kathy's colours

Sometimes you just have to drop everything and sew what excites you, even if it has no real purpose other than allowing you to combine pretty fabrics together.

And so over the weekend I started to audition fabrics for Melanie from southerncharmquilts  latest quiltalong. The pattern is available here if you are keen to join in too. Anthologie is a remake of one of Melanie's earlier quilt patterns from 2017, which I made back then too, however there have been a few changes. It's basically a sampler quilt with bohemian style.

I'm always drawn to florals, and I've had a few pretty Tilda fabrics in my stash just waiting for the 'right' project. Like many though, I prefer to mix it up a bit. If a quilt is too matchy-matchy, everything appears as the same muted value, and that's kinda boring. 

So, totally inspired by the colour combinations that Kathy from Material Obsession excels at, I'm adding in a few bright Kaffe spots and some recently purchased fabrics too, a handful of 'Sunday in the Country' designed by Nathalie Lete for Anna Maria Horner’s Conservatory line. They have a modern, but retro look to them and the colours are amazing!

I'm a couple of weeks behind I think, but it's all good. I've jumped around with making my blocks, first up 'la fleur' block, then my 9patch darlings. And then I made a start on my inspiration collage today, which is technically the first step and sets the theme for the rest of the quilt. Fingers-crossed that this will turn out okay!

Linking up with Cynthia for 'oh scrap' over here

Until next time, Linda

on the design floor

I spent some time today making more blocks for my 'pinwheel on point' quilt. Deciding on my inset triangle border took a bit of time. Initially, I was going for a neutral border, as I wanted to keep it all light & breezy. I trialed a few options, including a selection of alternating medium tone-on-tone grey fabrics and then a Kaffe grey & white funky stripe called 'regency daisy'... but things still looked a little lost... and let's face it, a little boring! 

 I finally settled on an Art Gallery teal floral, 'signature' by Sharon Holland. 

All righty 

- after a bit more of a reshuffle to up the contrast a bit more - 

I'm happy and it's time to get these pinwheels up off the floor and all stitched together

Linking up with Kelly for 'needleandthreadThursday' here

and with Wendy for this weekends 'peacock party' over here

Until next time, Linda

scrappy 9patch all finished

A couple of years ago I signed up for a few months of stash packs from Amitie, little 10" squares of "pretty" cottons across all genres … certainly not big pieces, but enough to make a 9 patch block!
So I began making blocks, adding in extra prints & solids as needed from my stash to give things a bit of an "already been loved" sort of feel. Whenever I had some time at the machine I'd make one or two more blocks and slowly the pile mounted up until I had enough to make a good sized quilt. 

For my decision on how to set these blocks, I combined ideas from a Kaffe pattern I've used many times and Jo's 'wintersweet' quilt @frankieandray   

Yep, there's a real clash of fabrics, along with some strong colours to stand out amongst the others. And I'm really loving the slightly vintage vibe that this eclectic mix of fabrics gives to my 9patch quilt.

In keeping with that vintage feel, I backed it with an old sheet I'd purchased from a 2ndhand shop. I had it quilted in an edge to edge pattern called 'waterdrops' by Leeanne from quiltmekiwi {thankyou!}. The binding decision was a tricky one and it took me some time to actually decide. In the end I used a warm gold tone-on-tone Alison Glass fabric. Finished size measures 69" x 72".

A super satisfying quilt to piece, and another finished quilt!  

Linking up with Kelly for needleandthreadThursday here

and Anja for 'TGIFF' here

Until next time, Linda

pinwheels on point

I'm enjoying a spot of simple sewing at the moment. Bonbonerie, a pattern by Christine Vlasic, is a scrap quilt combining plains and prints to make a classic pinwheel. I have altered things just a little, my HST squares are cut at 5" {not 4 3/8" as the pattern states} and I'm going to have smaller setting triangles in my border. 

It's wonderfully scrappy and to help create some cohesion, I've worked out a little plan - I'm coordinating the colours within each block, usually a busy or floral print with something geometric. For my pinwheel 'backgrounds', I'm using a selection of neutrals, including light coloured plains, tone-on-tones and other non-busy low volumes.

Still very much a work in progress,

with many more blocks to make yet, and reshuffling & checking my colours as I go

Pop over here @thimblesandneedles to see her recent finish

and the pattern is available over here at Liz' Etsy shop

Until next time, Linda

back working on 'triangle tiles'

I might have pulled out another UFO and... 

I might have cut out another block or three... 

Hello 'triangle tiles'

I do love vintage inspired designs, and I've really enjoyed playing with these floral combinations, {see back here for earlier details}.
Such a simple pattern. And yet getting the right mix of light/dark fabrics that work together has been a good challenge! The busier prints were tending to overpower, so with this week's batch of blocks I've toned things down a little, dipping in and using a few plains, checks, and non-busy low volumes to help your eye to unscramble things. Here's a few progress pics . . .

- and a b&w pic to check my values

I am finding a few -ves about leaving projects for too long before picking them up again. I can tell my piecing skills have improved considerably since starting these blocks, as a few blocks haven't turned out the same size 😓… but nothing a little unpicking couldn't fix.
Also, if you don't write down your original thinking for a quilt, it can easily get forgotten! Luckily, I had a couple of pics stashed away in my folder for this one. And, of course, I was able to scroll back through my posts to August 2018 to find my original post. The jury is still out though, on whether I add a border like the inspirational quilt.


On the +ve side, I've returned to these triangle tile blocks with enthusiasm and focus, enough to get it all together into a quilt top! I did fine-tune my colour palette down a little bit more as I made more blocks. I found using different tones of my colours -blues, reds, and greys- worked nicely, rather than my usual all-out anything goes. I've also been able to add in a few recently bought fabrics, ones that add bit of new life to this project. And while it took a bit of time, nestling all those seams together went really well, so I'm happy. 

Until next time, Linda

second star to the right

Here's my finished quilt top, *"second star to the right". And after years of stops & starts, this quilt top has ended up a delight to finish. The border treatment is very much inspired by some things I've seen happening over these last few years in the Australian quilting world.

I love this latest finish, it's pretty with a touch of vintage. I'll leave it hanging up for a few days & enjoy it some more, and then it'll be added to the ever growing 'to be quilted' stack! Linking up with Kelly here for 'needle and thread Thursday'. Also linking up with Wendy over here for this weekends 'peacock party'. 

"Second star to the right, and straight on 'til morning. ” ― J.M. Barrie, Peter Pan *