Where does chocolate rank on your list of favorite things? If you're like most of us, chances are both chocolate and quilting are pretty high on the list.
Good news! Designer Tricia Lynn Maloney's latest project in Easy Quilts magazine uses chocolate and caramel shades of Marblehead fabrics to combine the two.
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"Chocolate Bar" by Tricia Lynn Maloney;
featured in Easy Quilts fall 2013 |
We asked Tricia, a fellow chocolate lover, to tell us about her delicious-looking quilt design.
What drew you to the
Marblehead prints?
Tricia: I was immediately drawn to the Marblehead fabrics when
one of the local shops that I teach at-- Homespun Treasures-- ordered the entire collection last year. I really loved that every time I looked at a specific print,
I saw more and more subtle color variations and textures. As a designer, I also rejoiced with how
well the fabrics played together.
The colors were so rich and vibrant -- I couldn’t wait to design some
projects with those yummy fabrics. So far, I’ve
used Marblehead fabrics in two magazine projects – Chocolate Bar for Easy
Quilts Fall 2013 and a wall quilt for
the Quilter’s World Winter 2013
issue, as well as a gift for my sister for Christmas this year. Shhhh! It’s a
secret!
Why did you choose to use
the browns/beiges?
Tricia: I really liked the way the brown and beige prints
worked together, especially with surprising hints of other colors such as
green, gold, orange, and purple. I find brown fabrics to be so very warm and
inviting, don’t you?
Did you name the quilt?
Tricia: Yes, I did name the quilt. Sigh. . . I must admit that I am a chocolate fanatic. LOL! Once I had the design and I
decided on the Marblehead browns and beiges, the quilt practically named itself
because it looked like a giant piece of chocolate!
Can you talk about your
design--how you decided what to do with the fabrics?
Tricia: I created the quilt design and the original block
design using Electric Quilt 7 software before I chose the fabrics. I really like designing simple quilts
that are fast and easy to put together.
Then I like to add fabrics in unusual ways to make simple into
awesome. I chose a dark brown
print as well as a light beige print and then added four medium prints for just
the right balance.
What do you like best
about the quilt?
Tricia: I really like this quilt because of its simple design
and warm fabrics -- it just literally begs to be used . . . or cuddled . . . to
wipe away tears . . . or to give comfort.
It’s also a quilt that’s suitable for anyone. This is not a quilt that will be hung on a wall or folded
away in a chest.
What do you think makes
this quilt so appealing--both to look at and to sew?
Tricia: One simple block makes this quilt very easy to
assemble. It’s so quick that there
is no time to get bored with it.
Of course, who can resist working with the colors of rich and creamy
chocolate?
What is the challenge of
working with a monochromatic color scheme?
Tricia: You have to add enough different shades and/or tints as well as
different prints or textures so that the quilt doesn’t become flat and
predictable. Using fabrics like
the Marblehead prints are wonderful to work with because of their subtle
changes in texture and color.
Tell us about the machine
quilting.
Tricia: I free motion quilted the quilt from edge to edge in a
large meandering design reminiscent of tree rings. It’s really a very simple design – basically a cross between
a spiral and a stipple.
If all this talk of chocolate bars has your awakened your sweet tooth, try this recipe for Classic Chocolate Brownies from Ghirardelli. Yum!
And...just for fun...
A USB flash drive cleverly disguised as a chocolate bar
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| Geekalerts.com |
See the entire Marblehead collection here.
Learn more about Tricia here.
Find Fons & Porter's Easy Quilts here.
Also, Tricia would like to invite everyone to
check out her second book – which is literally hot off the press -- A Russian Journey in Quilts: The Story of Nicholas and Nina Filatoff.
She says: "This book
is truly a labor of love and is based on one of my favorite childhood 'fairy
tales.' A Russian Journey in
Quilts tells the amazing story of
Nicholas and Nina Filatoff through fifteen quilt projects ranging from table
runners to a large bed-sized sampler quilt. The sampler quilt, called A Russian Journey Sampler,
incorporates blocks from the smaller projects, and would make a fantastic Block
of the Month program, especially with the Winter Olympics coming in February
2014 in Sochi, Russia. There is
even a free BOM guide to download from Pickledish.com.
