QM Scrap Squad: Dream Catcher by Forest Jane

In every regular issue of Quiltmaker, the QM Scrap Squad takes one pattern and creates scrappy versions of it to inspire and delight our readers. The featured quilt in Nov/Dec ’11 is Dream Catcher, which was part of the red and white “Infinite Variety” exhibit in New York City last March. The exhibit was mounted through the American Folk Art Museum using the quilt collection of Joanna S. Rose. The antique quilt is shown below.

I am so excited to show you today’s Scrap Squad quilt by Forest Jane who lives in a place where they speak with a d-r-a-w-w-w-l. It was fun to watch this quilt come together. Before the Squad even got the official pattern, Jane was playing with the idea in Electric Quilt and sent us these images.

Jane's solid petals with two-tone centers

Jane's shaded petals

Jane's jewels on velvet

Jane's Christmas peppermints

Jane's brown idea

No shortage of ideas for this gal! Jane shared her files with the rest of the Scrap Squad and Kim Brandt ended up using a variation of the peppermint idea. Jane settled on the color scheme below, which she dubbed Denim and Lemons. Say that three times, fast!

Jane's Denim and Lemons

Here are some of Jane’s thoughts about her project.

This quilt was one of the most time-consuming I did—not because it was difficult, but because of all the color selection for the gradients. I agonize over stuff like that! Even with a design wall, I ended up ripping out a square and replacing it with another that was slightly lighter. I didn’t like the way it ‘stuck out’ from the others when the rows were sewn together.

Jane's quilt drawing with Flying Geese border

I like quilts that are at least twin size, so after I added the border of geese around the edge, I knew I wanted to add another border.

I’d just gotten the Accuquilt small tumbler die, and it was a breeze to use up all my blue, yellow, and pink scraps in cutting tumblers.

Small tumbler die cut from Accuquilt

With the dogears already trimmed, the tumblers match up perfectly and go together like magic.

But again, I had decisions to make about color selection. Did I want the tumblers to follow the gradient of the other two borders?  Did I want to limit the colors to blue and yellow in the tumblers or add some pink in? Only another quilter can understand the angst!

Jane's finished Denim and Lemons version of Dream Catcher

There’s a real mix of fabrics in this one. I was mainly looking for the shades of blue or pink to get my ‘fade’ effect, so there are several men’s shirts plus batiks, hand-dyes, calicoes, plaids, solids, stripes and polka dots.

I really like the idea that a group quilt we made this year includes some of the fabric from this quilt.

It reminds me of being a Girl Scout at a few of the really big ceremonial campfires. Anyone who had ashes from previous encampments would open  their little containers, and as they dumped them into the fire, they’d call out a few of the previous fires where those ashes had been. Then we’d save the ashes from our fire in small film canisters and hand them out the next morning, with a compiled list of where the ashes had been, and the latest date added to the bottom of the list.

A close-up shot to show some of Jane's "ashes"

Now I feel like some of my fabric is the same way.  Fabric memories, shared among quilters. When I get it quilted, I’ll probably do a scrappy binding. Maybe even a gradient one!

I love Jane’s Girl Scout analogy, and isn’t this a stunning piece?! It’s evident that the time-consuming process of finding the right fabrics was well worth Jane’s time. Quilting will add another interesting element—can’t wait to see how it gets quilted. Who wouldn’t be happy sleeping under this quilt?!

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Only one more Dream Catcher to go and then we’ll look ahead to the new year, a new issue, a new Scrap Squad and much more!