Wednesday, November 11, 2015

WIP - Shift

This is another goal on my Q4 list, Bento Box, one for my nephew, Callum, that I wanted to get made last winter for his new home, but found out I had the wrong colour scheme in mind.  Ordered new fabric and shopped a little around town (darn, hate that, don't you?!), and by the time we headed back north to home, I had the new fabric pile all ready.
Bella's trademark stamp of approval pose--that or "Give me some attention! Look how adorable I am! pose
Love the name of this black and white print:

I'll admit I was a little worried about getting the colours right.  It said to use no more than 3 to 4 colour families.  Black and white were two.  I had green and gold, but I'd also added in some greys as the prints were perfect for Callum who is an avid mountain biker.

The building process on the design wall...
See the pale grey bike wheels print?!  "Life- Enjoy the Ride" is its name. The white with black swirls writing is Art Gallery Cleta Translate Bike and the black with white tire tracks on it is Sun Prints Bike Path!

I added in another very dark green; I learned from iMessaging him in the early Spring, and seeing pics of his beautiful basement he was finishing and painting from bare cement walls to finished rooms by himself, that he likes dark colours.
Bella approved of that choice too, but had to add a little fur on it first. Honestly, no matter how I try to arrange stuff that makes it not conducive for her to lie on these various perches, (note the jelly roll, the paper, the sewing machine photo frame, etc) she worms her way to a comfy nest.
Nearly finished arranging and rearranging to distribute colours and prints:
Still needed a little tweaking, didn't like the bike path prints right together in two places
Interesting in my recent musings on pressing seams to one side, that this pattern has you do just that, and it leads to a quilt top that went together with barely any pinning, yet the seams intersect beautifully. Love that.

Although it's not quite as graphic as it might have been with just the green and gold floating on the black and white, I still really really like it.  As the eye roams around the quilt, seeing the shift from large coloured boxes to small coloured ones floating on the black and white, the double-entendre I intended in the quilt's name becomes apparent.  I think this has captured Callum's personality quite well, with the bike themes and the rich colours.  I used some Peppered Cottons in the top too, and wow, wow, wow, those fabrics are all kinds of delight from hand to texture. 
Finished flimsy--can you see a bit of the green Gears fabric from MacGyver's Gears for My Gearhead wallhanging?  :-)
On to the back construction.  I picked up the "Rustique" a Michael Miller print on sale at Fat Quarter Shop, thinking it might work as the backing.  I didn't have quite enough, but that was fine, as it led to some fun creating a big enough piece.
I did not pay one second of attention to matching the diagonals on this print, yet I am so pleased that they lined up so well!
I decided to make my own label, as those that I have are not very masculine!
I left room for his last name, but kept that private.
I used scraps from creating the blocks to make my own little patchwork label.  Although Callum likes cats, he is allergic to them.  I just had to include this fun black and white print in his quilt top and backing, a nod to Ceilidgh and to Abernathy, cats of his childhood and youth.

The quilt is loaded onto Avril, and once I get the right deep olive green thread, I plan to do an all-over meander.

Linking up with Freshly Pieced and Let's Bee Social.



17 comments:

  1. Oh this is absolutely beautiful!!!! Our lovely nephew will adore this!
    Oh Bella <3

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  2. I think it works really well with the addition of the greys - very masculine and very cool!

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  3. I really like the bento box pattern; and the pops of gold work so well.

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  4. Hey, you did it! Your Bento is beautiful and very manly. I love the ease of construction of the bento box design. The hardest part is just deciding what fabrics to use. I really like the green prints. Cleta is a neat line of fabrics. I always wanted to find some of the line to make my son a quilt.

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  5. SO love this! The color really does add to the movement of the eye over the quilt, fabulously done!!

    BTW, that picture of Bella will have me smiling for the rest of the day!! :)

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  6. Your nephew is going to love this! Very masculine! I'm not an orange person, but I do love the orange in this quilt!

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  7. This quilt is beautiful Sandra. The gold really makes it. The dark green is a great addition as well and I like that pearl bracelet that you sneaked in there as well.

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  8. Great quilt. I might need to try this pattern. Can't wait to see it quilted.

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  9. Beautiful quilt, great colors and fabrics. micki@2dogsstudio.us

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  10. Oh my what a beautiful quilt! I really like the gold and of course the green addition was perfect. Shopping is just so hard especially on the wallet...

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  11. I can't get over how cute Bella is! I love her poses. The quilt is great, very masculine with wonderful colors.

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  12. He's going to love this! Such a guy quilt, and graphic. Shoot, I'd love it! Also, I keep seeing that it's not pegged into being a fall, Halloween, or holiday quilt, but yet will suit each season if you looked at it. You did well, my friend, and I see you got the Bella approval, too.

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  13. What a great design and perfect color and patterns in the fabric Sandra! You made it very personal and fit just right for your nephew! That Bella is so adorable. She knows jut how to grab your attention, LOL.

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  14. Really nice use of colors! I hope your nephew loves it!!

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  15. Truth? I never cared much for Bento Box. I think your adding in more colors makes it much more vibrant and engaging! It's great, and I'm sure your nephew will love it - pattern, colors and personal touches.

    Gotta love Bella :)

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  16. Very elegant and grown-up version of Bento Box. The pops of yellow/orange in a grey-green quilt are very fetching :-) Your nephew is a lucky young man!!!
    http://sewpreetiquilts.blogspot.com

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