iced vovo in busy brights

Over the holidays the iced vovo quilt caught my eye, from @jenkingwell @amitietextiles_newhome from her new book, Gathered. I wanted my version to look quite scrappy and have enjoyed digging deep into my stash. I tried to include a healthy dose of pink, as a little nod to the original, along with the occasional darker print for contrast and added interest. 

Unlike the inspirational quilt* (which has lots of pastel small-scale pink fabrics) my busy bright mix feels more like a gloriously messy tangled garden. 

I've been slowly making the 8" blocks whenever I get back in the sewing room. I decided to stop at a 7 x 7 layout, as I'm not wanting to make really big quilts anymore. It seems like it took me forever to sew the blocks together because there were so many seams to match, but I got there, and now this quilt top is all in one piece! 

*iced vovo by Jen Kingwell was named after Australia’s pink & cream (and irresistibly tasty) biscuit.

And here's a few one-line synopses of my holiday reading ...

'Wild Dark Shore' by Charlotte McConaghy, my best read so far this year.

A novel of heart stopping twists, dizzying beauty and ferocious love, this is a story about the impossible choices we make to protect the people we love, even as the world around us is ending.

'Buckeye' by Patrick Ryan

Propelled by an irresistible cast of characters, Buckeye is a warm, funny and emotional novel about two families living in one small town, bound together by secrets that will not stay buried.

'Last One Out" by Jane Harper 

A rather different novel from Jane Harper, it's a location driven drama about a family grieving and a town dying, very much a slow burner.

"Mad Mabel" by Sally Hepworth

Again, not what I was expecting, but I did enjoy getting to know Mabel as we learnt about the secrets of her past, an entertaining quirky read.  

Until next time, Linda

behind the seams

Once all the holiday madness passed, I indulged in some summer sewing,

a little bit here... a little bit there ... it all adds up

First, an update on my Iced Vovo progress. This sweet quilt is featured in Jen Kingwell’s new book Gathered, check the link here. I don’t have an abundance of subtle pastel small-scale pinks like all those used in the original pattern so, this is a #stashbusting project for me.

Basically, it's a play on values, and I'm trying not to overthink my choices but working mainly with a scrappy selection of bright mediums. I am trying to use as much pink as possible, a little nod to the original, along with the occasional darker print for contrast and added interest. 

Not all my "lights" are white/cream LVs. To add a little more colour, I've also included a few pale solids in pink & green & blue. I'm thinking these quieter fabrics are really -ve space, they don’t disappear, but they make everything around them stronger.

#stashbusting has some very rich rewards. 

I'm rediscovering a few old favourite pink fabrics🩷 

You know, fabrics I bought years ago with no specific intention other than just because I loved them? 

a close-up view

And an old quilt has found a new home. Just before Christmas, I spent a morning tidying my hallway cupboard. I was very ruthless, chucking out old pillowcases, sheets, towels, tablecloths, and made a pile for donating. Part of the process was refolding all the quilts too. 

Enter my granddaughter Evie, she spotted all the chaos and asked if she could give a quilt to her teacher for the end of the school year. What could I say, the quilt shelf in my cupboard was overflowing! Time to redistribute one or two! 

Off to its forever home now, my "bricks" quilt was initially made for a single bed in our new house back in 2016. But some of my interior design ideas changed during the moving-in process & it was never used. I had included so many of my favourite HTF fabrics.

If you want to check out more of my quilts you can always type your search into the Blogger search box in the top left-hand corner.

Just before I finish today

... a new start for a new year!

If you stop by occasionally, you will already know I always have multiple projects on the go, because I love having a choice in projects. It might take a bit longer to finish them all, but it keeps me interested and inspired.

You might have seen Jolene's latest quilt, country star medallion? Well, I downloaded the pattern over the holidays and have begun pulling a few fabrics. I'm trying to be more intentional about using what I already have here, so I started out with an old tablecloth from the hallway cupboard and am mixing & matching with fabrics from a few different collections. 

after some tweaking here's where I landed ...

it's not exactly all planned out yet... 

🤞things will unfold more once I start cutting & sewing.

Until next time, Linda

finishes for 2025

Can't believe it's the end of the year. 

Here's a quick review of my finished *quilts for 2025. 

Boardwalk quilt 

- my favourite finish! 

Vintage Diamonds quilt

 Farm & Folk Sampler quilt 

- a sampler quilt was so not on my radar, but I really enjoyed making this one!

16-patch & Sawtooth Star combo quilt

Marjorie quilt 

Le Moyne Star quilt

Star hollow & 9-patch quilt

Checkered Garden quilt no.2

It was fun looking back over the year, I certainly started more than I finished!

Looking forward now to more quilting in 2026.

Thank you to everyone who reads my blog and for all the encouragement throughout the year!

Wishing you all a very happy New Year.

* For more details about any of these quilts, 

simply head to the search bar at the top L) hand side of my blog, key in quilt name, hit search, et voila.

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 bright 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 muted peach floral in the pile that muddies the waters just a bit, love it! I'm teaming my 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, a handy tip I found over stitchedincolor.

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