This is a detail of my Claddagh pattern that was co-designed with my mother, Ellen. I have loved this design from the beginning and yet the colors always seemed too light to me. Except for the red and the green, two of my favorite colors, I tend to like colors a bit darker. As my quilt design skills have grown, I have learned about myself, likes and dislikes, color schemes that make my heart sing.
I eventually made a second colorway for ME. This version makes the hands stand out better. I also used a 12 wt thread for the wording vs. having it blend into the background like the original. The only thing missing is the beadwork which gives it a different feel. Even without the beads, it is my favorite of the two and may need to be on the pattern cover for the next printing.
In the last couple of years with the growth of the variegated thread selections, I have learned that I truly enjoy redwork....I just don't always want to work in RED:) Sulky 12wt varieagated threads are just wonderful for this type of work. I am now going back through my patterns and seeing which ones I can turn into redwork.
This being one of my favorites, it became the guinea pig. So much fun and I can't wait to add the borders for this. I only used 2 different colors since the green was so wonderfully colored.
It is important for me to keep pushing myself in terms of ideas, techniques, and value. I want people who purchase from me to see the value in what they have spent their money on. There are more ideas than I have time for and not all of them make it to the pattern at the time of print so I hope my dear customers will come back often to see what is new.
Here is the original Claddagh with matching pillow (another way to use a pattern). For more about the history of the Claddagh you can read my post from March 2009.I hope ideas are bouncing around in your head of a design that would look great in a new colorway or technique.
