The New Moon quilt has been one of my favourites to design and make. It is labelled as an Intermediate level pattern but as someone who never lets a label hold her back I encourage you to give it a go if the design speaks to you. The simple block design means it's a really great entry quilt to sewing curves. You can always start with a smaller size to gain more confidence.
So let me tell you some more about the design. Sometimes an idea comes to me fully formed and sometimes the meaning of a piece reveals only after time and with the New Moon quilt it has been a little bit of both.
Last summer my son asked me to design a 'moon quilt' and when I began to think about my 'favourite' moons I always came back to the same times and places: the moon gleaming above the waves of my favourite beaches in Denmark. Places where I always find peace and stillness and the incredible northern light creates evening skies of most intense violet blues in the summer months. I used a repeating circle to represent the many moons of my favourite beaches I added staggered rectangular strips to represent the waves of the sea, my Danish heritage and they also add a good contrast to the curves of the moons.
Four colour Small Throw size New Moon quilt
Fabrics used Art Gallery Pure Solids:
It's a colour combination I've used before and one I know I'll return to again. Although bright red is often the colour people associate with Denmark because of it's flag, cobalt blue has a significance for me because it is the signature colour of the Royal Copenhagen china collected by my Mormor (my grandma) and my mum. It's trademark three blue waves signify Denmark's relationship with the sea so I can't think of hues more perfect to depict the summer night skies in Skagen, at the very most northerly tip of Denmark. It's not quite the land of the midnight sun but the nights never get completely dark in summer and the sky can be an extraordinary glowing cobalt blue at midnight. Skagen is on a very narrow strip of land surrounded by the sea. In fact two seas meet there and you can actually see where their waves collide! All this water on all sides reflects the sun and moon meaning the light there has an incredible quality to it which is why many Danish Impressionist painters chose to live and work there.
I am so thrilled with how this quilt turned out. The colours are everything I hoped they'd be and I added free hand wavy line quilting to add movement and texture like the waves of the sea.
Get the Sailor Moon large Throw quilt kit.
Two colour Large Throw New Moon quilt
Fabrics used AGF Pure Solids:
I had been wanting to use Desert Dunes for a long time and it's a beautiful pairing with Coconut Milk. It wasn't until I was halfway through the quilt that I realised just how perfect the red is for a quilt that reminds me of Denmark. It's a warm and earthy brick dust red that has been used in traditional Danish and Scandinavian architecture for centuries. The pigment would have been made from local minerals and was used, especially on farms and summer houses to protect against the elements. It's everywhere in Denmark, particularly in small towns and country farmhouses and along with the yellow Ochre paint that is also used is probably the colour that I most associate with it. Coincidentally Skagen has some of Europe's largest sand dunes which makes it even more of a match!
My mum's family had a little summer house on the beach where we'd stay so imagine how I felt when I saw this backing fabric from the Tilda Hometown collection! The little summer houses even have little flag poles and every Danish summer house has a flag pole. What's more it is an EXACT colour match to AGF Desert Dunes. It was meant to be!
Get the Desert Moon Large Throw quilt kit
Three colour baby size New Moon quilt
Fabrics used AGF Pure Solids:
This colour combination was born from some good old messing around with fabrics. I'm really into orange right now and Rock Candy is one of my favourite colours so this is what you get when you put them together. It's maybe more of a sunrise or sunset over the water quilt but that still works for me!
Get the Pink Moon Large Throw quilt kit.
'Shape Up' Small Throw size New Moon quilt
This minimal scrappy version of the New Moon Quilt is part of the Shape Up skill builder collaboration with Cowden Quilt School and Made Just Sew. I curated several fabric bundles and we chose this one between us.
Fabrics used are AGF Pure Solids:
Scrappy Large Throw size New Moon quilt
I made this scrappy version during the New Moon Quiltalong. Even though I didn't make it until after the release of the pattern it was actually one of the first versions I planned.
Fabrics used: Warp and Weft Heirloom by Alexia Marcelle Abegg for Ruby Star Society.
Did you know that wovens are an excellent choices to sew curves with? Shop wovens HERE.
