Playtime Quilt - Amy Sinibaldi's Playground Showcase

Hello and welcome! Today is my stop on the Playground Showcase and I’m just thrilled to have you here today!

I have been inspired by Amy Sinibaldi’s work since I stumbled upon her blog Nana Company several years ago, when I first started my sewing journey. I just adore the attention to detail she imbues in each of her designs.

When I noticed Amy's call out for makers to play with her latest collection called Playground I thought "I just have to give this a try". Low and behold I was beyond excited and touched when I got her email saying I was in! Happy dance!!

I returned from vacation to find this fun parcel awaiting me. Even her packaging is super cute!

I was eager to get started, especially since this was my first time playing with Art Gallery Fabrics. What a great way to be introduced to their fabric. True to Amy’s style, her fabric is so attentive to detail. The delicate flowers, the children skipping rope, the hopscotch prints – they all remind me of a simpler time. A time when life was all about play – what happiness!

And the colourway doesn’t disappoint! The range of soft pinks to deep burgundy and pale blues to indigo paired with a little peachy pink and coral is just perfection.  Look at this gorgeousness! You can also see the entire look book here.

With Playground being so silky and soft, I wanted to combine that with something equally soft but with a little more texture. Kaffe Fassett’s Shot Cottons in Raspberry and Blue Jean were a great fit. The overall effect is light and airy (this quilt feels ah-mazing), while the depth of colour allows the lightness and brightness of Amy’s prints to really shine through.

My biggest challenge was settling on a quilt design that I felt showcased the fabric and also spoke to the memories and feelings I was overcome by.  And so the Playtime Quilt was born!

The entire quilting journey for this quilt has been such a trip down memory lane. Memories of learning to ride a bike…and graduating from training wheels! Birthday scavenger hunts. Playing hopscotch in my long driveway. The anticipation of spending the day at the park with my best friend and never wanting the fun to end. Happy memories of days filled with joy and laughter.  

The first block I made was this hourglass block featuring my favourite print Chopsticks in both Rainbow and Iris. I decided to go with the hourglass block design as it speaks to the fun playtime we focused on as kids.

I fondly recall my mum calling us for dinner, or bath time or homework (gasp) and my brothers and I all yelling back “5 more minutes, mum”.  Time seems to last forever, yet seems fleeting as the years go on. The flying geese help accentuate the concept of time and adds movement to remind us that time doesn’t stand still.

I just love the combination of the hourglass block and the flying geese! It’s a modern quilt with a whimsical nod.

Once I had the quilt top complete, I decided I wanted to explore using larger pieces of Playground so as to really showcase the design details in the fabric. This was completely spontaneous! And super fun to create!

My Aurifil thread chart came in handy once again in helping me select the perfect thread. I decided to match my thread to the Raspberry Shot Cotton and chose #5003 in the colour Wine. I love it! And already see it working with a few other projects I have in mind. 

I completed the quilt with some straight line quilting. Not as dense as I typically quilt, as I wanted to keep an overall feeling of lightness and dense quilting makes for a much heavier quilt.

And the I Spy Friendship makes for a perfect quilt label!

I’m always amazed at the ideas, memories and design concepts that emerge during the quilt design process. I didn’t initially set-out with this intention, but the Playtime Quilt turned out to be an ode to our playtime as children. I hope it reminds you to find time to play in your day and just enjoy life. After all, life is short!

I hope you love this quilt as much as I do. It was such a fun experience.

There is such talent that is participating in the Playground Showcase and I encourage you to pop in and see the stunning projects they have created:

SEPT    14: Katie Skoog ~ thesimplelifecompany.com/blog

              15: Michelle Curtis ~ chellesquilts.com

              16: Peta Peace ~ shequiltsalot.com

              17: Minki Kim ~ minkikim.com

              19: Jemima Flendt ~ tiedwitharibbon.com

              20: Tara J Curtis ~ tjaye.com

              21: Alexis Wright ~ mysweetsunshinestudio.com

              22: Melissa LeRay ~ ohhowsweet.com

              23: Ali Brorsen ~ becauseofbrennaclothing.com

              24: Angie Wilson ~ gnomeangel.com

              26: Rachel McCormack ~ woodenspoonquilts.blogspot.com

              27: Stacy Olson ~ stacyolsondesign.com

              28: Shannon Fraser ~ shannonfraserdesigns.ca (You’re here!)

              29: Cristi Cooper ~ whimsyquilts.blogspot.com

              30: Guiseppe Ribaudo ~ instagram.com/Giucy_Giuce

OCT     1: Kristyne Czepuryk ~ prettybyhand.com

             3: Amy Sinibaldi ~ nanaCompany.typepad.com

Thank you for the unexpected trip down memory lane, Amy! And thank you for having me as part of your Playground Showcase!

Happy quilting!

xo

Shannon

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