New Quilt Design

For many years, I have been wanting to make an Ocean themed crazy quilt.  My husband and I spent the first 39/40 years of our lives on Vancouver Island, 34 years in Nanaimo and 5 years in Ucluelet.  The West Coast of Vancouver Islands is one of the few largely unspoiled areas of natural beauty.  Here are some photos from various websites and one of our personal photos to give you an idea of the place we once called home:

(Click on any photo to see a larger version)

It's hard not to be inspired by the wind, waves, trees and animals.  I have made several failed attempts to capture the feeling of this untamed beauty in a crazy quilt.  I knew I didn't want to make a pictorial or landscape quilt - I could never capture what I wanted that way.

Last night while re-reading Allie Aller's Crazy Quilting, a most excellent resource,  I saw a picture of a quilt by Sharon Boggon, another much-admired teacher of mine.  She made a Tumbling Blocks quilt with CQ blocks which is just amazing.  I have seen pictures of this quilt before, but it clicked in my brain last night - this traditional quilt pattern rendered in CQ blocks is the perfect way to portray my Ocean theme.

This will be a really ambitious project, and will require careful planning on my part.  In the coming weeks, I'll be clearing the decks in my studio - tidying up after a Christmas creating frenzy, and finishing projects to make mental and physical room to start on this epic journey.  My working title for this piece is a well-know slogan of this area.......Where The Rainforest Meets The Sea.