Progress on My Scandi Deco Quilt + Florida Deco Quilt Finish for Megan

No, I don't have a 100% finished Halo quilt to show you yet.  I'm still working on hand stitching the binding.  Meanwhile, though, I've finished piecing the first sixteen "Block One" log cabin blocks for my Scandi Deco bed quilt.  Look how cute they look, lined up in crooked rows on my design wall!  The Kona Solids colors I'm using for these blocks are Copen, Indigo, Leprechaun and Kale.

All 16 Blue/Green Log Cabin Blocks Completed!

In my custom coloring from EQ8 (below), you can see that these are the blue and green log cabin blocks needed for the center row of my bed size quilt.  I still need to make the four half blocks that go at the row ends, and then I need to make 32 full blocks and eight half blocks for the ends of the top and bottom rows.

My 102 x 102 Scandi Deco Plan in Kona Solids

Deco Quilt is a pattern by Brittany Lloyd of Lo & Behold Stitchery and it's available in three sizes: Baby, Throw, and Bed.  The pattern is available to purchase as an instant PDF download directly from the pattern designer on Etsy here (this post contains affiliate links).  Brittany's Deco pattern includes instructions for either a 2-color version or a 5-color version, and -- because I like to make my life difficult -- my version of the quilt is made up of 12 different Kona Solid colors: Indigo for the background with Willow, Cactus, Amber, Thistle, Citrus, Tangerine, Magenta, Hyacinth, Leprechaun, Kale, and Copen for the blocks.  I should note that the pattern directions would have been much, MUCH easier to follow if I'd limited myself to either two or five colors.  Brittany gives yardage requirements and cutting charts for both of those options, but my rogue plan of twelve different colors meant I was on my own to calculate yardage for each color and to figure out how many of each shape needed to be cut from each color.  Do as I say, not as I do...  😉.  I am a willfully disobedient quilter who doesn't follow all of the directions anyway, so I'll be pressing my seams to the side instead of open and disregarding some of Brittany's instructions (which are geared toward frugal use of fabric and ease/speed of construction) in favor of wasting more fabric and time (personal preference!).

I've actually quilted two versions of this Deco quilt already, for two different clients.  My client Liz made a two-color baby sized Deco quilt back in 2021 (see that one here), and my client Megan recently made a multicolor throw sized Deco quilt inspired by the vibrant pastel Art Deco buildings in historic Florida neighborhoods.  That's the finished quilt I'm sharing with you today.

Megan's Florida Deco Throw Quilt

Megan followed the pattern instructions for a 5-color Deco Throw sized quilt and drew her color inspiration from the pastel painted Art Deco architecture she's seen in historic neighborhoods down in Florida.  Isn't it pretty?

Megan's 60 x 70 Florida Deco Throw Quilt

For those who are unfamiliar with the pastel buildings that inspired Megan's quilt, check out this book cover of Miami Beach Deco by Steven Brooke:

Miami Beach Deco by Steven Brooke, available on Amazon here

Interestingly, the buildings in Miami's Art Deco Historic District weren't colorfully painted when they were originally built in the 1930s -- the original Art Deco aesthetic favored pure white buildings.  The pastel paint palette we associate with Miami Art Deco today was the brainchild of Leonard Horowitz, co-founder with Barbara Baer Capitman of the Miami Preservation League.  By the late 1970s, many of these buildings had fallen into disrepair.  Horowitz's Miami Color Palette of 40 saturated, tropical-inspired pastel colors, was wildly successful in kicking off renewed interest in in these architectural treasures, swaying many developers to restore (and repaint!) rather than tearing down the old buildings.  You can read more about that story here.

Deco Arch E2E Quilting in So Fine Thread, Color Peach Tart

I used So Fine 50 weight matte polyester thread in color Peach Tart for Megan's quilt, a perfect match to the peachy-pink squares in her quilt.  Lightweight thread made the backtracking less noticeable in the Deco Arch quilting design while keeping the primary focus on the patchwork design.  As for the Deco Arch quilting design, I'm sure I'm not the only long arm quilter who has thought of pairing this quilting design with this quilt.  It's just too perfect, with its combination of strong vertical lines and sleek curves!

1929 Bullocks Wilshire Building in Los Angeles, California

I can't help sharing a few Art Deco architectural gems with you.  Check out the detail at lower left of the 1929 Bullocks Wilshire building in Los Angeles -- doesn't that remind you of Brittany's Deco quilt blocks?

1930 Eastern Columbia Skyscraper, Los Angeles, California

The 1930 Eastern Columbia skyscraper, also in Los Angeles, is about as colorful as you can find in art deco buildings outside of Florida, but the gold on this building is metallic rather than a painted color.  Again, notice those strong, narrow-proportioned vertical lines emphasizing the height of the structure.  This style originate during a time of enormous social and technological change -- not only had the architects and engineers figured out how to build "modern skyscrapers" that soared far higher than anything humans had ever built before, but automobiles were replacing horses, women were voting, cutting their hair and wearing clothes they could actually move in, film and radio had transformed entertainment and created a common culture shared by more Americans than ever before...  It's bizarre to think that, in the midst of all of this going on around them, the quilters of the 1930s were making Sunbonnet Sue quilts and Dresden plate designs.  If there had been a modern quilting movement back in the 1930s, they would have been making Deco quilts like the one Brittany designed ninety years later! 

Chrysler Building Skyscraper, New York City, New York

You know I can't talk about Art Deco architecture without including a shot of the Chrysler building in New York City.  The Chrysler building reflects authentic Art Deco coloring -- modern steel gray with glistening metallic accents gleaming and shimmering at the apex, accentuating the radiating arches -- very similar to the echoed arches in the Deco Arch quilting design.

Subtle Quilting Stitches in Lightweight Thread, Dramatic Wool Batting Texture

By the way, although the quilting stitches themselves are inconspicuous on Megan's quilt, the Quilter's Dream Wool batting she chose ensures plenty of dramatic texture for the quilting design.  I love the dimension we get from wool batting with designs like Deco Arch that combine densely stitched areas that will recede with areas of sparser quilting that puff up.  On this quilt, with this design, I think that creates a fabulous illusion of depth, like we're seeing a whole city skyline full of Art Deco skyscrapers in the negative space between the pieced rows.  Here's what Megan's quilt top looked like before I quilted it:

Megan's Quilt Top Prior to Quilting

Thank you so much for choosing me to quilt this for you, Megan!  Maybe someday MY Deco quilt will be ready for quilting, too (but don't anyone hold their breath or anything).

PSST!!  I'd Love to Quilt for YOU!

By the way, if you or any of your quilty friends has a quilt top or two that needs quilting, I'd be delighted to quilt for you!  I am currently scheduling quilts for completion in early October of 2023.  Click here to learn how easy it is to book a quilt with me!

I'm linking up today's post with some of my favorite linky parties, listed below.  Happy quilting, everyone!

FRIDAY

Peacock Party at Wendy’s Quilts and More

Can I Get a Whoop Whoop? at Confessions of a Fabric Addict

Finished or Not Friday at Alycia Quilts

Off the Wall Friday at Nina Marie Sayre

Beauty Pageant at From Bolt to Beauty

 TGIFF Thank Goodness It’s Finished Friday, rotates, schedule found here: TGIF Friday

SUNDAY

Frédérique at Quilting Patchwork Appliqué

Oh Scrap! at Quilting Is More Fun Than Housework

MONDAY

Design Wall Monday at Small Quilts and Doll Quilts  

WEDNESDAY

Midweek Makers at Quilt Fabrication

Wednesday Wait Loss at The Inquiring Quilter

THURSDAY

Needle and Thread Thursday at My Quilt Infatuation