Thursday, 27 August 2026

checkered garden. again

I've been revisiting Ashley @Film in the Fridge’s free tutorial 'Checkered Garden'. Again.
I do enjoy making these blocks, can't help smiling each time I finish a block.  It's the kind of pattern you can make your own, in your palette made from your fabrics. I'm pretty sure no two 'checkered gardens' look alike!

My framework is simple - soft blush pinks & caramel for the centers, light low volumes for the outer corners, everything else? well, a bit of a surprise as I go really.
You can see my mix of print styles is all over the place, different designers & collections, old & new - but hopefully the colours will tie everything together in a way that feels warm, slightly muted and yet still bright.
And few busy fabrics thrown in will help create a splendid, tangled garden look.


here's my 1st four blocks on the "design" floor ...






Tuesday, 25 August 2026

daydreaming


I've been daydreaming about this colour palette for a while now, 
lots of pink, peach & caramels, with maybe a few darker blues & muted greens.
... I just needed to figure out what to make with them. 











 trial block done✅ 



After scrolling around waiting for inspiration to hit, I suddenly had The. Perfect. Idea ... making me want to drop everything and start on this immediately! I think I'll use Ashley @Film in the Fridge’s tutorial 'Checkered Garden'. 
Again. 

Yes, I've made this a few times now - pop back here to see more - it's a super fun free pattern and works so well in lots of different colourways & fabric combinations. 
This time my framework is simple - soft blush pinks & caramel for the centers, light low volumes for the outer corners, everything else? well, a bit of a surprise really. 

Linda



Monday, 17 August 2026

the only dishes I'm doing today ...


I started making these blocks maybe 6 weeks ago, promising myself I'd make a few whenever time permitted. I was aiming for forty-eight sweet little 9" Broken Dishes blocks. It's been a meditative, no-rush kind of situation.
After I'd made up the last few blocks today, I added long lines of more scrappy sashing between my bunches of four blocks. Loving this mix of modern & traditional. 


Dishes done!













Broken Dishes quilt

pieced, not yet quilted
fabrics all from my scrap baskets & stash
inspiration for the quilt & colour palette from Amanda at prairie quilt co.



Monday, 10 August 2026

another week, another batch of blocks


 

 *backyard summer bouquet inspo










After relooking at my inspo pic, 
I've started adding a few warm sunflower-golds into this next batch ...




Broken Dishes is a simple classic traditional block, perfect for scrappy quilt lovers. I'm using lots of fabrics in a bunch of fun bright colours. Inspiration for the quilt and *colour palette from Amanda at prairie quilt co.

**************

While I've been stitching up these simple sweet 'broken dishes' blocks, I have been thinking. Mainly about what my next project could be. Using leftovers & stash of course.

I do love this little colour story in blush pinks, caramel, peach,
with small splashes of navy blue & muted green. 



Trouble is that this is a fabric pull sans pattern. 
And I don't have any clear ideas of what to make. Yet.

Which comes first ... the pattern or the fabric? (I'm thinking I may be team both!)
Love to hear what you think? 



Thursday, 6 August 2026

broken dishes: update


I want to say a big thank you for all the kind messages I have received about my latest 🌟quilt top.
And now I'm back sewing simple 'broken dishes' blocks, see here for earlier details.
The. Perfect. Stash-buster!












last batch of blocks for this week ...




Loving this mix of modern & traditional 
And it’s been fun deciding which fabrics should go together in each block
I've decided to stitch my blocks together into bunches of four as I go, with scrappy sashing for the win 
Here's hoping it's plain sailing when I assemble everything together later 
🤞




Sunday, 26 July 2026

stars🌟 update

 









perfectly imperfect
- there were a couple of spots where I had to join tiny pieces to get the required sized rectangle. 
🪡🧵✄




It’s always a fun challenge trying to work out ways to combine lots of different fabrics
… sometimes it works, sometimes not!
Very happy with how this 🌟quilt top turned out though 
(see back here for a few more details).




Saturday, 25 July 2026

stars, of the colourful kind



I have fabrics in my stash that are about maybe 20 years old. And, like many, I've been focused on using up what I have here. Hence my eclectic looking style, it's a bit mix & match, lots of scrappy colourful chaos, and finding surprises that I'd forgotten all about along the way!

I'm going with a combo of 'sawtooth stars' and 'wheel of fortune' blocks. Finding a bunch of small fabric packs from different older "tired" fabrics recently got me thinking about ways I could use them. My stash is peppered with Anna Maria prints, so I decided to use AM's "social climber" as my accents. I'm trying to bring in a bit of a colour connection between all the prints, and with lots of colour play hopefully things will really start to sparkle! 





looking for those colour connections ...



and then there were four ...





Recipe for when you receive repurpose find a bag or two of “tired” scraps ...
 mix in some accents 
and add in deliberate setting triangles or sashings.
Nearly there!