About Me:

I am modern quilter.
I am a Pisces (who doesn’t know how to swim).
I learned how to sew when I was six and took it up ‘seriously’ at twelve.
I passionately believe that beauty is the birthright of every human and that beauty should be all around us.
I have a BS in Mechanical Engineering.
I approach quilt design like an engineer.
I love to swing dance so much that I feel like I’m dancing at the feet of the gods when I dance.
I love Indian food. (Can you say Saag Lamb?)
I can watch Law & Order any day of the week.
I hated the color green until about five years ago; now I its my favorite color.
I find green more and more often in my quilts.
I love Blue Bell Cookies and Cream ice-cream and country music from the 90’s.
I love the mountains.
I learned how to fly before I learned how to drive.
I love to quilt.

Jun 14 2010

Measured Improv: Lavender Big Log Baby Quilt

Posted in Measured Improv, Quilts, Solid Quilts show hide 14 comments

Before I even finished The Big Log in the original colors of Black and White, I started to think about what variations could be made to make the look and feel of the quilt completely different. Though I love black and white quilts for babies I thought that in this case the Black and White was too stark of a contrast for a baby. It just wasn’t playful enough. I’ve also been thinking a lot about monotone quilts as well so I decided to try my hand at a monotone lavender quilt. Once again, these are Kona Cottons in the shades of Pansy and Petunia.

The backing once again is a contrasting Kona Cotton this time in Coral. To unify the front and the back, I decided to include a small piece of the Coral backing fabric in the binding. I really like the random yet cohesive affect it has on the quilt. It is just a small touch but it makes the front of the quilt a lot more interesting, I think. The free motion quilting is a simple large meandering.

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by Latifah

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Amanda Elizabeth - August 11, 2010 - 11:20 am

this is seriously awesome!

kathy - August 6, 2010 - 11:29 am

“Measured Improv”…love it and love your work.

Emily - July 31, 2010 - 9:27 pm

This is really great. I love the style and the freedom of this quilt. Would you ever consider taking us through a couple steps of how you create the blocks? Is it all random… where do you start? I love it anyway. Would love to be able to give it a try. Also, how much fabric do you buy for a project like this. I don’t usually keep much solids on hand.

aunt spicy - July 31, 2010 - 5:33 pm

Ohhhh, really what a fabulous quilt, love the variation from the earlier white and black! Beautiful!

Sarah - July 27, 2010 - 9:18 am

cool quilt! Love how there is that one red piece on the binding, really draws the eye.

Freda P - July 10, 2010 - 8:19 am

Thanks Latifah for the reply, which with your original script is actually quite clear.. the fog is at this end I think!
I am all for the playful side not being excluded and am often pleased to hear when my quilts are flipped over as the recipient prefers the knitting cats on the back now! I still look for a patterened back ..hides more mistakes. I do like your quilting showing on on the reverse tho giving a reflection of the design on the front. Will giv it a try .. sometime!
freda, in soggy Edinburgh
16.18 GMT

Lauren - July 2, 2010 - 9:24 am

So beautiful, Latifah! I love the lavender.

Latifah - June 23, 2010 - 10:24 am

Freda – thanks for the comments! I’m so glad you came from the 6600 Yahoo group – I love that group! I guess I should’ve been clearer in my comment about black and white. I am actually a big proponent of using black and white in baby quilts. Though not always with white but, I use black in about 75 percent of my baby quilts. I too have heard about the research about colors and babies and their early recognition of the contrast of black and white. What I meant about stark was that with this pattern the black and white seemed to be mature and not ‘baby-ish’ at all. Hope that explains it better!

Freda P - June 23, 2010 - 6:38 am

Yummy – what an origonal style.. I was led here by the 6600group..bless …source of great e adventures. Interesting comment tho re black and white being too stark for a baby, my new grandson was given pressies by other new mums-in-the-know of op-art style mobiles in black white and red..which he zoomed in on ..at about three to four weeks! Apparently psychologists have found out that these are the first colours wee ones respond to!!
My own reaction was the same of ..oh yeh till I saw it .
Just a thought to share! Maybe in baby shapes of stars and moons??
Cheers from Edinburgh

Abi - June 18, 2010 - 1:44 pm

Oh, sorry. I skipped the words and went straight for the full-screen sized eye candy. Now I see that you’ve thoughtfully listed all the colors you used. You’re awesome. And I dig Kona Coral.

Abi - June 18, 2010 - 1:42 pm

I love it! Especially the little piece of the backing fabric – what color is that? I also especially love the photos – the houses, the pier? Awesomeness. Great work – as usual, Quilt Engineer! I think the block on the back looks like it might spell Latifah!