Ajahs Quilt

[Mashiara Sedai]

(I copied this over from the Tinker's Craft Wagon, so you can see what I'm working on)

 

Over the weekend, my sister Mavin and I were shopping at Joann Fabrics and she brought up the idea of doing a Ajah quilt.  Her idea--and I give her full credit--was to do long strips, each in the color of the Ajahs.  So, while there, we looked at fabric choices.  We decided to choose a patterned fabric in each color that helped represent the Ajah, or our own view of the Ajah.  This is what we got:

 

First, I want to preface this with a warning that the lighting in my house is awful!  Some of the colors look WAY off!

 

Blue Ajah:

(yes, this is blue)

 

I love the pattern of this, because it's elegant and fancy, like Moiraine.  It reminds me of the kesiera hanging from her hair.

 

Green Ajah:

 

 

This was our second pick. The first was solid green with cream colored hearts all over.  My first thought was Greens and their Gaiden Love.  But it didn't fit with the rest of the patterns.  So, we decided on this one.  It's multiple hued green, which reminds me of the Warder's fancloth cloaks.

 

Yellow Ajah:

 

 

This one is definitely a DM Yellow Ajah, all butterflies and happiness!

 

Red Ajah:

 

 

Mavin's connection for this one is that Elaida likes flowers.  The red is also very deep, like blood, which is a reminder for me of the Reds in the books.  I also like that it's very pretty, symbolizing how the Reds are evolving into something not so hateful.  The new Reds will be awesome, in my opinion!

 

White Ajah:

 

 

Leaves!  Representing the Way of the Leaf!  My connection: I'm a White Sister who follows the Way of the Leaf.  It was perfect!

 

Gray Ajah:

 

 

I'm not sure I have a connection for this one.  The gray fabrics were very sparse and we had a hard time deciding on one.  It was pretty and fit well with the other patterns.  I guess that's what Grays do, right?

 

Brown Ajah:

 

 

It's got the Tel'aran'rhiod symbol all over it!  This reminded me of Verin, the Aes Sedai who gave Egwene the Dream ter'angreal.   

 

 

So, here they are lined up in canon order:

 

 

You can see the colors a little bit better when they're side by side.

 

We got enough fabric that each of us could do a quilt.  We sliced each cut of fabric (2 yrds of each color) in half, hot dog style (giving us each a 21" by 72" rectangle).  To get a full sized quilt, the measurements are 70" x 90", so we figured about 13" of each fabric would get us that length.  But what to do with all the left over fabric?  Make it the full 21"?

 

 

That looks WAY too big to me.

 

So, I think I might just cut the fabric strips in half, and do two quilt faces of all the Ajah colors.  That way, I could use the second one as a backing fabric, instead of buying a different color.  (Though we did talk about doing the back in Black, and having a white Flame of Tar Valon in the center.)

 

 

The only problem is that if we do half, the measurements would be 70" by 70".  I don't think that would be so bad, but it's not as awesome as a full quilt.

 

I haven't started sewing yet.  I'm going to let it stew in my brain for awhile longer and see if I can come up with a solution.

 

What do you think?

[Hallia]

Those are lovely!  You guys are so awesome <3

[Rhea]

I like the full quilt idea! 

 

It looks amazing!

[keyholder21]

Awesome idea!

[Aiel Heart]

Half looked so small. Maybe 3/4? :P could use the excess fabric for a pillowcase or something 

[Mashiara Sedai]

Maybe turn the extra fabric into a Stole? Would it be weird if the fabrics were patterned?

[Aiel Heart]

Does the book ever say it HAS to be a plain stole?

[Daruya]

Nice!

 

You might find yourself taking orders for quilts . . . LOL!

[keyholder21]

I don't think it ever says that it has to be a solid set of colors.  I think it's assumed to be that way, but it also says that the size depends on the person so maybe the pattern could as well?

 

http://wot.wikia.com/wiki/Stole_of_the_Amyrlin_Seat

[Elgee]

What a brilliant idea! I especially like the idea of having the backing in black :)

[Mashiara Sedai]

I worked on this more this weekend.  I did decide to do the backing in black, with a white Flame of Tar Valon in the center.  It turned out incredible!  I absolutely love it!  It's not finished yet, but it's almost.  I only have to sew on the bias tape to cover up the raw edges.

 

 

 

For the Tinker's June activity, I will give a detailed tutorial on how to do this Aes Sedai quilt.  The sewing involved isn't overwhelmingly difficult, so I encourage anyone who wants to, or is even slightly curious, to give it a try.  The most difficult part was sewing on the Flame--because of the curve, and the narrowed point at the end--but that part can be skipped and isn't necessary to finish the quilt.

 

I'll put more information once I get the tutorial started in the Tuatha'an board.  Please, come sew with me!  :D

[Rhea]

I love it!

[Mashiara Sedai]

Oh, and Mavin decided to use yellow fleece for her backing.  She still kept the Flame of Tar Valon on the back, but wanted to keep the backing in the color of her Ajah.  :D

 

 

The fleece is a nice touch!  It makes the quilt comfy when snuggling on the couch.  I used fleece for the last quilt I made.  For this one, however, I loved the black fabric with the white roses.  Roses remind me of thorns, and that's a great metaphor for the Black Ajah.  *lol*

[Elgee]

I absolutely love this!

[keyholder21]

The backings look great :). I definitely think you could make some money off these if you ever made any to sell!

[Aiel Heart]

*Getting subliminal messages that the Black Ajah is behind everything...*

[Rhea]

Hahaha!!!! Good one Heart!

[Mashiara Sedai]

*Getting subliminal messages that the Black Ajah is behind everything...*

 

I'm pretty sure they are behind everything.

[Mashiara Sedai]

Okay, we are ready to get started on this quilt!

 

http://www.dragonmount.com/forums/topic/89716-june-craft-aes-sedai-quilt/

 

Please come join us, even if you don't want to participate!  Just follow along and cheer us on!

[Rasheta Ardashir]

i saw the pictures on your sisters FB I was joking with her that mine would be trimmed in Green. One of my other bondeds was like...welll DUH. *laughs* The quilt looks amazing

[Mashiara Sedai]

Yes, Mavin's is finished already. I'm still working on mine. *blushes*

 

But that's what's great about this project: you can customize it any way you want!

[Rasheta Ardashir]

Is yours going to be trimmed in white? Or have the backing in white? 

[Mashiara Sedai]

My bias tape/trim will be white. But that was more for aesthetics than Ajah pride. :D With all the colors mixed together, I thought white would look best. Black would have also worked.

 

My backing is black with white roses. Then I added a Flame in the center. It looks amazing!!! It was tricky to do, but worth the effort!

 

It would be interesting to try this project again and just have it Ajah specific, ie: all the strips in a single color, but different patterns. There are so many possibilities!

[Rasheta Ardashir]

My bias tape/trim will be white. But that was more for aesthetics than Ajah pride. :D With all the colors mixed together, I thought white would look best. Black would have also worked.

 

My backing is black with white roses. Then I added a Flame in the center. It looks amazing!!! It was tricky to do, but worth the effort!

 

It would be interesting to try this project again and just have it Ajah specific, ie: all the strips in a single color, but different patterns. There are so many possibilities!

You are so White. *G* I hope you do another one. If I had sewing skill I would give it a shot. *laughs* Alas my skill is in other things. Still I can droll over all ya'lls stuff.