December 07, 2021

Divided in Calm Lagoon

Welcome to my stop on the Calm Lagoon blog hop! As a lover of all things ocean and all things blue, I couldn't resist these Island Batik fabrics from Sherry Shish's new signature line. I decided to use them to make a baby size version of my Divided pattern. Get the Divided pattern in my Etsy shop.
Divided quilt in Calm Lagoon fabric | DevotedQuilter.com
Am I amused that I'm sharing beach themed fabrics with snow in the background of the picture? Yes, I am! Welcome to life in Newfoundland! Though to be honest we've hardly had any snow yet and today is supposed to be 12°C (53F) and rainy, so it doesn't really feel like December.

I had a moment of panic when I first received my box of Calm Lagoon fabric because there wasn't as much contrast as I expected between some of them and the whale fabric I planned to use for the background. Oh, the joys of choosing fabric through a computer monitor, right? These two fabrics were the ones I was most concerned about. Without contrast with the background the appliqued orange peels would be almost invisible.
Calm Lagoon fabric | DevotedQuilter.com
I thought I'd stitch around the orange peels with a navy thread to give them a more defined edge, but then my friend Michelle suggested I use white instead. That hadn't even occurred to me, but it was the perfect solution. The white zig zag definitely helps them stand out against the background. Phew!

I have a hard time choosing a favourite fabric. It might be these shells...
Divided quilt pattern in Calm Lagoon fabric | DevotedQuilter.com
Or it might be these shells...
Divided quilt pattern in Calm Lagoon fabric | DevotedQuilter.com
Or it might be the swirls. 
Divided quilt pattern in Calm Lagoon fabric | DevotedQuilter.com
Once all the orange peels were stitched, putting the whole quilt top together was pretty quick. Gotta love baby quilts for being quick to assemble!

Michelle also suggested the fish quilting design I used, while helping me baste the quilt. Don't you love having friends that make your life easier? Now if only I knew someone who loved cleaning bathrooms, lol. I used Aurifil 1125 (medium teal) for the quilting, which blends nicely with most of the fabrics on the front and looks nice even where it stood out. With solid white for the quilt back, that teal thread really stands out, making for a fun, fishy back.
Divided quilt in Calm Lagoon fabric | DevotedQuilter.com
The fish were fun to stitch, but I worried at first that they looked more like balloons than fish. It took a while to be able to make fish that were longer/narrower, rather than rounded since the rounded ones tended to resemble balloons more than the longer ones did. Even with those efforts, some parts of this particular lagoon have rather fat fish!
Divided quilt in Calm Lagoon fabric | DevotedQuilter.com
Want to make your own Divided quilt (maybe as a quick, last minute Christmas gift)? Get the pattern now! It's available as a PDF or as a printed pattern and I offer free shipping. The pattern includes a throw size along with the baby size shown in this post 😊
Divided quilt in Calm Lagoon fabric | DevotedQuilter.com
Sherry has put together a great group of designers to share their Calm Lagoon projects, so be sure to visit and see what everyone has made.


5 comments:

  1. Those colors in that fabric line are so pretty, especially against the backdrop of the snow. We are getting just a dusting this morning - we've had a very slow start to the snow season (I'm not complaining).

    ReplyDelete
  2. Love this quilt and you did great making the "orange peels" stand out. There are so many great fabrics in that collection. We have had no snow in this part of Maine, but it is threatening for tomorrow.

    ReplyDelete
  3. There are all sizes and shapes of fish in the sea! I really love how Divided shows off the prints in the fun line, and I like the green print as the dividing line and binding. Hooray for a good friend to help baste and talk quilting decisions with. :)

    ReplyDelete
  4. You and I are totally on the same.... beach (though mine would not have snow on it) when it comes to this fabric and blue! I love how your quilt turned out; the subtle 'there, not there' orange peels are really lovely imho. Yay for friends like Michelle.

    ReplyDelete
  5. This was a great fabric collection. Love the green stripe.

    ReplyDelete

Thanks for taking the time to leave me a message. I love hearing from you.