31 August, 2015

Aloha Kakou - a Tropical Version of Vintage Spin








Aloha Kakou 
52'' x 52''

A precious gift, finally delivered. I feel that way about so many things with this quilt and the reason behind it.



This is the baby boy of a dear friend. A woman who started out simply as a roommate in a creepy rental. That was 16 years ago and we're still friends, still laughing, still rolling our eyes at each other, still slightly wondering just how we got to where we are. Back in January baby S joined her life, our lives. Crazy munchkin.

When she was pregnant she chose to keep the baby's gender a surprise until birth. I love when people do that still, even if it does present an extra challenge to making a quilt. Then again, who says fabric has to live up to gender norms?!

My fabric selections started with some treats she brought me back from a trip to Hawaii a couple of years ago. I must admit, when she brought the fabrics I hesitated. Batiks and prints best suited to a middle aged man's Hawaiian shirt. But cut up? Perfect! I combined them with various prints and even batiks from my stash. Some of Malka Dubrawsky's original batiks, a Yoshiko Jinjenzi print, screen prints from Karen Lewis, as many organic prints as I had from Daisy Janie, Birch, and Cloud 9 (including the Lisa Congdon print for the centre squares), an old Denyse Schmidt, and quite a few more. It is an eclectic mix and totally perfect.


The pattern is Vintage Spin from Kathy Doughty of Material Obsession fame. It comes from her book, Adding Layers. It was the perfect choice to showcase the fabrics yet still benefit from the crazy combinations I put together. It does use a template to cut the fabric, and there are big scraps leftover after piecing. But I've gathered those and maybe they will turn into something else? The one change I did make was the use a square for the centre of the block, instead of a circle. A conversation with Rachel at 2nd Avenue Studio led me to try it and it works so well!


It thrills me to finally present this to my friend. I made it big enough to grow with S and for the two of them to snuggle together.

11 comments:

Elaine M said...

What a great quilt for baby S. Love that you choose the brightest crayons to play with and the square centers are a perfect choice.

Suzanne said...

Oh, those edible toes on that beautiful quilt. Be still my heart.

Linda @ kokaquilts said...

Such a lovely finish..and a colourful 'special' quilt for baby S! I love all your combinations in each block.

Nancy said...

One of my favourite baby quilts ever… I love the colours.

Cathy L said...

What is the fabric in the black center squares? It goes great with all those colors. Lovely quilt!

Anne / Springleaf Studios said...

Love all the color and prints. It's my style of quilt. I have often thought about making one of these quilts and now that I see the square centers I like it even more. Pretty darn cute baby too.

Karen said...

I love how you made a brightly colored baby quilt--a wonderful change from the usual pastels! Aloha, indeed, to both such an adorable baby and such a gorgeous quilt!

Charlotta said...

My favorite kind of baby quilt! They should all look like that!

Luch said...

I totally love this! I have a baby quilt in planning for my sister in law, pegged for something from Sunday Morning Quilts, but this is gorgeous and I may have to think a bit more before I commit…you are so inspiring! (Hi from Heather who works with Sarah!)

mascanlon said...

Love this kind of scrappy quilt. The mix of fabrics always makes me happy. And this us a wonderful quilt to grow on!

Lynda Halliger Otvos (Lynda M O) said...

Oh Cheryl, my heart leaps when you make comments like "Who says fabric has to live up to gender norms" because I'm so with you on that one.

This quilt rocks. S and his mama will love it til it falls into shreds in the dryer one cold evening in the early 2030s !~!