Anna's Stars quilt

Thanks to everyone who took the time to comment on my last post about the nine patch quilt. I faffed about making decisions, but moving forward by adding in the extra Liberty blocks {in the hope that the addition = just the right mix} seemed too big a jump, that and not wanting to waste precious fabric either, so in the end I followed my instincts, more about that next time.

- Johnny took the quilt for a wee test drive this afternoon! 

Well, that only took two years! Back in April 2019 I started making my 'Anna's Stars' quilt, aka 'Quilty Stars' by Emily of QuiltyLove {the pattern can be found here}. They are nice big 16" blocks, easy sewing.

Usually, I tend to sew more by colour rather than by collection or one-designer. This time though, I used all Anna Maria Horner prints, a scrappy selection from my stash, from lots of her different collections. I did throw in a rogue b&w gingham now & then! 

There are so many gorgeous options for backgrounds these days and it was a bit nerve racking making the first few cuts into the AMH 'social climber' roses fabric for my background. Once I started though, I did enjoy taking a break away from the usual neutral whites & creams. 

I went with a wide AMH backing fabric, and used a bright Tula Pink fabric for my binding. Leeanne from quiltmekiwi recently did the quilting for me, an edge to edge pattern called 'waterdrops'. Finished quilt measures 56" x 73".

curious adventures

The humble nine patch

…love its simple straight forward design,

…versatility of layout

…and the scrappy nature of the block.

I've used a mixed placement of lights and darks in my nine patch blocks which adds to a super scrappy look. And I'm really loving how these geometric fabrics are looking together with the Liberty florals.

I must say though, when I started making these 9patch blocks I was focused on sticking to my colour palette, {yellow/mustard and tan, a few greys plus peach, pink, orange and warm lavender and blue}. And I hadn't really thought beyond simply getting a good number of blocks pieced, with no real picture in my head of the finished goal. Now I'm auditioning setting options! 

 

I went adventuring down a rabbit hole 🐰 over the weekend,

curious about different 9patch ideas. 

Here's just a few I spotted on IG . . .

Top left- Chris @afullenglish  bottom left- Maureen Cracknell centre- Sharon Holland 

Top right- Laura @quiltfortco  bottom right- from the collection @roderick752

All of my 35 blocks stayed up on the design wall over last weekend while I pondered over my setting options. I do like them all set block to block, but I also faffed about with other options, using a lovely Liberty floral for my alternate squares, and then maybe as my outer border . . . just checking, you know, just to be sure before I sew everything together! 

option a

option b

option c: a combo of both ideas

… I do kinda enjoy these moments of self doubt, it's all part of the process, yes.

#figuringitoutasigo

However, I have  wasted  spent lots of time now looking at lots of versions! 

{Do you find this happens to you too?}

And, it's a week on and I'm still no closer to a final decision!

Curious to hear your thoughts, Linda

nine patch remix

Here’s a project that was stopped short when my fabrics didn't seem to gel together. I’d been brooding over this fabric pull for ages, and this week I’ve finally narrowed things down a bit with my palette, all from the stash baskets. I have a good bit of yellow/mustard and tan, a few greys plus peach, pink, orange and warm lavender. And there’s certainly some blue happening (not surprising).

I'm using leftover geometric fabrics - a mash up of Carolyn Friedlander's fabric and Karen Lewis textiles - and teaming them up with a mix of Liberty and other prints. It's a winning geometric : floral combo!

I decided to piece lots more good old nine patch blocks again, using a mixed placement of lights & darks. It's one of my favourite blocks, and I'm super excited to get back to working on it now!

33

- I added the coral as something that is just a little bit “off” or unexpected

I added in a few dark blocks, et voilà  . . .

Looking at these blocks up on the design wall makes me smile this morning. I’m not sure what it is… the colours… the splashes of floral and Liberty… the pretty palette... the simple design... oh, and that 'pop' of coral. 

Still thinking about layout options, but in the meantime here's the next batch all ready to go...

I know it’s not everyone's favourite to see lots of progress photos, 

but I like sharing my "starts" as much as the end result 

- as a journal of my thoughts & processes - AND so that maybe you too can be inspired.⁠

Until next time, Linda

nine patch action

 

- reposted pic from Quiltmekiwi

I've been busy over the Easter weekend adding the binding to another quilt. It's my 'nine patch action' quilt, based around a favourite block of mine, the good old nine patch.
I started out sort of following the picture of a vintage quilt from Roderick Kiracofe's book "unconventional and unexpected", see here.

There's quite a mix of favourite fabrics in this quilt top, including Liberty, solids, ginghams & AMH. I found the trick to making a fun {but not visually overwhelming} scrap quilt like this, was to definitely have a few simple 'rules'. So I included a few longer strings of the same {or nearly same} blocks. I also added some solid fabrics, which help to give a bit of a break from all the busyness. And, adding those larger 4patches helped create some scale contrast.

Loving the mix of four/nine/sixteen patches! 

I had it machine quilted by Leeanne from quilt me kiwi {great teamwork!} in an edge to edge pattern, called 'breezy'. On the back I used two Amy Butler sateen florals, which made for a very soft & very cuddly drape to the quilt. Choosing the binding was a tad tricky, in the end I settled on 'trefoil' a recent Kaffe addition to my stash. It seemed to pick up lots of those little bits of colour dancing all around the quilt. 
Finished quilt measures 60" x 70".

Linking up with Cyndy for 'oh scrap' here

Until next time, Linda

found treasure

So much progress this week, here's a few photos . . .

I've enjoyed collecting fabrics together for this. And . . . I found treasure hiding in my scrap baskets … one piece of Phillip Jacobs "delphinium" floral,  two very early vintage Laura Ashley cottons I'd been hoarding over the years {a fortuitous find}, three deconstructed work shirts, four pretty Liberty's, and a bunch of pre-sorted soft blue & lavender prints (probably from some early quilty idea that never came to fruition!). Loved combining all these interesting textiles together. 

Inspired by both Heidi Parkes {see here} and the Gee's Bend improv style of quilting {see here}, I made a variation of a bars and string-pieced columns quilt. 

I started out focusing on those two floral Laura Ashley cottons as a compass for my colour palette. But then {wink wink} it all sort of took off, running riot everywhere … and now it's a delightfully overgrown garden!

Linking up with Wendy for this weekends 'peacock party' here.

Happy Easter, Linda