Hadley Challenge Spotlight- Sheri Cifaldi-Morrill

I was really inspired by Denyse’s photos and description of the new Hadley brand on her website. Before digging in and cutting up fabric, I thought about the women attending the Seven Sisters schools in the 1950s and 1960s and what type of preppy quilts they might have on their dorm beds.

The geometric patterns of many of the Hadley fabrics and the “Ocean Waves” quilt influenced the design of my square (85” x 85”) quilt top shown in the photo below. Going into the challenge, I knew I wanted to find a way to incorporate all of the fabrics in the Hadley collection into one quilt top. I started dividing up the fabrics into mostly warm colors or cool colors (with some exceptions) and began to create large preppy “x”s (5 cool and 4 warm) which then led to one large blue “X”. The working title of the quilt is “xoxo, Hadley”.

I’m now working on designing and producing the back. I’m working with the triangle scraps I have left over—again a nod to a period in time when nothing was wasted. For the front and the back, the only additional fabric that I’m adding is Kona Cotton Natural. I’m also still pondering what the quilting pattern should be—I’m thinking of patterns that will accentuate the 9 “x”s.

Having studied graphic design as an undergraduate and yearning to apply these skills on projects that don’t involve a computer, Denyse and her work has been a source of inspiration for me ever since I purchased her book about seven years ago. Unfortunately, I only became brave enough to finally dig in and begin quilting about two years ago. This was such a fun challenge and I hope the Southern Connecticut Modern Quilt Guild and Denyse can collaborate on additional projects in the future!

On another note, Sheri recently found out that her entry in the Modern Quilt Guild's Michael Miller Challenge has been selected as one of the Nine semi finalists. Go Sheri!