pink & orange

 pink and orange ... yes please!

pattern: Atticus quilt by Jennifer Jones @penelope handmade
fabrics: this is a mix & match pattern using a FQ bundle for the 18" blocks and strip piecing for an easy sew. Layout options are a personal choice, with light sashing & cornerstones this quilt reflects a more "modern" balance, without, it's got a very scrappy patchwork look. Actually, I think either way is really lovely, see last pic ↑.

a few progress notes: I have my accent fabric sorted. And I have enough of the light print for those inner centre segments and for sashings too if I decide to go that way.

However, most of my stash comprises of chopped up FQs these days, so I don't have any full FQ bundles of anything really to mix & match. BUT I did have a 10" Layer Cake - paisley rose fabrics by @cmanningsews - a very pretty collection. So, I'm going with a (homemade) bundle of colour curated around my layer cake, repeating a few fabrics where possible for a cohesive look. Luckily there were a few double ups in the layer cake, which was helpful!

And because strip piecing isn't an option for me this time, I'm happily stitching up square by square, one block at a time, cobbling together what I have here. Only 6 more blocks to go!

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 tips from the class were "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 spinning 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.