Tuesday 30 January 2018

Rustic Chair Pads

My kitchen chair pads needed new covers for a long time.
I took two orphans from my pattern testing blocks box and decided to give them life as tops for the new chair pad covers. A few pieces of red fabric and two zippers helped me to make two of the most cheerful reasons to like the time I spend in my kitchen.

Country Home block used for a rustic chair pad cover - abeeautifulday.blogspot.com


No quilting, no batting. Only the good old patchwork.

Country Home block used for a rustic chair pad cover - abeeautifulday.blogspot.com


And as the beauty is in the imperfection, it does not bother me that the red-white little squares of the gingham pieces of fabric do not match each other.

The name of the block I used is Country Home. Easy and quick to make.

How about you? Do you plan to sew something new for your home this year?

Heave a lot of beautiful sewing days, my dears!

Linked to Finish it up Friday!



Tuesday 16 January 2018

Welcome 2018! - Anahata quilt


Anahata quilt pillow - abeeautifulday.blogspot.com


The heart chakra, or Anahata in its original Sanskrit name, colors our life with compassion, love, and beauty.

Anahata is unifying chakra. It is the healing center.
It means living your life with loving kindness and compassion towards others. It means that your heart is open to others and you inspire kindness and compassion in others. It is associated with balance, calmness, and serenity.

Anahata moves love through our life.
Its color is green, higher energy frequencies can turn to pink.

We are used that an effect is produced by the confrontation of two opposite forces.

At the level of Anahata chakra appears the possibility to integrate the two opposite forces without the two forces to be confronted. The energy is specific to cooperation and integration, which brings peace and a new perspective in a world which, up to this level was made only of a more or less conscious confrontation between opposing forces. 

Anahata pillow cover quilt- abeeautifulday.blogspot.com

So, these being said, I hope you understand why I considered a challenging task to make a quilt illustrating the symbol of Anahata. The friend who asked me to do it is a lovely person and I could not refuse. 

The quilt should have been ready before the winter holidays, but I could not decide which quilting technique would be more appropriate.

Anahata pillow cover quilt- abeeautifulday.blogspot.com

One big question was also: To use a single fabric or more?
Using more fabrics, the quilt would definitely come out, more appealing, more vibrant. Paper piecing or applique would probably have been the most suitable sewing technique. 
But reading, again and again, the meaning of the Anahata symbol, I realized that, this way it would be more difficult to express its essential traits: balance, calmness, and serenity.

Anahata pillow cover quilt- abeeautifulday.blogspot.com


Finally, I came to the conclusion that a wholecloth quilt is the most appropriate form of expression: I will use a single fabric, in the defining color of the symbol, green, and a single thread color with which I will draw/stitch/quilt the contours of the elements. And as I had to suggest the invisible energy flows and one of the seven main wheels of energy (chakras), I used a color of thread having a low degree of visibility as against the background. 

Anahata pillow cover quilt- abeeautifulday.blogspot.com

For background, I chose to use quilting with straight lines, in various orientations, in order to express the confrontation between opposing forces of the life. Their density is similar with the density of the rounded lines inside the symbol, in order to require more time for the eye to separate the details of the Anahata symbol from those of the background, just as the knowledge of one's own self is a process that requires time, willpower, patience, and depth in thinking and senses.

In choosing the green shade I had a practical reason: it is a friendly shade with a wide range of colors, so it can help to create a welcoming interior.

Anahata pillow cover quilt- abeeautifulday.blogspot.com

One more thing about the thread:  I used Mako NE 50/2 from Aurifil, which was a real performer of this quilt.
There was no need to change any settings on the sewing machine. The thread never broke. It worked wonderfully.
Aurifil thread has a soft shining and blends so well with the fabric.
It is indeed a quality thread. Free motion quilting with it was a real pleasure.

Anahata pillow cover quilt- abeeautifulday.blogspot.com


All in all, Anahata is a special quilt, as the meaning of its elements guides the aesthetic expression and precedes it in terms of importance. That's why at first glance it may go unnoticed. 

Anahata pillow cover quilt- abeeautifulday.blogspot.com


But for the future owner of this pillow - because this way it will be used - I'm sure it will become one of the most loved pieces of decoration in her new home.

Have a beautiful year, my dears!