time to sew and find blogging friends again! Hugs Christine x

Jane said...

Your quilt is a work of art Helen, so many memories captured perfectly in it..wonderful! The bank holiday weather was perfect was'nt it.Let's hope we get a good summer this year. Hugs xxx

KC'sCourt! said...

Gorgeous, gorgeous gorgeous
Julie xxxxxx

Anonymous said...

Hello Helen, what a wonderful post! We too have just returned from St Ives. We rented a small cottage, just hubby and myself! Last year we rented a very large house to accommodate our family, all 14 of us,, to celebrate our golden wedding. We live in north Devon, but love Cornwall too. Your quilt is a dream, LOVE it xGill

Jacky H said...

I can see you had a wonderful. Your photos are so captivating. It really makes me want to go.
Your quilt is stunning.
Thank you for sharing.
.

Sophie said...

Very beautiful creations!!!

Unknown said...

Beautiful quilt. Cornwall is so inspiring! Just completed my 'From a Cornish Coastpath quilt'.

Kay said...

Oh my, this is so pretty. How wonderful to have a special quilt to remind you of a favourite place. x

greenrabbitdesigns said...

What a lovely post and an amazing quilt, so lovely that it has so many personal memories attached to it!!
I love your nostalgic images of a beautiful British seaside holiday. :)
V x

Cheryl said...

This is one of the prettiest quilts I have seen. It captures St. Ives and all your memories from there. I love the soft colors. Is this fabric from a particular line or a combination you put together? Beautiful

GailD said...

Lovely post as always. I think your St Ives quilt is amazing....and how lovely to tie in so many lovely memories. Thank you 😊x

Teresa Kasner said...

Helen, that quilt is my all-time favorite of yours! As a sailor and sea lover, this one inspires me so much and you did a museum quality job of the design.. it's a Blue Ribbon Winner! I love all your photos in this post. Thank you so much for sharing it! ((hugs)), Teresa :-)

Rhona said...

What a beautiful quilt, Helen. I love how you added those personal little touches with the boat numbers....so sweet!

Mickie said...

Helen,
What better way to keep happy times and places as great memories than in a beautiful quilt. You have done a wonderful job of it and I love the soft tones and fabrics. Your applique is amazing as always.
What a great place to visit and the photos are awesome.
Thank you for sharing.
Mickie, Indiana USA

Lorrie said...

You've created a beautiful quilt with so much story in it. I love that. Thank you for sharing some of the details with us. St. Ives seems like a magical place to holiday.