groovy summer love letters goes to the beach

this quilt was destined for the beach and for the land of golden summers - california.

i completed the binding while on a trip to california earlier this summer and was afforded the rare opportunity of photographing it in the appropriate environment for a quilt called "groovy summer love letters."

the name came from the fabric line most of the quilt is composed of, "summer love" by bari j for art gallery fabrics, and the inclusion of a few squares of this script text print that reminded me of love letters. i thought the fabrics had a groovy, funky vibe to them, so when all those elements rolled around in my head together, it became "groovy summer love letters."

i included coordinating pieces of other fabric lines from my stash along with the "summer love" prints to round them out and make the quilt larger. i even worked a few precious scraps of my beloved "antique flower" print from julia rothman's "miscellany" line for cloud9 fabrics. and "hop dot" by heather bailey is here, too. that makes this portion of the quilt a favorite spot.

the fort ord dunes state park where i photographed this quilt was an absolute treasure trove of scenes and spots for taking the photos. i felt like my quilt was in its native element. and fortunately for me, the beach sand is grainy rather than the super-fine variety that gets into everything and never leaves, so i had one less worry about the quilt staying out of the sand.

another special corner of the quilt. the pink floral (carina gardner for riley blake fabrics, i think) is almost identical to a sun dress my three younger girls wore. the yellow and pink floral is another print i adore and have used quite a lot. it's from bonnie christine's "sweet as honey" line for art gallery fabrics.

these are two prints from "summer love" that i especially liked. the bead string print would have made a good binding if i had had more of it.

my 15 year old son took a break from dune jumping and sand play to bring me this flower he found. he said all the rest where yellow and this one bud was pink, so he brought it especially for me. so sweet, particularity at his age.

i had quite a hard time selecting a binding for this quilt. i auditioned several from stash, but all the blues were off or there were other issues with the prints that were the right colors. finally, about a month ago i looked on etsy to see if any fabrics from the "love letters" line were still available. there were three and this is the one i selected as the best option. i like how it coordinates with the quilt and blends in without making itself too prominent. i do wish it had less white in it as i feel whites in a binding get dingy. overall, i'm just fine with it.

i never did get the perfect shot in my head with the coastline in the background, partly because of the wind, partly because of the people on the beach. the lighting was also a challenge for this angle at this time of day. we were there about 90 minutes before sunset, which made for some beautiful golden light, but it was definitely at an angle that didn't always light the quilt.

the wind was helpful in getting some flowy, moving shots of the back of the quilt rather than a static, head-on pose. i really love the back of this quilt. when i love a back as much or maybe more than the front, i know i've nailed it.

some more special bits: the "madrona road" apricot floral and an old art gallery ditsy print favorite that i parted with.

that early evening sun accentuated the quilting design and quilt texture very nicely.

if you are ever in the monterey bay, ca, area, whether you have a quilt to photograph or not, do make a stop at the ford ord dunes state park. it's not a swimming beach because of the treacherous riptides there, but it is an absolutely lovely location for wave watching and sand play or just strolling. the vegetation and little canyon that line the walk to the beach are wondrous in their own right.

this quilt has now been placed in its new home with my husband's paternal grandmother, who lives nearby. i look forward to visiting the dunes and the quilt again when we make our annual trek to grandma's house, where it's invariably a beautiful summer no matter what time of year.