Betty's Woven Radiance Quilt in Tula Pink True Colors + A Shout Out to Samwise for National Dog Day

Hey there, Quiltfolk!  Today I'm sharing a quilt made by my client Betty for her young granddaughter, who was personally involved in selecting the Tula Pink True Colors fabrics for her quilt.  (This post contains affiliate links).

Quilting Whirligig on Betty's Woven Radiance Quilt

With a quilt like this one, it's all about those dazzling print fabrics -- the quilting design needs to be secondary and subtle.  We chose Karlee Porter's Whirligig quilting design because I felt like Karlee's mod flowers channeled a similar vibe as the Tula Pink fabrics, and I liked the movement of the wavy horizontal lines connecting the quilted flowers and bubbles.  Thread is Glide in a pale blue-green called Mint Julep and the batting is Quilters Dream Cotton. 

Betty's 77 x 94 Woven Radiance Quilt with Whirligig E2E

By the way, Woven Radiance was designed by Stacey Day for Free Spirit Fabrics to promote the Tula Pink True Colors fabric collection.  The pattern for Woven Radiance is available as a FREE download from the pattern designer here.  I love the color placement in this quilt -- it just shimmers!

Eat My Cake: Public Art at the Historic Asbury Park Waterfront in New Jersey

Good morning, lovelies!  When I was visiting my sister's family in New Jersey last month, I stumbled upon a fabulous series of public art installations right on the waterfront of historic Asbury Park.  As much as I love the accessibility of fine art in museums open to the public (instead of all art being owned by private collectors before museums became a thing), the art in museums can only impact people who have free time, money for admission, and transportation. Sometimes the art in traditional museums can be confusing and alienating to viewers who haven't had access to the kind of education that enables us to appreciate things like historical context, symbolism, etc.  But contemporary street art?  That's the most democratic art of all, art that meets people in their own communities, speaking in a visual language that is current rather than arcane, encouraging residents and visitors to engage with the artwork on a personal level.

Detail of Eat My Cake by Holly Suzanne Rader

My favorite mural was Eat My Cake by "graffiti glam" artist Holly Suzanne Rader of Hollywould Studios.  Check out this short video by the artist where she talks about her inspiration for depicting Marie Antoinette wearing a candy ring pop on her finger and mirror gem-encrusted Dolce & Gabbana headphones, as well as her hope that her work might inspire more little girls to become artists.

Welcome to Asbury Park

But I know most of you have never been to Asbury Park, so I need to set the scene for you.  This is a town on the northern Atlantic coast of New Jersey that was first developed in the late 1800s as a summer resort destination, with a beautiful carousel and a Beaux Arts Convention Hall and Paramount Theatre complex (built in 1925 to replace a previous structure that was destroyed by fire) that spans the boardwalk and stretches right onto the sandy beach with breathtaking views of the Atlantic Ocean.