Ocean Vibes
(Gracie’s Birthday Quilt)
92” x 92”
Materials: cotton quilting fabric
Methods: traditional piecing
Pattern by Susan Ramey Wright
Pieced by Jill Huntington
Machine quilted by Nancy Stovall, Just Quilting PDX
Four kids, four birthday quilts! This quilt was made for our daughter Gracie’s 16th birthday. It is from a pattern called “Rock Star” from Quick Quilts ©1991 compiled and written by Susan Ramey Wright (I adapted it to make a larger quilt than the original pattern). It is based on a traditional quilt block called Rocky Road To Kansas. The names of quilt blocks often have historical roots, named after a time period or an event when they first appeared; Rocky Road to Kansas is such a block, referring to the period of early settlers in late 1800's and their difficult traveling conditions.
Growing up, Gracie’s traveling conditions were smooth sailing, and a trip to the beach was an exciting adventure. She loved vacations to sunny California and Oregon shores, so the colors I chose for her quilt represent those days spent playing in the warm sand near a blue, blue ocean.
A majority of the fabrics used were Kona Cotton solids, but I did pull in one non-solid fabric to give the quilt a pop of interest. I found a gorgeous fabric that is a gradient of colors from teals to deep purples - Robert Kaufman’s Artisan Batik in a pattern called Patina Handprints (jewel color). This fabric formed the foundation of my color decisions for the rest of the fabric.
An element I tried with the binding for the first time was to piece all the solids in small sections, thus creating a multi-colored binding. Originally, I used an invisible monofilament thread to hand sew it onto the back; this turned out to be a mistake. The thread felt like fishing line, was virtually impossible to see in order to thread my needle, and ended up breaking in multiple places. I ended up redoing the hand stitching completely, and swore off clear thread!
© 2023-2024 Jill Huntington, Huntington Quilt Design, HQD
All rights reserved. Please do not reproduce, sell, or commercialize in any form without permission.
