Quilt 63: Stallion Canyon - DONE!

My friend Cathie is simply mad for horses.  She's got the sweetest, sensitive soul and has taken on some rather difficult equine charges - pouring compassion and care into animals which otherwise would be fated for a very sad end.

When I found this panel on www.fabric.com, well, I knew what I had to do.

 

The original panel had a brown/gold edge on it.  That created a kind of "frame", but the colours were too harsh - it cut the energy of the scene, creating a visual boundary which just seemed wrong.  I've trimmed it off and replaced it with soft green you see above.  

Now - it's easy to just slap some plain borders around this print and call it a day, but I feel it deserves something more.  I want something that makes a "statement" but doesn't pull the energy out of the image of those gorgeous horses.  So the next border (after the green above) will be soft grey with what I'm calling "mesa points" rendered in a solid rust to bring out the rust shades in the 2 horses in the foreground.

Here is one finished "mesa point" (below right).  On the left are samples of the strips used to arrive at the points:

 
 The pieces (for each mesa point block) are:

• 2 rust - 6.5" x 2.5"
• 2 rust - 5" x 2.5"
• 2 grey - 2.5" x 2.5"
• 2 grey - 4" x 2.5"

Now let's put them together.  First grab one of the 6.5" rust strips and one 2.5" greys, joining them as shown below:

 Next grab another pair of the same length - and join them as below (notice the strips are swung to the other side):

That much is obvious, easy.  The next two bits are less-so.

Now join a 4" grey and 5" rust - and carefully note the orientation of the 2 strips we're joining:

And another of the same size as above, but notice the orientation again - we're swinging the pieces from left (above) to right (below):

 Trim the excess:

 Flip and press.  See the "mesa block" shape coming together?  Of course!  Too easy!

 

And here's the finished quilt - showing how the mesa points work into the design:

52" x 69" - polyester batting - quilted on the longarm

 The backing is solid green - and here's a photo of the backing where you can get a better idea of the quilting design I used (the "Blustery Breeze" groovy board):

 

I'm sure Cathie will love this - and it's winter here in Australia, so it's the perfect time to have this quilt to snuggle under on a chilly evening!