handkerchief corner in pastel

It was a wet Saturday yesterday here in Auckland NZ, perfect for sewing. You may remember my 1/4 log cabin WiP from last year, otherwise known as the 'handkerchief corner' quilt, see back here in October 2017. There were only a handful of blocks made up so I got busy slicing strips & sewing.

Low volumes, backgrounds, neutrals, pastels . . . there's lots of names for those lighter fabrics we use and recently I've been quite focused on sewing with a good dose of them, using fabrics from my stash.

This quilt was an attempt at a toned down version of a vintage inspired 'handkerchief corner' quilt from one of Kaffe's early books 'A Colourful Journey'. Kaffe's pattern is made up of one square patch and one trapezium patch shape, however I simply added my strips in regular log cabin style around two sides of each square.

I'm sure there a lots of ways to set these blocks, here's a few options I played with . . .

And this one, the combination of on point handkerchief corner blocks and a few bold stripes seems to transform it into a very interesting modern design . . .

In the end, I decided to stick with my original idea of joining the 10 1/2" blocks side by side and set them 5 x 6. The finished quilt measures approx. 55" (140cms) x 68" (173cms). I didn't strictly alternate the light/dark blocks either, so you can see a bit of merging happening occasionally.

I do wish I had more of the Kaffe pretty pastel floral I used for the borders though, as I would have preferred the borders to be a bit wider than they are, but I guess it's the risk you take when sewing from the stash. 

Hoping you have all had a lovely weekend too.

Linking up with Cynthia for 'oh scrap' here - where there's lots more scrappy inspiration

sew stitch snap SHARE #22

What's on your sewing table this week?

. . . I've got my sewing room just about sorted now, so I dug out my whimsy blocks again this week, searched through my florals and cut out a couple more. Here they are up on the design wall all ready for machine piecing together.
I must do a head count soon to see just how many more to go. I can't quite locate my Judy Newman book at present but I think I worked out I needed around 56 all together.

. . . and I spent a bit of time getting my 'wild bloom' anthologie quilt all together. This QAL was hosted by Melanie from southerncharmquilts and barij.

I found the easy pace very do-able, even while mid-flight moving house! And such a great way to learn new techniques, work with a good dose of low volume fabrics and add a little extra quirky 'boho' style. The finished quilt size is 65.5" x 80.5" with 11 different block patterns of varying sizes and filler blocks.

That's it from me this week. Time now for another Sew Stitch Snap SHARE'- a regular fortnightly linkup where you can see what other blogging quilters are up to. 
My favourite pick from the last few times were Julie's beautiful 'solstice dream' blocks. I love her use of vibrant felt colour and her embroidery is amazing.

Have you been following her progress too?
Pop over here to see lots more.

{all photos reposted with quilter's permission}

And do you have a project to share this week too?

Just follow these simple guidelines:

• Link up any post from the past week that features a sewing or stitching project you have been working on, whether they are WiPs, starts or finishes. You can write as much or as little about your project as you like, and snap off a pic or three, and share here.
• Somewhere in your post, please link back to this one.
• Also please comment on other quilter's projects too, a little quilty love goes a long way. 

Thanks for joining us, Julie & Linda

sew stitch snap SHARE #21

Happy Wednesday
and welcome to another 'Sew, Stitch, Snap, SHARE'

Today I've got a random collection of things I've been working on playing with. I've just completed the latest blocks for the barij and southerncharmquilts"wild bloom" quiltalong project. It's hard to believe this QAL is almost finished! 

And then I was given a dress last week, such a pretty vintage dress. I'm so tempted to cut it up and do something improv with it, like maybe a big floral bouquet in the middle, broderie perse perhaps, and then surround it log cabin style. Watch this space!

And don't you just love it when you find a real special 'low volume' fabric? Well this one ticks all the boxes for me, "dollhouse" collection by Amy Sinibaldi . . .

. . . so many ideas, so little sewing time.
That's it from me this week.

Time now for another fortnightly 'Sew, Stitch, Snap, SHARE' linkup. My pick from last time was this wonderful quilt made by Gretchen from gretchenslittlecorner. Gretchen started her 'sweet surrender' quilt in January 2016 using mainly 30's fabrics, and I'm sure you will agree, it's stunning!

{all pics reposted with quilter's permission}

Do you have a project to share this week too?

Just follow these simple guidelines:

• Link up any post from the past week that features a sewing or stitching project you have been working on, whether they are WiPs, starts or finishes. You can write as much or as little about your project as you like, and snap off a pic or three, and share here.
• Somewhere in your post, please link back to this one.
• Also please take the time to read and comment on some of the other linked posts. 

Thanks for joining us,
Julie & Linda