seeing stars in Tilda pt2

It’s one happy creative mess here in my sewing room this weekend! As many now realise, I’m one of those quilters who gets easily sidetracked ... I can be cheerfully sewing away, and then suddenly I drop everything and start pulling fabrics for another project! I think I’ve had at least 3 distractions since starting this one! Can anyone else relate?

(wink wink) In my defense, I do write lots of stuff down to try & keep track of things, gotta love a good tick list!

Oh, and here is my finished quilt top, Sawtooth Stars in Tilda. Happy to get this little number all ticked off my list, it's now in the 'to be quilted' pile. 

I do love how the past & present lines of Tilda fabrics can mix & match so seamlessly. I decided to add the solid blue border, it helps to contain the softness of all the florals. And adds a splash of final colour. 

Here's a few photos ...

Super happy with how it's all looking very smooshed up together

and - as some have commented - how a few of the stars softly fade into the background.

until next time,

Linda

seeing stars in Tilda

Ideas for new quilts have been popping in & out of my mind while I've been caught up sewing my BOM 'positivities' blocks. Time for a new scrap quilt, I think. 

And I'm planning on using (mainly) fabric I have here - I love that thrifting aspect. I'd recently spotted a delightful idea over in IG to showcase my peacock fabric, see here @tara_899 love her fussy cutting skillz - it was all I needed to get motivated and pull out my little Tilda collection. 

My Tilda basket has been slowly growing over the past few years, FQ's & small 25" strip pieces that I've cut into for other things, but I haven't used them all together in anything yet. The difficult part was finding a pattern that would showcase the big illustrations as well as all the tiny details.

After a bit of faffing around, I'm now busy making 10" 'sawtooth star' blocks.

Have a peek ...

- star of the show!

- some of my older prints & the more recent brighter Chic Escape with Daisyfield blenders

I'm up to 9/20 blocks. 

I've been able to mix & match so many of my Tilda stash,

and it's all looking very flowery & smooshed up together, super happy! 

Linda

shine on!

Over the year I've been making the 'Positivities' sampler BOM quilt created by Rachel @stitchedincolor. It's modern, it's original, it's like an upbeat explosion of colour & shape! 

When I started out on this BOM, I was going to try and work with mainly solids, but those pretty prints kept on sneaking in! I've used a constant minty-green solid as my background and have pulled other fabrics month by month depending on what caught my eye, hoping repetition creates some harmony!

Super happy with this solids & print combo, the florals & the design elements seem to work well amongst all that soft green. 

After faffing around last month, I'm now all up-to-date. First up for the August installment was the Big Sun block, well, half-a-block actually! The positivity here is simple - let yourself shine ...

- checking my colours

******

The other patchwork group was 'collaboration'. Yayeee, no more FPP! It was three easy, traditionally pieced sections, formed with simple squares and rectangles, along the lines of a 'granny square' block. So satisfying to fill in a few more empty spaces with another couple of groups of positive patchwork!

******

Yesterday I lay things all out on the spare bed, checking my colours & (fingers crossed) hoping things would actually fit together okay! 

You will notice that there are a few spaces still. I'm looking forward to September's group, "aptly named 'space' - the least showy elements", fillers that will fade into the background but are equally important, I think. 

Back on track now AND ...

we are nearly there... 

Linda

my monthly dose of patchwork + positivity!

Over the year I've been making the Positivities* sampler BOM quilt created by Rachel @stitchedincolor.  It's modern, it's original, it's like an upbeat explosion of colour & shape!

I was a bit late to start working on my 'star web' FPP blocks for July, and now here we are into August and I'm still sewing 4-point stars. 

It's been slow progress, with some unpicking, and I can't say I enjoyed ripping out all those little paper pieces ... but it's so worth the effort, don’t you think? And, once I figured out the sequencing, things went A. Lot smoother. 

- one down!

There are still a few gaps, waiting now for August's blocks plus a couple of filler-type clusters, but I love how this project is coming together.  That minty green background fabric is hard to capture in a photo, but it's working well with all the brights. 

I am trying to be thoughtful with my choices - very mindful now of being at that stage of repeating rather than introducing new fabrics - but not being too precious about it. 

My biggest relief was that all my small components went together sew smoothly into one whole section! 

******

I actually signed up for the accelerated BOM (I know, I know), so I also received the instructions for the larger 'vision' blocks. 

I must admit, by the time I'd finished all 12 + 7 half 'star web' blocks, inspiration was majorly lacking, so I was guided by Rachel's suggestions for my larger blocks.  A nice easy sew to finish off July's installment. 

It's all looking very busy up on the design wall

And now that the August installment has turned up in my inbox, I may as well keep on keeping on! 

Linda

* In case you were wondering about the title of this quilt along, 'positivities' ... Rachel has assigned meaning to the patchwork groups as we work our way through the year. Every group connects with a theme for keeping a positive and grounded perspective as you navigate life’s challenges.
Yep, it's a feel-good kinda quilt!

latest quilt finish

 Look what's back from my longarm quilter!

I was super excited when I opened my 'old maid's puzzle' quilt out of the courier package ... something about this combo of a simple repeat block + the colours + texture + quilting panto makes it extra special.

 *party in the quilt back

Old Maid's Puzzle quilt details:

Pattern: Old Maid’s Puzzle, a traditional block. Initially inspired by a free pattern from @prairiequiltco. I made 9" blocks for my version.

Fabrics: I used a scrappy selection of old & new favourite fabrics. I've been a little obsessed/focused lately - drawn to colours like these peachy pinks, rosy pinks, primrose yellow, aqua, & lavender, lots of those dusty/muddy tones. 

Loving the contrast of these soft pastels mixed in with the splashes of bright colour.

Backing: I adapted another finished older quilt top to use as my *backing again. It was a top I made back in Feb 2020, 'meadowland' quilt, with a soft muted combo of fabrics.

Quilting: I decided to send out a couple of quilts for long arm quilting with Leeanne again, and this was one of them. I chose an E2E quilting panto, 'compass rose'. The quilting is a little denser than I usually have, but I love how a simple repeat block allows me to go to town on the quilting choice!

Binding: I used a dusty darker toned floral, Aster from the Liberty Mayfair collection/Westminster. It captures all the main colours front & back. 

Quilt measurements: 58" x 58"

time to enjoy the flowers

I haven’t gone through my scraps in forever, so a week or so ago I started with sorting out the scrap basket that sits under my sewing table. I was quite determined and only made three piles - keep, chuck, or pass onto my friend Glenys.
While sifting & sorting was a pleasant trip down memory lane, I did have ulterior motive for this sudden burst of tidying ... I was really pulling out all my leftover floral strips ... ones I couldn't part with ... and I ended up keeping a good mix from the last couple of years.

This week, those strips kept tempting me! So instead of sewing the July blocks for my 'positivities' BOM, I got very sidetracked. Again!

I'm making a 'Checkered Garden' quilt #2, a free pattern from Ashley @filminthefridge. It's well written, fun & easy to follow. My first go with this pattern was made with all AMH fabrics (see back here for more details), and while I love it, I was keen to try out quite a different palette.

Using my focus fabric as a guide (a dark & moody AMH teal/green with a small floral print on it, perfect for bringing in some contrast), I started to select fabric strips in light - medium values in a variety of old & newer loved strips, loving the soft pastels - all from my newly-organised, colour-coded basket. 

Every block/garden cluster requires 5 fabrics. So, I decided that each block has a near-solid along with a print that complements for some harmony, a pale print/low volume to give some breathing space amongst my florals, and then whatever else I felt could work in nicely! It is scrappy ... but with purpose & intent.

It'll be made all from scraps - colourful & a little whimsical - and that's what I love about it!

Time to enjoy all the flowers as I sew.

Linda

under the stars

Yes, I'm still seeing sewing stars! When I began making these wonky star blocks, I didn't have any plan. I tossed up for a bit, wondering about combining in other different blocks and/or playing with the overall quilt layout.  

And in the end, I just kept making more simple blocks until I had enough for a throw size quilt.

I've used lots of Liberty florals in both lawn & cotton, along with a few more favourite AGF & Tilda florals from my stash, and I also added a good dose of solids into the mix.  Super happy with the contrast of the itty-bitty florals with the solids. 

Enjoy my progress photos ...

Many thanks to Jolene @blueelephantstitches for the detailed (free) 'wonky star' tutorial. "It’s kind of a special star… it’s not quite a sawtooth star, it’s got just a sprinkle of organic freedom, and it twinkles."

Once all 30 blocks were completed, I spent some time faffing about with the layout. My plan this morning was to stitch them all together & finish the quilt top ...

so simple yet so pretty 

- like a scattering of summery flowers under the stars

⭐⭐⭐

Linda