another Wednesday, another block

I'm stitching along with Sara's #folksamplersewalong. There's something quite relaxing about a sewalong, the blocks arrive at a steady pace 1x week - I don't know how it's all going to look at the end, to sash or not to sash, whether my colours will work - but I'm trusting the process. 

I’m making a kind of fusion between my "style" and Sara's @farmandfolk very rustic & earthy feel. I'm trying to keep my colour palette simple, using the soft green vintage floral as my focus, with other gentle colours added in like peach & pinks, muted browns, and maybe olive as an accent. 

I'm also using different weights of fabrics in this sampler, like linen, barkcloth, soft cotton merino, & regular quilting cottons. The more blocks I've made, the more I'm coming to grips with the different fabrics, combining similar weights if possible. Super happy so far with the added depth & texture to my experimenting! 

Soft colours + scattered prints = joy in every block. 

block 8 Snowballs. 

block 9 Bears Paw 

- almost halfway through the 20-week adventure! 

If you love a sampler quilt and savour the process, this one could be for you too.

Linda

brought to you from my scrap baskets

These 'boardwalk' blocks have come together slowly over the past few weeks, and I've enjoyed every minute of the process.

The pattern calls for 25 blocks (set 5x5), but I decided I'd make 16 blocks for my quilt (I don't make as many big quilts these days). My blocks are full of wild colour combos - some work, some not so much. Lots of fun mixing up lots of fabrics from my scrap baskets, the old, the new, designer and unknown bits & bobs too, all in large florals, spots, stripes, & geometrics.  

I'm super happy with how I've problem solved through those trickier bits, like sewing those boxy looking curves and making up my own FPP template for the fan segments. 

Here are the last few blocks ... 

a real mix in this next one,

Amy Sinibaldi 'haven' peach, a Tanya Whelan spot, grey Liberty, woven b&w gingham, 

an early Denyse Schmidt and a center square of AM ...

and block 16 

 

 I've also settled on my sashing choice, so the full reveal won't be long now.

Linda

seamlessly chaotic

I've been busy jumping between my folk sampler blocks (see my last post) and these boardwalk blocks.
I'm machine piecing my blocks, with a little additional FPP. These big 14 1/2" blocks are a super fun playing with colour and large-scale florals.

These go at a very slow pace ... seamlessly? chaotic well, no not exactly, there has been some unpicking and swopping out of fabrics happening. But on the +side, the more blocks I make, the easier it gets, and I think I've conquered those square looking curves!

I’m having fun using multicoloured prints in each block,

keeps things cheerful & chaotic

a classic vibe happening here with the peach & navy,

keeps this one a little calmer ...

Oh, the possibilities, I feel like every block is a little colour study

That's 12 blocks done✅

Linda

latest batch of blocks

 

Loving this #folksamplersewalong, many thanks to Sara @farmandfolk for putting it together. Her instructions are excellent! Like Clare @selfsewn, I’m working on making a kind of fusion between my style and Sara's @farmandfolk style. 

The different weights of fabrics in this are proving a tad problematical, e.g. quite bulky when joining seams, etc. Also, I've noticed that because some of my fabrics have been folded for so-o- long, even ironing isn't getting a nice finish. Maybe I need to get some *starch? 

On the +side, I'm super happy with my colour palette, see last pic.

The accent colour I have chosen to run through my blocks is pink. And I've started auditioning for possible sashing options as I sew but haven't settled on anything yet. 

Here's my latest batch of blocks ...

Block 5: Corn and Beans

-h-m-m- a little unpicking needed here!

Block 6: Double T

a little bit of Outback Wife to add some zing

Block 7: Garden Walk

All up to date now and looking forward to Wednesday's new block.

*edit: the starch has certainly helped with those fold lines, yayee.

Linda

something a bit different

Time to break open that bundle I’ve been saving for The. Perfect. Project.

Back in 2018 I bought a fabric bundle that I never actually used all together as a palette in anything. It was called 'Rosebud' in some blush-rose pinks and earthy camel tones, all in different linen weights, barkcloth & soft cotton merino. 

When I spotted the folk sampler @farmandfolk recently with its rustic & earthy feel, I decided my small bundle would work very nicely. And I could always go to the quilt shop for extras - but it turns out I have enough in my stash here to add to the initial bundle and I was excited to get started.

I mixed in some darker fabrics with lighter tones so that it looked scrappy and had a lot of contrast. I'm keeping the colour palette simple - something just a bit different for me, I know! - using soft green, peachy/pinks, assorted soft browns to "ground" things, with maybe just a little black. Some fabrics are light and airy neutrals, while others are dark, moody & muted. 

I really love that one or two of the fabrics stand out a bit too, like the grey and white gingham and the Outback Wife floral 'Elizabeth' print.

 Block 1: Woodland Path 

Block 2: Sawtooth Star

Block 3: Crow's Foot

next up Block 4: Sunray's Delight

and a group photo of my blocks so far ...

I'm enjoying seeing everyone’s work, loving all the different combinations of colour and prints.

If you're curious, click over to #folksamplersewalong

Linda

my new favourite colour

It's been a miserable wet Winter's day here, but I'm loving the gentle green Spring vibe in this latest log cabin quilt. Along with a mix of greens in minty/teal tones, I’ve also mixed in a few multi-coloured low volumes to keep it lively and because this is my first single colour quilt in quite a while. And I wanted to make sure I didn’t get bored with it, because I definitely lean towards “the more colour the better!”

I’ve totally enjoyed the simplicity of the process, and I think my new favourite colour is green💚

Linda's log cabin

 

I'm making a bunch of easy scrappy blocks at present, a take on the traditional Log Cabin patchwork block. I'm using a mix of gentle greens in minty/teal tones with a healthy dose of low volumes & some muted darker greens for contrast. 

This whole process of being intentional about colour value is a great fun challenge! I really trying not to overthink this process LOL! But must admit, I’ve spent quite a bit of time auditioning my fabrics and many of my blocks do have the same fabrics. Super happy with all the little pops of pink! 

At this point though, I’m still undecided about adding in all the olives/chartreuse/limes, but I am thinking a combo of teal & pops of chartreuse could look super. I'm reminded of what Kathy said too - if you add 20 shades of blue green, then they make each other shine! 

Let's see what happens with my next batch of blocks ...