Thursday 4 February 2021

it's all about the fabric

This weeks post is all about fabric! 



My present project 'many trips around the world' is slowly all coming together however, it really is almost too hot to sew here in NZ at present. I've made up four more blocks, giving a total so far of 16 12 1/2" blocks.

Thank you for all the interest about my fabric choices for this project, loved reading your comments! I'm trying to use up the stash here, and am enjoying rediscovering what's actually in my baskets. I do seem to have an abundance of multicoloured fabrics, and making them all work together can either be a fun challenge or quite daunting! 
For me? I guess I love the challenge of trying to create some cohesion in a scrappy quilt, and it's super satisfying using fabric from the stash. And as I often remind myself, there really is no right or wrong, it's whatever is pleasing to my eye. 

In an effort to calm the fabric chaos in this pastel trippy WiP, I've used a combination of really bright blue/green fabrics for those stronger 'diamonds' along with a couple of softer ones, just enough to blur the edges somewhat.
And to get some contrast happening within the blocks, I'm mixing colour & prints either in simple light/medium combos, or combining floral & geometrics, or busy & not so busy prints.  

I'm using a real mix of fabrics, some old ones spiced up with a few newer designer treats. For example, in this next collage pic there are some real oldies - a Dear Stella in peach & white, a very useful pastel Kaffe plaid, a teal floral Denyse Schmidt {a real favourite of mine which I've almost run out of!}, a couple of early AMH fabrics, and Verna Mosquera's 'snapshot'.



I'm finding if I blend a little between the strips, the result is quite gentle & pleasing.










And I've also been faffing around making up a couple of fabric bundles . . . as I've mentioned, I seem to have an abundance of multicolour fabrics in my stash. So just for a change, I recently ordered a bundle of warp and weft fabrics {yarn dyed woven cotton}. 
I love these fabrics by @alexiamarcellabegg and decided to use them as my starting point. I also added in a few little touches of pretty florals - couldn't help it - from my stash to get something unique happening. Not sure where this will end up yet . . .












And another fabric pull, this time all from my stash . . . and it's a colour palette that really really appeals to me, {inspired by Rachel from stitchedincolor}. Once again though, I'm not too sure what to turn it into. I did make up a trial 'organised chaos' block some time ago, {see here}, so maybe something like this is in my future!





Oh and just for fun, I'm joining in with favouritefabricfriday over on IG
I'm crushing over this little print at the moment - Lewis & Irene - Peach- Tulip Fields


Until next time,
Linda

10 comments:

Linda said...

As always, I love your choice of fabrics. Out of interest how much do you normally buy of each fabric?

Suz J said...

Id love to know about the fabric quantity question too! Your bundles are looking delightful... nothing better than pulling together fabric. Now they just need to wait until the perfect pattern match presents itself.

Tawa said...

I always love your fabric pulls, and envy the recipient of your scraps. It is too hot to sew, so I have taken up hand sewing in front of the air conditioner. Cheers from Palmy.

Robin said...

You have such a knack for putting things together. The blocks are really lovely.

audrey said...

There really is no right or wrong. I love how fabrics take on the personality of the maker when we see the various fabrics a quilter uses to make them 'sing' altogether!

cspoonquilt said...

I know what you mean about fun V daunting. Sometimes it shifts quickly from one emotion to the other! I love al your choices! I think the aqua blue spins keep it all together and really pretty!

Marie said...

Such an incredibly beautiful stash you have. I too am totally crushing on your Tulip Fields fabric. Heck, all of your fabrics, for that matter!

Mystic Quilter said...

I think it's fun to pick out fabrics and set them aside, inspiration for design sometimes comes a little later. Your TAW quilts is so calming, a pleasure to sit and look at your photos, have you thought of a finished size Linda?

Ann said...

Thanks for the visual treat. You have many lovely prints in your stash so I'm glad you're using them now.

Karen S said...

Too many beautiful fabrics and no room in the house! Always enjoying seeing what you have.