maple leaf rag: a little progress

 

I'm sewing my blocks into large rectangle sections ...

This little sweet rose in my garden is about to burst out in full colour any day now...

One of my favourite things is to spend time happily sewing random scraps together, and this 'maple leaf rag' quilt is certainly a delightful trip down memory lane.

The scrap situation in this quilt is quite mad, in the best-est possible way! I've ended up with scraps all over the place. There are little bits of fabrics scattered on my sewing table for the crazy pieced kite-shaped units. And I had lots & lots of strips lined up on my cutting table for the wheels. I've now sorted out my fabric strips into separate bags so I can find each group easily again going forward. 

I'm sewing my blocks into larger rectangle sections, two done now and two more in progress. Joining the blocks up is a bit of a stop-start process, as I need to ensure I get all those seams nesting nicely.

A quick note on design - the pattern advice is “don’t try to control it” but I can’t work like that! I needed a couple of "constants" to help calm the chaos. I’m making all my “kite” units in light/medium combos, and the wheel strips mainly in dark/mediums (with a rogue sprinkling of light prints), while trying really hard not to actually totally colour co-ordinate any of them. Hopefully the constant darker wheel rims will help visually hold everything together.

Working on the one thing for a long time won't make for a lot of variety in my next few blog posts. But the best bit ... the way it all slowly emerges as each wheel gets completed is wonderfully exciting, (I know I know, I'm only talking about patchwork not white-water rafting!) 

You can tell can't you, I’m loving the process & challenge of making this mad jazz quilt.

until next time, Linda

ready, set ... sew!

This latest string project - aka controlled mad jazz - is one I've wanted to make for years. And seeing one of Sarah Fielke’s 'down the rabbit hole' videos recently was all the kick start I needed. 

While it looks like productive scrap processing time, I know it won't be a quick quilt. I'm thinking it could be an "in-between quilts" project, as I do enjoy a bit of mindless fun sewing with scraps & strips, and love getting immersed in the process. (But in all reality, I know if I pack this project away, I may never ever get back to it!) 

I started out by making up lots of crazy kite-shaped units and now I've begun the process of adding string piecing to each kite and trimming down to size. I've cut and sorted out my fabric strips into separate bags so I can find each group easily again going forward. 

I don't want to lose track of where I'm going. So, because my design wall is busy, I'm laying my blocks out - some joined, some not yet - on an old quilt I made from my mum's tablecloths & doilies.  

I've had a few queries about how I'm making these blocks.

I used the tutorial here @kitchentablequilting

and here's a few photos of my progress ...

It'll be a super snapshot of the many fabrics I have used in many quilts over many years, 

ending up as a magic mix of fabrics happening right now. 

Wondering how it's looking so far?

controlled mad jazz

I’ve been a little quiet on my socials,

but I have been madly stitching away behind the scenes.

I've started making a 'Maple Leaf Rag' quilt from Sarah Fielke's book Material Obsession 2. The pattern advises piecing the scraps onto muslin. I've tried that method before and, while the extra stabling fabric kept the bias from stretching, the end result felt a little heavy and I wasn't happy with it. 

After some research I realised there were a few different ways to make this quilt.  And luckily, I stumbled across Erica's post here at kitchentablequilting, which was very timely & helpful. 

First up the fun part, tipping out the basket full of leftover strips & scraps that sits under my sewing table. I’ve been going back and forth picking fabrics and have finally settled on a mixture of smaller scrappy pieces in mainly lights & mediums. I made up some trial crazy-pieced units and then cut out a few of my kite shaped pieces. 

Block 1 of many, many more!

It's an easy sew, but it will take some time. Just happy I've finally started as this string spiderweb version - aka controlled mad jazz - has been on my "to do" list for a while. It's all hanging precariously on the "design" door and is looking very crazy & very scrappy. I think hope the big wheels will help hold the quilt all together. Eventually. 

quilt block shuffle

After the usual never-ending quilt block shuffle up on the design wall, 

there's been some progress ...

8 blocks pieced, the rest all worked out 

🩷love how those subtle circles fade in & out

Kaleidoscope quilt top in pastel brights

Pattern: My blocks are 10 1/2" and I used a Kaleido-Ruler for my two triangle shapes. 
Fabrics: This quilt is made entirely from fabrics I've bought over the years. There’s a little of everything, Kaffe, Liberty, Karen Lewis, Robert Kaufman, Denyse Schmitd, Ruby Star Society, Kathy Doughty, and many more.
Quilt inspiration: a favourite blogger Jolene @blueelephantstitches. My focus was to try and capture some of Jolene's muted vintage ‘vibe’ and yet still be reflective of my (brighter) stash.

Kaleidoscope in pastel brights

Quite a few months ago, I began a Kaleidoscope quilt with a mix of muted vintage and modern prints, going for a softer colour balance. My inspiration came from @blueelephantstitches. Our fabric stashes are so different though, and my fabrics suddenly seemed too multi-floral, too bright, and too busy to go all-out muted/dusky/vintage, and I remembered finding it a little tricky. 

It takes some restraint to keep it all "calm" looking! So, the blocks got put away. 

This week however, after a little mindset change, 'Kaleidoscope - now in pastel brights' is back in the works 

Here's a few progress photos ...

I couldn't really remember the initial ideas for my colour palette, but began by resorting my fabrics into two piles, lights & mediums/darks.  I ended up settling on a classic mix of pinks, blues & browns, with a sprinkling of peach, yellow/golds & minty green, along with lots of multi-coloured low volumes. 

Having fun today with these #kaleidoscopeblocks, still discarding & swopping out fabrics as I progress.

Super happy to see some of the subtle circles beginning to fade in & out now. 

Have a good week, Linda

from a stack of pretty prints ...

This quilt top started out like many do around here, as a stack of pretty prints sitting on my bookcase ...

some were multi-coloured florals

a few were geometric

others had been waiting for a few years

... and now they’re all part of the same colour story.

The colour story (or theme if you like) for my 'checkered garden' quilt was a vague idea around a delightfully tangled summery garden. I chose colours & prints to visually represent my focus fabric, a peachy/pink floral - Anna Maria's Perennial Borders candlelight Beata's Garden 🡓

I also had 1xmetre here of Beata's Garden in the caramel colourway, just enough to frame everything beautifully. Use the good stuff✅.

I used Ashley @Film in the Fridge’s free tutorial 'Checkered Garden'

- so easy to change up & personalise the look of your quilt!

until next time, Linda

mixing & matching

This checkered garden quilt might just be one of my favourite makes yet. It’s such a simple, fun pattern, and it's given me heaps of room to play, mixing and matching fabrics until every block feels just right.

It's not all small-scale itty-bitty prints, 

I'm also adding in a few busy multi-coloured florals to help create a delightfully tangled garden look ...

love this next one

a super mix of Anna Maria, Kaffe, Karen Lewis & Ruby Star Society ...

Making the blocks?  Simple, Ashley @Film in the Fridge’s tutorial is excellent.

Choosing a colour palette? Easy, I simply picked 5 different fabrics per block, then cut and sewed the blocks up one at a time ... Actually, that's sew not true!

For those interested, I've tried to sort out my colour framework for you. I started out going for an overall *harmony vibe, using LOTs of soft blush pinks through to smokey plum with a few peach/coral prints mixed in too. And caramels that go from honey through into the warm browns.
And then I couldn't help adding in some subtle *contrast with my few bright pops and some dark value blues. (I did try to add in some green prints too, but they just didn't flow quite as nicely for some reason).

From my scrap baskets & stash - all the pinks, peaches, plums & caramels I could find. It's scrappy, warm, a little bright, a little vintage, and perfectly imperfect … really, everything I want a quilt to be.

It's all still laid out on the 'design floor'. No time to get it stitched together just now, but I will have to make time soonish 'cos my sewing room really really needs a vacuum!

* For more on the harmony & contrast colour theory check out this link here at shannonbrinkleystudio