team scrappy

 

Making more blocks today.

This one is a real favourite project at the moment with all it's scrappy goodness.

I'm using a mix of light and dark fabrics, 

with a few mediums thrown in to give more of a blended, softer look.

I spent a bit of time faffing about getting a balance of colours, making sure all the greys are spread out. 

It all looks great when I stand back a bit, but it's hard to capture that in a photo!

So yes, I'm definitely on 'team scrappy', are you too? 

Linda

one thing leads to another

Such a fun & fast make!
The colour combo in this is delightful, there's something about pairing up the teal with the tangerine/orange that makes me smile. I'm following Rachel from stitchedincolor tutorial for my 'penny patch' quilt, a full proof pattern for sure. 

My priority was to use up those fabrics that I had cut out years ago. I added in a few other vintage-y small scale prints along the way for more variety. I had to keep in mind though, that more than half of the fabrics needed to be low volume to create that soft feel. Here's a few photos . . .

I love how one thing leads to another … as I was finishing up piecing this little quilt together … I began planning another quilt too! It started out primarily to use up the leftover pieces from the 'penny patch' fabric pull, couldn't waste 'em. Next thing I knew, I had moved onto rummaging through the scrap basket.

There's some fun value play with this. I'm using a mix of light and dark fabrics, with a few mediums thrown in to give a more of a blended look, one that fades in & out. It does create a less defined pattern, which kinda appeals to me.

I'm making scrappy 'Jacob's ladder' blocks, or maybe it's a variation called the 'jewel box' block, I'm not too sure. Jolene form blueelphantstitches recently posted her measurements using a 4patch block, I love her scrappy approach and how she explains her processes so clearly!

Et voila . . .

- a new block and an old quilt I made pre-blogging days. 

Notice the values are in the opposite locations 

AND see how clearly defined my lights & darks were using that good old cream calico!

Getting sidetracked is the. best.

And it sure is a great way to use up more of those scraps too.

Until next time, Linda

on the design wall...TWICE

- original vintage inspiration 

To my mind, a scrappy quilt can either be one made from actual scraps or one that’s made with lots of different fabrics to give that scrappy look. And look what I found today... all stuffed into a brown paper bag... lots of different fabrics all cut out in squares and little four patches, all looking sew scrapalicious! Lots of colour & pattern play just waiting to be stitched up.

I'm sure some of you will recognise what I was planning to do with these, years ago. Yep, the 'Penny Patch' quilt  using an excellent tutorial by Rachel @stitchedincolor, inspired by that vintage quilt. I remember loving Rachel's "colour recipe" for a low-volume quilt with two main colours of aqua/teal with soft tangerine orange and one pop of coral red colour.

Jolene from blue elephant stitches has also made her 'double four patch' version of this too, "it's a simple pattern that is almost no fail". I love how she plays with value and has a wonderful scrappy vibe happening at the same time. 

And, Hydeeann from splishsplashstash has a thoughtful post about fabric selection and placement of fabrics in Rachel's wonderful pattern. 

- on the design wall June 2016 

- AND again May 2021

No idea why I didn't continue, but these blocks are up on the design wall for the second time. I think I need to forget current projects just now and get this long-standing WIP crossed off the list, yes?

Linda

utility scrap quilt

"Flowers on her Fence" is finished. This quilt is all about capturing the idea of walking home alongside fencelines all overgrown with wild flowers. Simple yes, and yet a picture so memorable from my days walking home from the school bus stop many years ago - back when our road was unsealed, the pony club hadn't been filled in with high-rise housing, when the corner four square shop sold glass bottles of milk, and we'd never heard of sliced bread!  

You may remember not too long ago I pieced this quilt, inspired by the talented artist Heidi Parkes {see here @heidi.parkes}. I used an early Yuwa floral as my focus and added a mustard solid in two shades, all fabrics from my stash. I was super excited to team the cottons with assorted denims from a denim skirt {an op shop find} and my husband's jeans, creating a little depth and dimension. 

I recently asked Leeanne from quiltmekiwi to quilt it for me. We emailed back & forth, and also had a couple of phone conversations {and a photo I'd drawn red lines all over} to clarify just how I wanted the quilting to go in relation to the quilt... the magic of collaboration!

Yes, it’s organic (a pleasant word for wonky) but I’m very happy with the results and it fits in with the true utility scrap quilt tradition. 

I love how the lines of quilting bring those open spaces to life. From the front you mainly see lots of irregular quilting lines, going horizontally and vertically within the big rail fence blocks. I like that the quilting does not distract at all from the simple patchwork, but adds heaps of texture and subtly compliments the front.
Looking at the back, the eye easily discerns the larger rectangle patterns, adding interest to a much simpler side of the quilt.

I like to piece a scrappy backing for most of my scrap quilts too... it feels like I'm using up even more fabric, ones that haven't quite made it into a quilt top, like this selection of older toile fabrics from my stash.
For my binding I used a length of dress remnant from years ago. It seems to pick up the rosy reds, the denim blues and the gold really well and gives the feeling of all those wildflowers still continuing to spill over the fence. 
Finished quilt measures 52" x 59".

Until next time, Linda

binding day

It was binding day today for this quilt, the last of my recent throw sized quilts. Once the binding decision was made, it didn't take long to get it all stitched down, et voila... a little finish to share.
This is my version of  the 'sidewalk chalk' quilt. If you follow the link here to see other versions, you may notice that many have gone down the all-solids path. It was a fun and fast make, a great way to sew “random with a plan” with just the right mix of planning and surprises.

I had it machine quilted a while back in a vertical edge-to-edge pattern called 'ripples' by Leeanne from 'quilt me kiwi'.  For my binding I used a multi-coloured Kaffe print 'persian garden' in rust, which might seem like an unlikely choice, but I think it works. The finished quilt measures 47" x 53". 

Linking up this little finish with Cyndy for 'oh scrap' here 

Until next time, Linda

full on crazy patchwork

The sun is shining and my quilt top is finished. 

I've always loved the humble nine patch. I added to my little pile of blocks this week, they were fast & so much fun to make. And I ended up with 42, definitely enough to make a quilt with. 

There's lots of Liberty bits in this, the simple shape goes so well with timeless Liberty - traditional and modern at the same time! I've also padded things out just a little with Outback Wife & AMH fabrics, and teamed everything up with co-ordinating geometric prints for added contrast.  

Once I decided on how I was going to set my blocks, {i.e. not to add in any fabric for the alternate blocks or any additional borders, see this earlier post} I set to joining them all together today. 

But as we all know, the choices really didn't just stop there. There were lots of ways I could have joined the blocks all up … I could have alternated the warm & cool blocks or gone with the iconic checkerboard layout by switching between 5 & 4 darker square blocks (both of which I did do in a few random places).

And of course, {wink wink} don't tell anyone, but things may have got slightly muddled when I moved the blocks one by one from the 'design floor' up to the sewing machine! In my defense, I was hurrying as the three grandchildren were coming over - its school holidays here in NZ - and I wanted everything up off the floor before they ran riot!  

… however, and I was finally very definite on this one, today I was always aiming for that full on crazy patchwork look.  

- in the late afternoon sunlight

Full on crazy patchwork, inspired by Karen Lewis

Linking up for this weekend 'peacock party' here

Until next time, Linda

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'. The quilting shows up beautifully on the back, another treat that's for sure #partyinthequiltback. Finished quilt measures 56" x 73".

Linking up with Cyndy for 'oh scrap' here.

Until next time, Linda