throwback Thursday

Sharing a quilty memory today.

We're zapping back to 2015 when I attended a quilt workshop with Kathy Doughty, 'Vintage Spin' an inspiring Modern Wedge workshop. 

The workshop was lots of fun, (see back here for a few class pics). Kathy had us lay out all our fabrics and then focus on looking for 'contrast' when choosing pairs of fabrics for our combos, be it floral/geometric, cool/warm, lights/darks, etc. 

My takeaway tip from the class was "Contrast is the key ... and the colour of a fabric is not really known until it is actually playing beside its neighbour!" 

Large prints, small prints, pastels, jewel colours, 'modern' fabrics, vintage, dark fabrics - it all went into my eclectic mix! Kathy also suggested to try & get a subtle colour connection in each of my pairs of fabrics for the individual blocks. 

A few of my fabrics had a little bit of black in them too, so I used that as my cue and opted for the black & white pin-dot for my centres & binding.

This quilt is still a real favourite of mine, I love all the movement between the blocks - thankyou stripes! Those large prints do work, the mix of different hues work, the random fabrics from different projects totally works ... it may be perfectly imperfect but hey, that's the charm of using scraps. 

I shook my quilt out & clicked off a few fresh photos today, 

hope you enjoy this trip down memory lane with me ...

happy Thursday, Linda

state of play

I've continued with more colour play this weekend, making extra blocks for my limingtonquilt, a modern spin on Trip Around the World, TATW. I used a pattern from @seaminglykate.

Obviously, I still have three more blocks to go - see last pic - but I'm loving this mix of scrappy and set colours. I'm going with blue, green and purple prints, mainly mediums & darks, against a background of assorted "lights". My accent fabric Hindsight in piecework rose is by Anna Maria, super happy with the peachy-pink chain. Here's a few progress pics ...

... whoops-a-daisy, I've just spotted one teeny tiny block the wrong way round :( 

... luckily it was a quick fix✅

Another quilt top almost finished!

churn dash mash-up

amazing how a colour can change the look ...

- love a bit of gingham

- I added four 'trip around the world' blocks, because, why not? 

Digging into my fabric baskets to make endless combinations has been fun. My blocks do look a bit different to the *inspo U&U quilt - but I'm happy with this fresh contemporary vibe. 

Loving the mix of soft pinks & calming teals in delicate florals with the occasional splash of bright blue, plum and gold - all blending seamlessly in this churn dash mash-up.

For those curious, with my last eight blocks I started choosing the fabrics with even more intention, and I've repeated a few fabric combos for continuity. All my blocks are 10 1/2" unfinished, my sashings are 2" cut, and my borders 4" cut. After testing out & rejecting the broken grid idea (*see here for inspo quilt pic), I ended up arranging my blocks into simple rows. 

There was a fabric shortfall challenge when I finally settled on my sashing choice. I had wanted a consistent sashing - a calmer approach I thought - but it became clear very soon that the blue 'roman glass' Kaffe fabric wasn't going to go very far. So, I settled for a combo of similar blue fabrics. And then I added a wider top & bottom border in a pretty blue AM floral. 

I could stare at this wonderful collection of fabrics and colours for hours. A super scrappy quilt, it's beautiful ... in a quirky interesting way ... with just a little sense of order happening.

upping the scrappy charm: progress pics

I'm making good progress on my latest WiP, 10" Churn Dash blocks - see here for a few earlier details. There are several variations on this block and other names, including "monkey wrench," "hens and chickens," "love knot," and "shoo fly". It's a simple 9-patch block made up of half square triangles and squares, lots of scope to add more visual interest. 

I'm using fresh contemporary colours and am playing with the colour placement of my lights/mediums/darks. Traditionally, the background of these churn dash blocks is usually lighter. By swopping out the values occasionally, things can look quite different = upping the scrappy charm✅

Sashing is proving a bit difficult to decide on. At the moment I am thinking about using the same simple sashing throughout (if I have enough!), with a feature print for my top & bottom borders. Jury's still out on this mind you!  

I think this post has maybe given you more insight into how I like to work sometimes, yes? When I start with a vague idea - i.e. no plan or pattern - I'm often reminded of Sujata Shan's words ... "The quilt starts with a spark and your thoughts and process follow the idea."

 

 Do you make a plan before you start sewing?

Linda

p.s. my overflowing scrap baskets don't look any different :( 

building on an idea

Things have been a bit chaotic chez Linda's this past month. I did manage some sit & sew times, taking slow meditative stitches, adding binding to a few quilts. And now after a short interlude, normal service has been resumed and I'm back working on my WiPs.

Way back in 2020 I started making 10" churn dash/monkey wrench blocks. I had originally begun these blocks following Jen Kingwell's 'flea market dash' pattern. I dragged them out this weekend & decided I really should do something with them. My blocks so far were mainly in medium/dark prints mixed with an assortment of checks, not feeling the love for them really. And, I also didn't have 1.4 mtrs fabric sitting around either, for the inset & corner triangles.

I remembered a monkey wrench quilt in the *U & U book, a joyous collection of colour & pattern. The blocks were in groups of four and the sashings were a mix of scrappy fabrics in blues & yellow.
After some faffing around reworking (and unpicking) a few parts of my earlier blocks, I laid them out on the design floor to check how things were progressing. My blocks do look a bit different to the inspo quilt - but I'm happy with these fresh contemporary colours.

love the mix in this one, Kaffe, Liberty lawn & Anna Maria ...

 the pile is growing ...

Tilda, a little Liberty lawn & gingham ...

 For my sashing, I'm thinking maybe teal ...

*Inspirational quilt from Unconventional & Unexpected by Roderick Kiracofe 

I'm enjoying this, building on an idea with a little improv & a lot of colour exploration 

- such a good way to waste away spend a few hours!

Linda

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 

I've discovered that taking photos has been a fun (unexpected) part to all this quilt making. And comparing a flat vs 'in use' photo is something I've recently wondered about, I love elements of both ideas. 

I try 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 overall design & colour palette. 

I also enjoy playing around with close-up photos, 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 really capture my interest, as they highlight the little details, the fabric mix, the quilting texture and the cuddly cosy nature of a quilt. 

If you stop by often, you'll notice that I click off more quilt pics than really needed, and that's mostly because I seem to give many of my quilts away! Once they're gone, that's it. So, like many others, this is my way of documenting my makes. 

Love to hear about 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

✄🧵✄🪡✄