taming my {leftover} scraps

I ended up with quite a selection of leftover strips from my 'courthouse steps' quilt last week. So I decided that before I started anything new, I needed to sort & put my fabrics away... in a tidy manner... into my strip basket {one that is constantly full!}... a good plan, yes? 

And I'm sure you will all know where this is going 'cos, well, one thing led to another, and before I knew it, I was pulling strips out instead of putting strips in!  

And once I began sewing, I couldn't stop!

It's another value oriented scrappy log cabin quilt, very much along the lines of a PDF quilt pattern I recently purchased from Annabel 'picnic in the park' and further inspired by an amazing rendition by Rachel from stitchedincolor. 

I'm sewing these blocks together in full scrap mode, with no real plan yet - apart from making lots of blocks and using a little assortment of red centres as a bit of a traditional nod.

I’m super happy with the contrast of the prints vs the plains. And it makes me smile how something so simple as mixing in a healthy dose of solids has helped to tame all these multi-coloured scraps.

Linking up with Cynthia for 'oh scrap' here

Thanks for stopping by,

Linda

colour splash

 

Recently I sewed a few blocks in the courthouse steps style. They reminded me of this quilt by Lorena which had been on my mind for months {her quilt though, is all-solids and has the addition of quirky quarter square triangle centres}. I thought I could sew something sort of similar, but with more of a colour splash! 

I used a bundle of RSS fabrics, 'stay gold' by Melody Miller, and combined a little mix of solids to give the pretty prints room to breathe. When I started out making these 14" blocks I didn't pay much attention to fabric placement from block to block. Once I had the majority of them made, I was a little more specific about where each colour family landed to create a balanced quilt. 

I'm not sure why but, I seem to be using a lot of pink lately, not my favourite colour, 

so I focused on adding in more toasty browns and teal in my last few blocks.

What colour do you never use (or avoid) in your quilts?⠀

Until next time, Linda

courthouse steps: colour play

I've been super keen to have a go at spicing up this block,

the classic courthouse steps

This traditional pattern lends itself to lots of colour blocking & fabric play! I've had a FQ bundle of 'stay gold' fabrics by Melody Miller /Ruby Star Society, on my shelf for a while now, just not too sure how to best use it. This week I decided to jump right in and have a go with all that bright colour. These courthouse steps blocks are such fun to make, no pressure, just perfect for kick starting my sewing slump back into gear.

A few of my steps graduate in slightly different shades, because when I ran out of a particular colour or fabric I just swopped in another similar piece from my stash. I've seen lots of photos of vintage quilts with this same effect, so if it worked for them, I'm hoping it'll work for me too in piecing a more "modern" make.

Today's colour play totally inspired by Lorena over here or here and I'm super excited about all the fabric play happening over here on Leah's feed too, equally inspiring. 

Linking up with Kelly for NNT here 

and with Wendy for this weekend's 'peacock party' over here 

Have a lovely weekend! 

the colour blue

Today's post is brought to you... by the colour blue!

After a little break from sewing, I've been busy this week 'emptyingtheufocupboard' ☑ … I sewed down the last couple of fans to my "Long Distance" quilt and added a little bit more surface texture to the top before I layer it up all ready for some big stitch hand quilting. 

I loved adding these little bright blue patches. They float over the background of the whole quilt, and are hand stitched in place, leaving the raw edges exposed for that yummy handmade touch. Perfectly imperfect ☑  

I found that the 'long distance' quilt was a really simple way to tackle improv patchwork! It's a beautiful boro inspired PDF pattern designed by Anna Maria Horner that I purchased back in May 2019 . . . love the way Anna crosses over between patchwork & art in her patterns. My version measures 58” x 60”.

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I'm also making progress on my Pas de Deux modern sampler blocks. 

My quilt is looking quite different to how I imagined when I started this BOM! It all began with an initial fabric pull, but as things have progressed each month, I have now narrowed down my palette to lots of different shades of blue, teamed up with assorted pinks darkening slightly to plum/rose and little accents of gold/citrus {see last progress pic}.

 

I ended up reworking a few earlier blocks, like these little 'evening star' blocks. My initial choices looked way too dark compared to the lighter shades I'm favouring now, so I mixed things up a bit by popping in some pinks and adding a few more different shades of blue … and it's looking more interesting ☑    

Here's a few 'on the design floor' pics …

July's blocks are called 'still point'. It's quite a tricky ensemble, with the blocks utilising y-seams to create a flurry of dancing twists and turns. I decided to echo a few of the different shades of blue, while still trying to soften the transitions between the surrounding patchwork groups.

Well, that was a bit of a challenge, I had to unpick my first attempt! It wasn't the actual y-seams that tripped me up, I had muddled up my large & medium triangles, {wink wink} that's why the first is called a trial block, yes?

Still need to trim my blocks up, check that the orientation is matching, etc…but four down ☑ only two more to go…and here's a little peep…

* EDIT: After a real flurry of twist & turns {and a spot of unpicking!} here's my finished blocks down on the design floor. Excellent instructions for this rather challenging ensemble by Rachel at stitched in color. I think I'll look at it for a day or so, just to make sure I've got everything orientated the right way now before I stitch it together …

And all the others so far …

Linking up this week's progress with Kelly with 'needle and thread Thursday' here

and with Wendy over here with todays 'peacock party'

Until next time, Linda