Friday 29 November 2013

Doll Quilt - A Bristol Terrace


This is the quilt that I sent to my October partner, Terry, for the Doll Quilters' Monthly swap.  The theme for the month was to show where you live, so I decided to base the quilt on the coloured houses seen in Bristol - we live just seven miles outside.

I shall cheerfully own up that I had a few tussles with this quilt, with the surprise pleat on the back and the skipped stitches on corners.

I was in a bit of a quandary over the free motion quilting, thinking the meander design on the front of the houses might look like cracked rendering.  In the end it doesn't look too bad, and I varied it with a pebbly design for the ground.

Also there was great frustration with right angles.  I chose the materials for the colours rather the weight.  They were a touch too lightweight, and I just don't do starch, so I had to live with the shifting angles.



But in real life many of these houses have slipped here and there.  Doors can be slightly out of line...


... or well and truly crooked...



...and as for chimneys, they can be all over the place.



My husband and I had a brief discussion about the windows.  He said I had put Georgian windows on Victorian houses.  I said they were early Victorian, so there is hardly any difference.

All told, I was pleased with how it turned out. Someone might look at the bright colours and off angles and think it is badly executed Toytown.  My answer to that would be that this quilt is the nearest I have got to photorealism.  People here who have seen the quilt instantly start debating which part of Bristol it is and which street it shows.  The photos on this Flickr group show the scenes we see every day...

http://www.flickr.com/groups/colouredhousesofbristol/pool/with/9035260579/#photo_9035260579

The house my husband was born in - and still lived in when we met - is in this picture...

http://www.flickr.com/photos/261049/8234408515/in/pool-colouredhousesofbristol/

... fourth house on the right in the long terrace that goes right the way across the picture, and here is a picture actually taken on the street a few doors down from the house...

http://www.flickr.com/photos/crabchick/9324205864/in/pool-colouredhousesofbristol

Up until about twenty years ago most of these houses were grey or very pale colours.  It is only recently that all these bold colours have appeared.  They took some getting used to, but now I rather like them.

Linking up again today with Sarah's blog Confessions of a Fabric Addict for Whoop Whoop Friday
and Leah Day's blog for Free Motion Friday.

11 comments:

  1. WOW, I think you did a great job! What a colorful place to live. I really like it.

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  2. I think your Bristol Terrace is beautiful! It seems that we are always our own worst critics - others don't tend to see our creations the way we do.

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  3. I absolutely love it,, you've done a fab job depicting where you live exactly, it's wonderful. Thanks for giving me memories of home this morning, I live in the States now but previously I lived in Marlborough, Wiltshire and know where you live well. :D

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  4. Considering the challenges, you did a great job. Thanks for sharing the links for the quilt's inspiration.

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  5. I simply ADORE you Bristol Terrace doll quilt!! It is stunning and beautiful!
    I say that any "imperfections" are creative interpretation!!

    Susie

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  6. Love your happy little houses!

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  7. What a great interpretation of your theme. Love it.

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  8. Lovely quilt and thank you for the mini-mental holiday. I've only been so far as London, Bath and Maidstone but would love to explore the rest of England!

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    Replies
    1. ... another ten miles from Bath and you would have been there...

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  9. Very cute little houses! Great details and quilting on them

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  10. Really nice job on the little houses! Thanks for sharing.

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