Shallows Quilt
The weather is dry and hot and hazy here in Castlemaine today. Nothing like the luscious, leafy vibes this quilt makes me long for! But we needed a spot within walking distance for our photos today, and this old steam train railway is just up the road from where we live. It has a rugged, goldrush kind of beauty, and I love to come walking here, but today, with this quilt, I kind of wish I lived near the rainforest! (though, to be honest, I really don’t like the humidity the rainforest requires!)
Anyway, enough about the weather! I finished my Shallows Quilt today for Mister Domestic’s Aura Blog Party today. It’s a remake of a quilt I made for Quilter’s Companion magazine a couple of years ago in beautiful blues and golds. It’s been on my list of things to make again and turn into a proper pattern for so long, and was just waiting for the universe to scream, “NOW!” So when Mathew asked me to make something for his blog party, I instantly made the noisy universe-style connection between the ocean vibes of this quilt and the Hawaii influence of Mathew’s designs. I love it when that happens!
When I told my 10 year old Tully that I was heading up to the train line for some photos, he offered to help and jumped on his bike to ride up ahead of us. He wanted to show me the beautiful graffiti under the bridge that I hadn’t noticed before. Isn’t he great? My last 2 photo shoots have had my kids holding my quilts. I think Tim’s pretty stoked that he might be out of a job! It’s a little bit harder for a 10 year old to hold a whole quilt straight against the wind, but a 10 year old is also more willing to climb up steep railway sides, and stand in the sun with his arms in the air a lot longer than a 35 year old. So it all evens out in the end!
I have finally written a PDF pattern for this beautiful quilt! It’s here in the shop now! Simple, 2 shape quilts like this one can be pretty costly to kit up, so I’ve included the shape requirements in the listing to make it easy for you to purchase. The pattern also comes with printable templates is you prefer to buy your templates locally or hand piece without paper.
I don’t usually get the same kind of buzz making a quilt twice, but I really enjoyed this one. I think a lot of it has to do with the energetic colours of Aura. And also the quick, easy repetitive progress, stitching these half hexie arrows together, was reassuring and fun. I’ve spent the summer finishing off the book, getting the kids back in school, feeling a bit out of routine and out of whack. So making this easy quilt, resting in Mathew’s happy colour palette, following instructions I’d made a while ago, I knew it was all going to come together. It’s been just the restorative make I’ve needed while the weather’s hot and time doesn’t feel like my own.
This is a great beginner pattern if you haven’t tried EPP before and want something a little more modern than a hexie flower! The blocks are just two pieces and they sew into columns in easy, meditative waves, back and forth and back and forth.
