A Welsh House Quilting Sampler.

After going through a fallow time,  ideas are beginning to stir in my brain.  Sometimes a quilt in a magazine or catalogue acts as a trigger.  The idea may have been lying dormant in my mind and suddenly I have a "ker-ching" moment and rush to my drawing pad.

I have EQ and Quilt Pro but I prefer to work an idea out on squared paper.  Everything is then in proportion and it can be scaled  to any size either in inches or centimeters, so it is a flexible way to capture the first idea. I then draft my templates referring to this pattern.  Of course when the fabric comes into play the fun starts, as from then on it leads the design.

The latest is this little quilt with a little Welsh cottage at its centre. The idea is to surround the house block with much larger pieces on which I will quilt different Welsh quilting motifs, so it will be a sampler of traditional patterns.

I have added a few more fabrics to the mix which I may or may not use -

The pattern for the cottage is based on one on a group of Brecon samplers sewn around 1840.  I chose red fabric for the cottage because not only is it a good colour for a centre, but painting farmhouses and cottages in a mixture of lime and oxblood was traditional in Wales in past centuries, so it lends authenticity to the design. This was done because, not only was cheap and easily available, but it was thought that red would ward off evil spirits!

This is a picture of Kennixton Farmhouse at St. Fagans: National History Museum and as you can see its roofing is thatch but very often when buildings like this deteriorated the thatch was replaced with corrugated iron.  This links to my choice a striped fabric for the roof of my cottage as I felt a more graphic fabric would be best.

We are now getting there but still have a another round to go  -   I will report back on it's progress!  However,  I am still trying to finish quilting my Royal Wedding Quilt - it seems never ending but when you do get an idea you have to go for it or it may disappear!