Gypsy Rose continued….

Speaking of other Gypsy Rose patterns, this is probably the one whose arrival back home [after trunk shows] I am longing for the most….

Inspired by a small wall hanging I saw in one of my favorite Japanese quilting magazines,appliqued by my friend Wilma, this quilt has a soft elegance to it that is exactly what I was hoping to capture when I saw it in my head [we all know that that is not always the case…. many things can go wrong from head to fabric…]

It uses all the pinks, reds, creams and greens from the line [leaving out the lavenders and browns] and to add to the vintage feel of this combination, I used an aged linen as the background. I love the effect that a beautiful grey can add to a collection and wanted to try it with this grouping even though there is no grey in the line itself.

I purchased  regular linen yardage from my local quilt shop but when I got it home it looked a bit too blue/ too cool against the warmth of the colors in Gypsy Rose. So I threw it in a large soup pot filled with hot instant coffee. Over the years of trying to warm up fabrics and bleach out ones that were too bright [this was before I had the privelege of designing my own], I found that I liked the effect and ease of instant coffee better than tea and better than tan RIT dye. Instant coffee holds well, smells good in the kitchen and always has a warm overtone to it. So after a few minutes in a soup pot of very hot coffee, I removed my linen yardage, rinsed it slightly in the sink and placed it in a pot of water mixed with some vinegar [doesn't smell nearly as good as the coffee but helps to set the dye]. I left it in for 15 minutes and then rinsed out the vinegar smell out with warm water. I dipped it back into the coffee mix- this time not for color but for the scent… mostly because I hate even the slight leftover smell of vinegar. I dried the linen in the dryer and was so happy with the slightly warmer, more taupe appearance of the fabric. It was now a perfect match for the soft, light colors of Gypsy Rose. Here are the results. Fun to make with or without the applique. I've even had some customers change the applique altogether or make only 2 vines…. many possibilities….

Talk to you soon.