Hugs & Kisses

Today it's all about Hugs & Kisses

I used Modern Workshop by Liesl Gibson for Moda for the cover quilt. Since fabric on the bolt isn't available yet I used City Weekend for the backing and the binding. The teal color was a perfect match.

DesignAt first when I designed this quilt I saw X's and O's and that is where the name Hugs & Kisses came from. I auditioned many different fabrics for the cover quilt and when I looked at the colors of Modern Workshop I knew that I had the right fabric. As I was creating the quilt I began to focus less on the X's and O's and more on the strong diagonal lines and diamonds that the design creates. I was stuck on what words to use to describe the quilt when a good friend said it better than I could. The diamonds almost meet up but never quite do, which makes the X's and O's star crossed. So I present to you... Hugs & Kisses... "The star crossed lovers quilt."
 
Here is the back coverIt includes 4 size options and a close up shot of the quilt.

I don't have too many outtakes from this photo shoot as luckily I was pretty happy with the photos from heading out just one time! {very rare for me}

Almost the cover shot... but I decided to move back a bit and show more of the quilt. I get asked for quilt photo tips often and my #1 tip is take LOTS of photos. You never know how a simple change like taking one step back {or forward} will change things. For each quilt I usually take between 50 to 150 photos!

I didn't like this one as much.  While it shows more of the quilt I think the cover photo has a bit more life with a bit of the back peeking over.

The lighting was great so I took lots of close up shots.

I asked Angela to describe the quilting that she did.
"Using the strips as my guide, I quilted a Plume Feather that traveled up the quilt. In the white background, I quilted smaller Plume Feathers to add even more texture."I continue to be amazed by her work & I'm starting to think I might never do my own quilting again!

I wanted to get a shot of the back to show you how I pieced it. I'm not sure when I started doing my quilt backs like this... but I do it almost all of the time now. Instead of using one fabric for the back I use a few and create a pieced backing with my label pieced into a strip. Soon I'll show you how I come up with all of the measurements so that you can do this too if you want.

It was getting cold & windy but I was able to get my fantastic dad to come take these photos of me.  He stared telling a joke and I couldn't keep a straight face!

If you are just joining us... you can see the covers of all of my new patterns here.Tomorrow is all about Fast Forward!
noteThe patterns are off at the printer now and will be available to ship on March 16th.

© Blog post written by Julie Herman
For more information visit http://www.jaybirdquilts.com/