OK I'd better come clean

You all came up with such wonderful ideas, suggestions and starting points that I'm now feeling a bit guilty that I was a bit economical with the truth in my previous post.  It is true that the house has just been finished and belongs to a couple I know.  It is true that it was architect designed.  It is true that they would like me to make a modern colourful quilt for the largest wall space.  However, the couple involved are my parents and the house is about 18" tall.  It was a birthday present from my Dad to my Mum and has been well over a year in the commissioning.  It is what you might call a doll's house although it's more like a miniature architect's model than a doll's house since my Mum probably won't be playing families in it with miniature modern people.  She will be furnishing it however and we are talking about a modern colourful quilt for the main wall and I really do need your suggestions.  But I didn't want your suggestions to be limited by the idea of the quilt being a miniature and the house being a doll's house.   


I am going to take the brave step into Pinterest which has completely baffled me until now and pin a lot of your fabulous suggestions.  I'd still love you to keep the suggestions coming because you have shown me so many more things than I would have come up with myself.  The finished quilt will be something like 10" x 18" and will be a proper miniature in the sense that I will design a full sized quilt but make it in miniature. For it to hang properly, I will need advice on whether to add wadding, what wadding to add and whether and how to quilt it but those problems are a while away for the moment.  


So thank you for all your wonderful suggestions and please keep them coming.  And for those of you who talked about looking at the house's surroundings, it will live in a bedroom with a Kaffe Fassett Diagonal Madness quilt on the bed so I guess you can imagine it set in rolling hills of pink, blue, orange, red, black, brown, yellow, purple, dots, swirls, stripes, flowers, leaves - well you get the picture. 

Comments

  1. I think you were quite right not to limit people's imaginations with the true dimensions!

    Sing Ho! for the architect's model - it's beautiful :)

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  2. so how tiny will those squares be? it is beautiful!

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  3. LOL - you got me hook line and sinker. I've even revisited your old post and am still convinced its a real human sized house! Genius work!!

    I agree it was the best way not to limit the suggestions and I'm sure what ever you design will be a perfect match.

    I'd love to see things once they are completed with the furnishings!

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  4. I also think you were right not to mention the scale - it probably would have limited what we all thought about the impact, etc. the quilt would need to have. It's going to be a great challenge and the fact that it's small means you can draw a plan to scale - always a plus! I know it's a way off but my one piece of advice about hanging the quilt would be to block it first - it makes a huge difference to how it hangs! The little house/model is really lovely (and the Kaffe quilt will be stunning in it!) - can't wait to see all the quilts, etc. you make for it! Maybe you could make a Grand Designs type walk through so that we can admire your work in it's setting?!

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  5. I would still give the same answer I did before. Maybe because I'm small myself I don't see small as being a problem lol.

    And yes I do hope you'll report back regularly as the home gets furnished!

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  6. That did make me laugh, I think big or small you will do a fantabulous job :-)

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  7. oh you cheeky girl! That explains so much! Of COURSE your mother would ask YOU! Well, the lovely bit is that if you make one and it doesn't work, you can always make another! (LOL!)

    You know, so many of the Amish quilts are so simple and so graphic, you could do something quite traditional and it would carry well in the space.

    Have fun! I know at that size, I couldn't stop at making just one.

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  8. That's awesome! Who you are making it for and how big it will be takes a lot of pressure off.

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  9. Ha ha! I'm imagining my idea of teeny weeny canvases now . . .

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  10. Holy guacamoly, I never expected that it was a miniature! I can't wait to see what you come up with for this! Good luck :)

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  11. Wow! That would be one cool house. But I was concerned with all the windows and having the hanging fade. Now that is not an issue!

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  12. See, now, stay off the computer for one day and I miss all the fun stuff! You received some great suggestions yesterday and you were right to keep the scale a secret initially, but it will matter when you decide what to make. Working in miniature is fun, but angles, points and small pieces can be challenging so you'll want to plan for that. If you decide to do something with more detail, consider foundation piecing - it really helps with the little pieces. If you're quilting it, batting helps show off the stitches by giving it a little dimension. Rather than a true batting, however, try using a piece of flannel. I assume you won't be washing the finished piece, but just in case you should prewash/shrink the flannel.

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  13. Aw how cute!! What about using polar fleece instead of actual wadding? I'm going to be trying that with a baby quilt I'm making that I want to be lightweight.

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  14. I missed all the fun of yesterday's post but couldn't have come up with anything new - however, it wouldn't hurt to have a close look at the DQS11 flickr group, I have been amazed at some of those little beauties.

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  15. Considering the scale of the quilt, and it's surroundings, I would try to keep it thin. In a tiny space nomal batting might look like a down comforter.

    If you layered fabric on top of felt and then quilted just the two layers would the felt have enough density to create the depth that normal quilting does? I'm thinking that it would be stiff enough to hang prettily, and not so thick that it looks huge.

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  16. Now, I'm a little sad. I was so excited for you about your custom designed quilt commission. Maybe someday.

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  17. 10 x 18" hardly minature, but, still complete do'able! :) my suggestions still stand :)

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  18. Lily, you crack me up. And I must say, this is the most elegant doll's house I have ever seen in my life!

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  19. Ha! It's a beautiful model. I'd probably go for a simpler design than the bed, more restrained palette. I've always loved this quilt, especially for hanging:

    http://www.flickr.com/photos/23599965@N05/5598060481

    It's bold as a total composition, but still has interest in detail.

    With all the glass I'm also tempted to go for a shattered effect. Something like:

    http://www.nightwoodny.com/html_pages/gallery_pages/art/art_blade.html

    I've seen quilts that go for a similar effect, though I can't seem to find any at the moment.

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  20. Wish I were the doll living in that house.

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  21. Ha ha! Hilarious! my comments still stand, except for the one about making giant blocks! :)

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  22. Ooo! that is so cool! And I'd still go with Mondrian for the crisp, straight lines and geometric shapes.

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  23. Haha you are a riot!! I adore your diagonal madness you know! xo

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  24. What a stunning dolls house. How about using brushed cotton instead of wadding? Oh and Pinterest is brilliant, ive just become an addict, im under LawsonandLotti if you want to check me out

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  25. hi-
    I hope I'm not out of order here, but I'd like to do a post on my blog about finding my own quilting style, and I've been totally gobsmacked by the Penguin Book quilt shown in a photo on Im a ginger monkey's blog.
    Could I ask permission to show the same photograph if I put links to both you as the owner and to the blog where I saw the photo?
    (I've asked her the same question)
    Of course I won't go ahead until I hear from you
    kindest regards Elaine

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  26. i LOVE IT!!!!! You know what - the ickle quilt might be more difficult than a biggie!!

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  27. Are you still working on this?

    I just started pinterest too... Kritta22

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