Journal quilt: May

No 30 Days Wild post today as I wanted to show you my May journal quilt. Actually it would have fit the theme nicely given its subject matter.

If you've been reading my blog this year, you'll know I'm making an A4 size quilt each month as part of my quilt group's annual challenge. As always, I'll start with my inspiration.

First was this stained glass window which I saw at the beginning of the month. I've been trying to do a different technique on each quilt and thought stained glass window would be a great idea for this one. I also liked the idea of doing a triptych.

Next, could it be anything else but bluebells? We saw so many on our travels - they've been stunning this year. The bluebell design is based on one I found on the internet.

Lastly, there was the Holly Blue butterfly which found its way into my garden.

When it came to making the quilt, I just couldn't figure out how to do a proper stained glass window with lots of little panes, without it taking ages or being too fiddly. The solution was to give the idea of stained glass by outlining all the elements in black. I really should have thought this through properly. A quilting tip: don't sew around pale fabrics in black unless your sewing is excellent. Let's just say it's not my finest hour, sewing-wise. Chickpea will testify to the amount of huffing and puffing and under-the-breath cursing which went on!

Anyway, here it is...

Ta-dah! I have to say it's grown on me. It will never be one of my favourites but it's probably not one of the worst things I've ever made!

I haven't started my June quilt yet but the inspiration for it was never in doubt: it has to be 30 Days Wild. Back soon with my latest random acts of wildness. x