iced vovo on the design wall

how my sewing day started ...

and how it ended ...

The 'Iced Vovo' quilt is featured in Jen Kingwell’s new book Gathered, check the link here. I began with a cutting spree, first up a batch of pretty medium-value scraps, with a few darker ones thrown in for contrast. 

And then some low volume fabrics joined the party. There's a very pretty peach floral that muddies the waters just a bit, love it! I'm teaming neutral light prints up with the occasional solid too, in a variety of pale coloured tones. The solids do seem to help provide a little visual definition to my scrappy patchwork.

I'm thinking that this sweet 8" block could be perfect for those of you who are on the fence about curve piecing… nice gentle curves, no-pins-needed, and fits together perfectly when pieced.
I've got 8 blocks sewn & on the design wall now, only 92 to go🤣

Still, it's all good, this is going to be a slow summer sewing project. With Christmas just around the corner, our grandchildren are almost on school holidays (read: sleepovers, outings, swimming), and a trip to Australia to see our son & DinL coming up ... things are beginning to get busy here.

p.s. Iced Vovo was named in honour of Australia’s beloved (and irresistibly tasty) biscuit. It's a shortbread-style biscuit topped with a layer of pink fondant icing, a strip of raspberry jam running down the center, and a sprinkle of desiccated coconut on the sides. I'll make sure I try one while we are over there

Thanks for stopping by & taking the time to comment during the year

Having a break from posting now

Happy Holidays

Linda

amp up the colour

This is my present WiP, a 'little miss sawtooth star' sampler. It's a classic block made with a combo of fun centers. My first version of this quilt, made in 2019, was in a soft palette of muted pretty tones with lots of white/cream backgrounds & filler blocks. 

However, I just couldn't get the idea of using brighter, multi-coloured backgrounds out of my head. So, I've amped up the colour this time round and am super happy with the additional depth and interest created by the medium/dark backgrounds. Most of these fabrics are from Anna Maria's 'good gracious' collection, I'm finding limitless possibilities from this vibrant fabric designer.

Josephine block #2

Aliyah block

Gabrielle block

quilters lacy leftovers ...

Millie block

Sadie block #2

Once I'd made 16 sawtooth blocks I began auditioning for the borders, looking for something just to corral all those colours.  I initially thought I'd use a couple of purples for my borders but am really liking this gorgeously messy garden print, all the floral vibes without me faffing about with any applique✅

Here's a peek at the design wall ...

I'm enjoying this colour exploration!

 Linda

cabin nights quilt

 

My cabin nights quilt top is finished. Love the contrast of a few bright florals and muted greens & pinks with the light backgrounds.

And I've enjoyed playing with all the fabric placements. If you look closely, you may spot what's happening.
The pattern calls for the centre of the star & points to be all in one fabric – but I figured if I did that every time, it would be too intense. The occasional one or three was perfect.
I've also added extra scrappiness to a few of my centre stars (see pic #7), and I've used two backgrounds (see pics #4 & #5) for a couple of the stars - it all creates extra interest.
Plus, there are a few places where I've embraced some joins in my fabric to get the required length (my stash is more FQs than yardage).

Super sunny day here - not complaining - but getting good pics a tad problematical. Have a great weekend, Linda

crash course in HSTs!

This project feels a little bit like a crash course in HSTs. I've made a few half square triangle (HST) quilts over the years and have definitely improved with my technique over time. 

Full disclosure: precision piecing has never really been my thing, I'm more of a "let's make this work" kind of quilter. Don't get me wrong, I do try to cut carefully and sew carefully, but I don't spin out if things go a little wonky. HSTs are the perfect example ... I know I can be a tad sloppy when I'm making them, sometimes I've ended up getting a few points cut off, and I actually thought trimming was an optional step, ha-ha!

This time though, as I'm making teeny tiny 2" HSTs, I've challenged myself to get more precise with my points. It’s all good practice. And I am hoping accurate trimming and making sure I match up a true 90º angle will make all the difference. 

There are lots of little HSTs in this which = lots of HST trimming! 

Yes, it's repetitive ... but it's also turning out to be quite relaxing.

And I'm so much happier by taking the extra time to have those little HSTs looking much better.

seven blocks done ✅

two to go

cabin nights quilt

I’ve got a lot of small pieces of fabric piling up around here - remaining fragments of FQs, leftover scrappy bits, assorted strips & strings - and have promised myself that my next few projects will use some of them up. One quilt I've wanted to make for ages now is the Cabin Nights Quilt by @prairiequiltco, a star quilt is never a bad idea, agree?

I started choosing fabrics from my stash, aiming for a colour mix that was soft and pretty, with just the right amount of pizazz! I love the idea of not overthinking it, but must admit, I had a spot of trouble pulling fabrics for this one! 

And it took a while, a lot of my stash is bold & bright, with lots of multi-coloured florals, as many of you know. But here's where I've ended up ... I have my darkish value fabrics on the right, including a few of my usual florals. In the middle are some softly muted medium/light greens. And on the left are my low value fabrics (which I'll add to as I find more), lots of light coloured prints with little splashes of colour.

hm-m-m I think this could work ...

the extra scrappiness in this centre star makes me smile

this next one is a Tilda & Ruby Star Society mix

do I love this sweet star? 

Yes, yes I do💖

Super happy with this vintage muted palette so far.

Stay tuned for more progress posts 

Linda

pinks and teals and golds, oh my!

This latest quilt finish was also inspired by Jolene @blue elephant stitches, loved her Vintage Diamonds quilt from her 'scrap quilt diary' (pattern link @theowlhutch). My focus was to try and capture some of Jolene's ‘vintage vibe’ and yet still be reflective of my stash here. 

I'm enjoying this mix of scrappy sewing & a super punchy palette. It ended up all working well together - the lights & brights, the old & new, the cool & warm tones - a little bit of everything really. I've taken lots of close-ups so you too can check out my mix of fabrics! 

I selected a dark teal RSS floral fabric for my backing and had it quilted by Leeanne @quiltmekiwi in an E2E 'feeling good' panto, using gold thread. 

While there are lots of pinks & teals & mustardy-gold accents, there are also quite a few black fabrics in the quilt too, and I think this black & white stripe fabric for binding was the natural choice.

Quilt measurements 66" x 52".

Adding the final stitches to my vintage diamonds quilt today ...

*I'm linking up today's post with my three favourite linky parties, see R) side bar.

Until next time, Linda

economy blocks in lavender & blue

There's been a bit of a holding pattern on these economy blocks while I jumped back & forth with my setting options. Once I'd finally decided, I then spent more time reconfiguring my blocks to make the best of what I had previously cut & made up. The sewing room table was a chaotic mess!

Over the week though, I've made good progress.

Thanks to the strong repetition of those lavender & blues, this still has a scrappy feel no matter how chaotic things got!  The neutral tones help brighten the soft colours while creating a fresh, airy look. 

These square-in-a-square blocks are a fun twist on a favourite simple block, love the secondary design too.

lavender & blue quilt with wisteria

- and a close-up to finish

Finished quilt top measures 62" square. 

The 'to be quilted' queue is getting longer - but it’s not a race, there's always tomorrow.

Linda