Oct
9
Dana’s choice
Filed Under Embellishment, Fabrics, Improvisational appliqué, Show & Tell, Turned edge
I asked Dana which quilt should be my quilter’s choice for the Blogger’s Quilt Festival put on by Amy of Park City Girl. Immediately he said, “Shopping Bags.”
Shopping Bags by Kay Mackenzie
The bag popped into my head a number of years ago whilst tromping the aisles at Pacific International Quilt Festival. It must have been the heavenly combination of quilts, fabric, and shopping!
It took awhile for the concept to get from my head to a design. Yes, kids, each bag has set-in seams in two places. That did not deter me. I used freezer-paper templates and sewed carefully, and they came together just fine.
Shopping Bags detail
It was gobs of fun rummaging through my stash for fabrics to make the fronts, sides, and backs. For the sides, I chose fabrics where I could use both the back and the front, to add to the illusion of a folding pleat.
After the bags were all sewn together (by machine), I turned over a quarter of an inch all around the edges and pressed. I chose a swirly background fabric and made my best stab at an artistic arrangement. In fact this may have been my very first quilt to come even close to being an “art quilt.” I just wanted them to hang there in space and overlap and float in and out from each other.
Once the bags were arranged, I basted them down and stitched the turned edges like appliqué, changing threads to match or blend with each fabric.
I went to the craft store to get something for the handles. I made my choice and as I was standing in line I saw the manager. Susan!” I yelled. “Whaddya call this stuff?” “That’s rat-tail cord,” she replied. Who knew. I couched the cord into place using one of those curve-bar thingies for placement.
Get this… I totally forgot to leave enough background fabric at the top for the handles. I quickly figured out that the topmost handles were going to stick up off the quilt. A happy accident… I get comments on how creative and clever this is.
Along with a different version of the quilt, the Shopping Bag block pattern was published the Fall 2005 issue of American Quilter magazine.
Hope you like Dana’s choice! Visit Park City Girl every day through October 16 and get a ringside seat for other bloggers’ quilt picks.
Until next time,
Kay
By Kay Mackenzie
Comments
60 Responses to “Dana’s choice”
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This is the most amazing one I’ve seen yet. Such wonderful playfulness and colors. Great job. Thanks for showing it.
Kay, I absolutely love Dana’s choice for the Quilt Festival! This quilt is so fun and colorful it just makes me smile looking it all over for the great fabrics. Thanks for sharing.
This is such an interesting design and looks like it was so much work! You did a really great job!
WOW what an amazing quilt
This is an amazing quilt!
What a creative quilt! The handles really make it fun!
No Way! That is amazing! Great idea and beautifully executed.
Love your shopping bags, they remind me of the floor at a quilt retreat after the ladies have all been shopping!
Fabulous idea. Love how it turned out.
Beautiful quilt – very interesting…
Wow! It’s amazing how much depth and dimension you managed to get out of a two dimensional surface. Great job!
what a cool idea! this is a really special quilt.
What a great quilt. Seriuosly combines all my fav things!
What a wonderful quilt!
wow – that is a work of art!
Wow! what a really neat idea for a quilt. I bet it was fun picking out each fabric for each bag.
Amazing quilt! Amazing give away! Thank you!
Paulette
I absolutely love your quilt! The idea is great, the colors are wonderful. It makes me smile! And all those set in seams…yikes!!
What a wonderful quilt! It’s unlike anything I’ve ever seen. Ditto to every other positive thing others have written before me. This is just too cool! I started smiling as soon as I saw it & I still am.
Love it, so creative!
I love this quilt! Such creativity and talent.
oh, you did a wonderful job! so meticulous and “fussy”! this one must have been soooo much fun, with all the happy fabrics, too! love it
Fabulous quilt design. Such a beautiful quilt.
I just have to sit and look at this amazing quilt
What a fun quilt! I love the shopping bags.
Thanks!
Your shopping bags quilt is so cute. No surprise there, I love ALL your quilts.
Judy Z
What a fun and cool quilt!!! Love it. I can see how it would be fun to pick out all the fabrics for the shopping bags. You did an amazing job. Thanks for sharing.
so fun. . . thank you for sharing your inspiration for this quilt.
I love this quilt. What a fun way to use some of those prints you just love, but can’t find a way to use. Very creative.
Oh that’s so cool! A lot of work but so worth the effort. Thanks for sharing!
Brilliant! Simply wonderful in every way…
Wow Wow Wow what else can I say.
Great Job
Awesome quilt, I’ve never seen anything like it and I love that!
What a great quilt!
What a fun quilt- Your bags are all so cute-
I bet it was great fun to make.
Thanks for sharing.
Warmest regards,
Anna
I love the quilt since it shows my two favourite passions – quilting and shopping.
Great idea! It makes for a really fun quilt!
What a neat quilt! Great idea!
A fantastic, fun quilt. I love it.
Very clever!!!
Great looking quilt, very cheerful! The top row of handles are a fantastic “accident”. I wonder if they’d hold the weight of the quilt? Then it’d look like the bags were just hung up on hooks or pegs, same as any other shopping bag. :-)
Very very beautiful!!! Wow I think it’s so much fun to look at.
This is absolutely A-M-A-Z-I-N-G !
LOVE IT! I even linked to this quilt from my blog so others may see it.
This quilt is just too much fun — might just have to make me one.
So fun Kay! Thanks for sharing :)
I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything quite like this in quilting before. What a unique idea to create shopping bags as a block. Your work is very lovely and so are the fabrics. I enjoyed reading about your quilt.
I’m a real “bag lady”, your quilt appeals to both the bag collector and conversation print collector in me.
LOVE IT!!
Love all your shopping bags…they are just waiting to be filled with lots of quilt fabric aren’t they!!
What a unique, creative approach to quilting. Congratulations, and thanks for sharing.
I’m in awe.
This quilt is amazing. I love it.
I like it the quilt very nice.
Marika
I love this quilt and how it looks 3D! Beautiful job. Thank you for sharing :-)
i love this!
hats off to you!
barb
Thank you one and all for your warm and wonderful comments.
Hugs in return,
Kay
What an awesome quilt! Any chance of getting a copy of the pattern? I absolutely love it!
This is amazing. It’s a brilliant quilt.
I just love this design, how fun!
Could you please send me a copy of the patten for the quilt – if a charge let me know. st@verizon.net.
Thanks!
Could you please send me a copy of the patten for the quilt – if a charge let me know. steabo@verizon.net.
Thanks!