bohemian TATW: the photo post

Pink to the rescue💕

- thanks to everyone who chipped in with binding advice.

Enjoy the photos ...

the "in use" vs flat photo

The question of taking a flat vs 'in use' photo is something I've often wondered about. And if I have the time, I'm inclined to play, as they are all lovely ways to showcase our quilts.

I do like to take at least one photo that reveals the whole quilt, so a flat shot or even someone holding the quilt up - hands, legs, feet optional! - is a good way to showcase the design, colours & overall effect. 

I also enjoy playing around with close-up photos. The ones that show a quilt "in use" and being loved - like say on a bed or messed up on a couch.  I have experimented a. lot with this, taking many photos, from every angle! These shots capture one's interest, while highlighting details, texture & depth and the cuddly cosy nature of a quilt. 

If you stop by often, you'll notice that I like to take lots of photos of my quilts, mainly because I give lots of them away! Love to hear your go-to photo.

this little quilt will certainly brighten up someone's bed in a Hospice room that's 4 sure #donationquilt

until next time, Linda

bohemian TATW quilt

 

This Trip Around the World (TATW) quilt was started back in March 2025. It's a fun bohemian-style quilt, created by making two of the same block construction-wise but they vary in the colour mix. Block A is a playful scrappy 4 colour combo while Block B is a repeat of the same intense b&W stripe, pink & gold colours. And these two blocks flick back and forth across the design with a "pink" pathway in-between.

Marita from quilters anonymous used hot pink thread to quilt a large loopey figure 8 panto, and it looks lovely. For the backing, I used Kaffe's 'stone flower' in yellow with the pink floral motif - a random purchase years ago - just perfect. 

My TATW quilt is neither shy nor retiring … but it's pieced & quilted ... and now all it needs is the binding. 

I tend to take my time when choosing the binding.  And it's certainly taken me a few days to audition quite a few different fabrics for this quilt. I tried repeating the B&W stripe, then a deeper gold, a light matching pink, but nothing felt just right.

There are no rules about my binding choices ... sometimes I'll use a stripe to add some fun & playfulness, or maybe go scrappy using leftover fabrics from the quilt, sometimes I may want to match my binding to the quilt's outer border for a more seamless look, other times I'll pick a high-contrast colour to create a sharp dramatic frame.

And then sometimes ... just adding an unexpected binding choice to a vibrant, jewel-toned quilt top can create a stunning effect.

Time to get this binding sewn down

✄🧵✄🪡✄

it's a log cabin💖affair

Having a backlog of quilt tops waiting to be quilted was making me just a bit restless. So, a few weeks ago I sorted out a few backings & sent four quilts off to the quilters. They've all come back now and I have two completely finished, bindings & pics done✅. 

And this week I decided I'd tackle another one. 

My Housetop quilt top was made back in February 2024, definitely time to turn it into a quilt. I went a bit loosey goosey here, making my own version of a 'house top' quilt. It's a variation of the log cabin block obviously inspired by the Gees Bend quilters and their amazing quilts & the recent 'house top no.6' quilt from Windham Fabrics. 

Love a quilt that's made from bits & pieces from past quilts, it was a real trip down memory lane. I recently read ... "This quilt is proof that scraps aren’t leftovers, they’re future quilts waiting to happen" ... and I guess it's sew true around here too!

Yes, it's a log cabin 💖love affair on both the back & front - my gentle soft 'green' log cabin quilt top was virtually the same size, so I used it as a backing. I had this one quilted in a 'simply sunflowers' panto by Marita from quilters anonymous. It took me some time to settle on a binding, I usually tend to opt for something a little darker, a little more defining like a narrow but bold border. However, in the end I went with a light minty green solid, I love how it calms things down and ties the front and back together.

until next time

Linda

iced vovo

My recently pieced iced vovo was another quilt I was keen to get finished. I included a healthy dose of pink florals, as a little nod to the original, along with the occasional darker print for contrast and added interest.

For my backing, I chose a quilt top I already had here in the wardrobe, my soft 'floating log cabins' in lots of lights with accents in plum. I did have to add wide borders to the backing, to facilitate loading onto Marita's (from quilters anonymous) long arm quilting machine. I chose a simple panto that looks like the natural randomness of ripple-type stitches. 

And my binding was a two-tone muted pink print, Field Cloth "briar' by Sew Kind of Wonderful. It works nicely for both back & front. 

and the back -

until next time, Linda

back from the quilters

And now on to the final part of the quilt journey… the long goodbye of hand stitching the binding.

My cabin nights quilt is about as pastel as I can get! I think if it was a low volume or a light it ended up in this quilt. Love love loved making this one - with lots of teeny tiny 2" HSTs - and wanted to get it finished as soon as. Super happy with the contrast of the occasional bright florals with the muted greens, soft pinks & light backgrounds.

I'm not really a fan of square quilts, so I added an extra strip of the background fabrics to the top and bottom and ended up with a rectangular quilt.
 
For a backing, I used what I had here - a scrappy light/dark HSTs diamond quilt top. I simply added a few improv borders to get it a little bigger than my quilt top, #partyinthequiltback.

I dropped my quilt off with Marita at quilters anonymous for a spot of quilting magic. 

My finished quilts constantly surprise me, the pink binding chose itself! It's a small pink & white retro daisy print by RRS Sugar Maple. The perfect "framing" for this one.

My 1st completed quilt for 2026!

Limington quilt in scrappy

The other project I'm working on at present is a quilt using a yummy fabric bundle I made up a week or so ago - remember that wild, beautiful mix of bright florals. 

When I spotted the 'Limington' quilt, found here at seaminglykate, I could see that solids were a big feature in almost every version. I decided to go (controlled) scrappy florals though, as my stash doesn't have many large amounts of any one fabric, solid or print. And I'm changing things up a bit by using a multi-coloured large floral for my chain. I guess there are no rules!

The pattern is written with strip piecing instructions, but I'm taking the slower approach, cutting from scraps and stitching things up one 2 1/2" square at a time. Here's a few progress pics ...

My background is an assortment of neutrals in creams & whites, always a nice balance to help those bright scraps shine without overwhelming the quilt.

My colour palette is quite simple, blue, green & purple florals. I'm adding in a few solids, and mostly all my fabrics are in a medium - dark value, (a few rogue "lights" may have slipped in here & there, but that's fine with me). Checking the B&W pic now, I can see it is going to work, phew!

And my accent fabric is Piecework in Rose, Hindsight by Anna Maria Horner, well hello pink chain.

Super happy with this WiP so far!

Betsy Rose quilt on the design wall

Sometimes you just have to ditch your 20 other WIPs and start WIP 21!

and, I really needed a break from deeply saturated colours so this mix of dusky, pretty prints fits the bill.

I've been keen to start my Betsy Rose quilt, a recent PDF pattern from sewbehome. The quilt features a beautiful rose cross stitch element, but not something I'd enjoy doing. Instead, I thought I'd simply swop it out for part of a vintage tablecloth or embroidery piece.

But things didn't go smoothly at first (nothing pattern related I hasten to add) ... I didn't have a large enough piece of the *grey gingham for my background, so I joined two pieces. It'll be okay by the time things get quilted, I'm sure.
And then, I auditioned several large florals for my centerpiece, and guess what, I wasn't able to cut out the one nice large floral bouquet piece from the fabric I picked. So, I cut out my flowers from all the leftover bits, then machine raw edge appliqued them down into a pretty bunch, sticking extra little green leaves into any gaps! 
*In case you may think your eyes are playing up, that grey gingham is a delightful little piece called 'sorbet gingham' and it has a kind of mottled, dusky cross-stitch effect, which I thought was a nice nod to the original quilt. 

My colour concept is simple - pink, blue, green, yellow in a mix of Liberty and assorted other itty-bitty prints, with solids, oh and don't forget the gingham! 

Loving this distinct vintage flare. And I'm hoping an all-vintage stash isn’t really needed though, as most of my blocks are going to be made with 'modern' fabrics, ones which I think lean towards that 'vintage vibe'.