Cinder and Smoke

Date: 
11 October 2012 to 6 December 2012
Recipient: 
Jonathan's son
Pattern: 
New Wave
Level of completion: 
Completed and given away

Cinder and Smoke is a companion quilt to Sea and Sky, which I finished and sent out to a co-worker in our Portland office on the birth of his daughter. I thought it might be nice to use the same pattern again, but add in a bit of a different focus.

While working on Sea & Sky, I removed a few pieces I'd cut because they just didn't work with the light, bright, clear-toned fabrics I'd chosen:

I should need 19 fabrics for this pattern. I have 18, but there's one in this set that I'm not thrilled about.Plotting and planning

Knowing that Jonathan preferred more neutral, earth-toned fabrics, I found myself thinking of the greys and browns, the fabrics that I've had in my stash for years that never quite went with any other quilt top. I wondered what they would look like, if I asked these quiet, calm colors to stand together instead of trying to stand next to the bright shouty fabrics.

I was pleased when I laid them out, because I realized the colors weren't boring or muddy. They're just -- quieter.

These should be all of the fabrics for Cinder & Smoke. I need to settle on a running order for them, but I also need to choose a sashing. The first and most obvious option would be white, but I keep staring at the fabrics and wondering if there's another option I haven't thought of yet.Fabric set, circular

It was a fabric set for the quieter shades of autumn. I feared I wouldn't like it, but when I put them all together, I liked the gestalt. It was quiet, and cozy, like a cup of tea on a chilly day. I tried to think of a name that followed the $x and $y pattern of Sea and Sky, and kept trying to think of quiet, lovely, and comforting things. When I tried to find music to play while working on this quilt, i kept going quieter and quieter until I pulled out Iron and Wine's "Our Endless Numbered Days," and realized "Cinder and Smoke" was just about perfect.

If this quilt could sing, it would sing quietly, and it would sound just like that. Just because something is grey and misty does not preclude beauty or intricacy.

It will, of course, have secrets. At Jonathan's request, it will be backed with the outrageously bright and delightful Juhannustaika, one of the Marimekko fabrics I picked up as amazing souvenirs in Denmark:

Pattern Designer:Aino-Maija Metsola
Material: 100 % heavyweight cotton
Repeat: 125 cm

JP is interested in this one, but I should have enough for two quilts.Juhannustaika

It's a good memory: a bright, cheery fabric bought as part of a memorable fabric expedition on a grey, drizzly Copenhagen day...

Hooray crazy awesome Scandinavian fabric shop!At Marimekko, buying All The Things.

...soaked through in an Amsterdam rainstorm, spread out to dry on the floor of my London flat, and hand-carried all the way back to the States.

I had to go dig up a ranty moment from the Quiltifesto because it applied so much: "On good days, I will sit down to the machine and work because I hope the good day WILL sink into the fabric." Here's hoping these good days all sank in. 

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Comments

this is wonderful, thank you for writing it.