Floating At Dawn

 

Hot Air Balloons Quilt Pattern | Whims And Fancies

 

Purchase Floating At Dawn Pattern

 

I live in the heart of wine country in Northern California where balloon rides are quite common.  In the early morning, when we go out running at one of our local parks, we can see them rising up one by one.

Of course, I had my trusty camera with me to take a few photos of the balloons dotting the sky.

 

 

Hot Air Balloons Napa California | Whims And Fancies

 

 

Hot Air Balloons Napa California | Whims And Fancies

 

Floating toward the rising sun

 

 

Hot Air Balloons Napa California | Whims And Fancies

 

 

Pretty much all of my quilt patterns are inspired by life around me, and photography is a huge part of that.  As you know, I love it enough to be taking one photo for every day of the year.  I am hosting the monthly Wandering Camera event around that.  I also love to paint those pictures with paper piecing.  Once I had taken these photos, I just had to make a hot air balloon quilt pattern.

 

 

Hot Air Balloons Quilt Pattern | Whims And Fancies

 

 

I started off with one large balloon above the mountains for a vertical  wall hanging.  Then I decided to add another, smaller balloon in the distance.

The two balloons and the mountains are standalone pieces in the pattern.  They can therefore be made individually for different projects, or together.  I drew the mountains in a way that I could make multiple copies and join them together to get one continuous piece.

 

 

Hot Air Balloons Quilt Pattern | Whims And Fancies

 

Purchase Floating At Dawn Pattern

 

I played with a few colourways after drawing the initial design.

The whole piece was very easy and quick to sew.  The pattern is in shop if you would like to get a copy for yourself.  Floating At Dawn finishes at 24″ x 20″.

 

 

Hot Air Balloons Quilt Pattern | Whims And Fancies

 

Purchase Floating At Dawn Pattern

 

I am outside around dawn so I can run in the cool morning air.  That’s why I chose an early morning theme in the end.

After picking out a pale pink fabric for the sky, I got a bright red fabric for the up-close balloon and a faded blue for the one further away.

 

 

  Hot Air Balloons Quilt Pattern With Wavy Quilting | Whims And Fancies

 

At that time the distant mountains in the east are still in the shades of greys and blues.  We call them “Misty Mountains” and we hope never to encounter any nasty creatures.  I randomly quilted zigzag lines around them.

For the sky, the quilting had to be a wavy air stream.  ( I have gotten a little addicted to wavy quilting ever since I quilted The Dancing Wind that way. )

I was a little stumped about the binding.  Finally I ended up using a starry sky fabric, as if the dawn is spreading out into the surrounding dark sky.

The design was completely inspired by photography.  I am not a morning person, so this will serve as a good reminder to get up and enjoy the morning hours.

-Soma

 

I am also linking up on Photo Friday, Life Thru The Lens, Through My Lens along with with other linky parties on my sidebar.
 

 

 

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The Dancing Wind

Pinwheel Star Quilt Pattern | Whims And Fancies

 

 

Like the unpredictable wind, The Dancing Wind mini quilt turned out to be nothing like the quilt I had originally envisioned.  I usually have a very good idea of the direction of my work starting from pattern writing all the way to the binding.  Then, once in a while,  a project comes along where it changes itself every step of the way.  Over the years, I have learned to give in and let it take me for a ride.  I love it when that happens, the unexpected turn is always exciting!

 

 

Pinwheel Star Quilt Pattern | Whims And Fancies

 

  Kitty Love

 

This is the other quilt I made using the same pattern for my beloved orange kitty.

 

 

Pinwheel Star Quilt Pattern | Whims And Fancies

 

 

Pinwheel Star combines the pinwheel quilt pattern inset within a star quilt pattern.  I named it that not just because it is a combination of Pinwheels and Stars, but also after the Pinwheel Galaxy.

The Pinwheel Star pattern is a set of two patterns which can be used to create at least four different blocks.

 

 

Pinwheel Star Quilt Pattern | Whims And Fancies

 

 

When I thought of this quilt a couple of years ago, I had in mind a more industrial theme.  However, as I was putting the blocks together, I kept thinking about rivers flowing with meltwater at the edge of growing woods.  So I put my unfinished blocks aside, swapped the off-white fabric for a dazzling white fabric and restarted.

 

 

Pinwheel Star Quilt Pattern | Whims And Fancies

 

 

Once I finished the quilt-top, I started thinking about the quilting design.  I was walking in the park one afternoon and saw the tall grass swaying in the wind.  That gave me the idea for the wavy line quilting in the middle as if the gentle wind is flowing through the woodland.  The wind grew more dynamic playing on the waters.  Once it reached the snow, it swirled and turned with the careless nature of the wild.

These ideas meant that I would have to set my walking foot aside and dive full-on into the world of FMQ, another deviation from the original plan.  I am new to FMQ so it took a lot of work, but in the end I surfaced with a quilt that I love.

 

 

Pinwheel Star Quilt Pattern | Whims And Fancies

 

 

Robert Frost is one of my favourite poets and The Dancing Wind reminds me of

Stopping By Woods On A Snowy Evening

Whose woods these are I think I know.
His house is in the village though;
He will not see me stopping here
To watch his woods fill up with snow.
 
My little horse must think it queer
To stop without a farmhouse near
Between the woods and frozen lake
The darkest evening of the year.
 
He gives his harness bells a shake
To ask if there is some mistake.
The only other sound’s the sweep
Of easy wind and downy flake.
 
The woods are lovely, dark and deep,
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.

 

See you next Thursday, May 5th, for Wandering Camera.

Camera And Photography Linky Party | Whims And Fancies

 

Wandering Camera

-Soma

 

 

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