Purchase Red Telephone Box Pattern

I hope you are having a wonderful Spring.  My husband and I managed to sneak in a break together before he starts his new job today.

I have been going through some of the photos from last year’s England travel. Considering I made it to England twice within the last six months and am already planning my third visit to Scotland probably indicates how much I love the British Isles.  I try to not mention the turmoil of the world here because this is my happy place, but I could not stay away from that this time after reading the news yesterday.  My heart goes out to my British friends.

It is a beautiful country full of old history and lovely people.  A visit to Oxford was a must because of its beautiful architecture.  I fell in love with the vine- and plant-decked Oxford windows.  I had the idea of this Red Telephone Box quilt pattern for a long while now.  Browsing the photos rekindled the urge of designing this block.  So I added a Victorian street lamp along with a lit-up window – an Oxford window, if you will.

A few photos I took of the Oxford windows –

 Christ Church College

  Christ Church College

 Exeter College

Magdalen College

All these stone structures inspired me to work on this watercolour sketch of a crumbling stone castle in Scotland.  I was practising painting the texture of crumbling stones as well as loose-hand painting.

Van Gogh Watercolour Paint

I enjoy playing with different brands of watercolour paints.  Van Gogh watercolour is a student-grade paint made by a Dutch company called Royal Talens.  It is not very expensive, so I was really surprised by the quality of the paint.  They come alive even with the smallest touch of water and the colours are intense.  The paints blend with each other wonderfully, enabling me to create new colours very easily.  They are also quite permanent.  Unlike most watercolour paints, I couldn’t easily lift off the colours once they were applied.  Something to keep in mind before I put paint to paper next time.  I found the included brush to be a bit too stiff and harsh on the paper.  I wouldn’t recommend using it at all.  However, I highly recommend the paintbox.  The colours are also available individually, in tubes.

  Purchase Red Telephone Box Pattern

I was working on this block around the same time I was dabbling with the Van Gogh paint.  Since I love stone buildings so much, I used Stonehenge fabrics for the background.  I lit the lamp and the window for a warmer feel.

I pieced the red grid on my red telephone booth.  However, for easier piecing, I also included pattern sections without the grid.  The grid can be added afterwards via a thick-width machine stitch.  The finished block is 12″.  The Red Telephone Box quilt pattern is available in my shop, if you wish to make one.

It was nice to take break from the Harry Potter quilt blocks and work on something different.  I need a new day/travel bag, this block will be prefect for that.

Stay well,
-Soma

Luckily this was also my one monthly goal, which I am happy to say I have accomplished.  I am linking up with –

Elm Street Quilts One Monthly Goal Finish March Linkup 

I am also linking up on Life Thru The Lens, Through My Lens, Our World Tuesday, Wednesday Around The World, and Friday Photo Journal along with other linky parties on my Events And Links page.