I am so happy with the way this quilt finished up! After much overthinking and debating, I decided to name it Gentle Fade.

My inspiration was two fold, the layering and overlapping of petals, and the way that flower petals on flowers like roses and dahlias, often fade, especially the outermost petals, as the flower reaches peak bloom and beyond. While I love my garden in its summertime glory, every year I find myself thinking how beautifully perennials age in the fall and fade into more subtle yet beautiful shades. So, all of these things were on my mind as I worked on this quilt that represents those ideas in a bold, graphic, modern way.

I’m grateful to Grant Family Farm, right down the road, for allowing me take these early morning pictures in such a pretty setting. I think we hit the tail end of the golden hour because the quilt kind of glows!

I am particularly happy with the layer of added interest achieved by the quilting. I had a spool of the prettiest variegated Aurifil 4660 in my thread stash and thought it might be perfect. It transitions from the palest pink through a deep red, just like the fabric choices in my quilt. I quilted in 1/4″ spaced lines and in addition to the texture, I love the way the thread transformed the negative space into something nuanced and dimensional with the variegated thread.

The quilt top finished at 52 1/2″ x 60″ prior to quilting.

I am working on this pattern but I have a special Halloween release coming first!

It feels good to complete this one!