When Cathy Miles created her "Asian Garden" quilt (using our fabric line of the same name), she chose to highlight the coordinating tonal prints, reserving one of the allover prints (butterflies!) for the background of the pieced blocks.
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| "Asian Garden" by Cathy Miles; featured in Quilt magazine, August-September 2013 issue |
We love the result! What do you think?
Read what Cathy has to say about her quilt design, which reminds her of Chinese lanterns.
Q. What attracted you to the
Asian Garden fabrics?
Cathy: There is good contrast between
the various fabrics, and I seem to be drawn to designs that have a definite
light/medium/dark palette so the design of the blocks really shows. But really,
butterflies! Who can resist?
Q. What are the two blocks you
used, and why did you decide to pair them?
Cathy: The mostly purple one is Aunt
Dinah and the pink one is Lucky Clover. I like the strong chain effect that
surfaces when the blocks are alternated. I experimented with different ways to
use the fabrics, but the final one reminded me of strings of Chinese lanterns.
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| Aunt Dinah block |
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| Lucky Clover block |
Q. Why did you decide to make
the pink, green and purple prominent in the design?
Cathy: Green and purple has been a
favorite duo of mine for years, it reminds me of spring with lilacs, pansies,
hyacinths, all those great blossoms that tell us spring is here. Adding the
pink in this one made a riot of color that played well with the background
butterflies.
Q. How do you think that busier
design of the butterfly print in the background enhances the quilt?
Cathy: I think the print used as
background softens the effect of the strong colors.
Q. What do you like best about
the quilt?
Cathy: This one turned into a more
personal design than expected. We visited Butchart Gardens (located in Brentwood Bay, British Columbia) and the nearby
butterfly garden with my parents several years ago, and I was reminded of the
masses of flowers and beautiful Vancouver with hanging baskets along the
sidewalks.
Q. Were there challenges to
designing/making this quilt?
Cathy: Trying to achieve a good
balance with strong colors was a challenge. I wanted to avoid having one color
dominate the quilt.
Q. What do you enjoy most about
quilting?
Cathy: I have such great fun with
quilting! If my 'play' has become 'work,' it is all good.
My husband has also been very helpful and supportive of my projects, so it is fun for both of us. He is involved with hanging quilt shows and taking care of the racks, which was a big job last year when there was a fire in the storage area. He hand sanded every piece because he knew it was important to eliminate any possibility of soot staining the quilts or having a quilt show that smelled like smoke. He always finds someone to chat with as we visit various shops. I think he has been surprised at the number of men he meets who also support their wives in various ways.
My husband has also been very helpful and supportive of my projects, so it is fun for both of us. He is involved with hanging quilt shows and taking care of the racks, which was a big job last year when there was a fire in the storage area. He hand sanded every piece because he knew it was important to eliminate any possibility of soot staining the quilts or having a quilt show that smelled like smoke. He always finds someone to chat with as we visit various shops. I think he has been surprised at the number of men he meets who also support their wives in various ways.
Find the kit for "Asian Garden" here.
See the entire Asian Garden fabric collection here.
Find Quilt magazine here.
