make something from nothing

My scrappy 'Log Cabin' quilt top is finished - the front was made entirely from my scrap baskets and it's quite a mashup of lots of different prints. I love it, it's got a soft vibe happening in blues, pretty peaches & plums, with a hint of gold ... and I'm thinking now this quilt-to-be could blend in just about anywhere!

*fun collage compiled from pininterest pics

- a little late afternoon sunshine

Making something from nothing - yep, it's the best way to use up all those strips from your overflowing scrap basket, even the ones you think you can't part with!

After I've added in a few boho style embellishments, I'm going to experiment with different quilting techniques - some simple straight line machine quilting first up, and then some big stitch hand quilting to add more visual interest... watch this space!

Linking up with Wendy for this weekends 'peacock party' here

 with Alycia for 'Finished (or not) Friday' over here

and with Cynthia for 'oh scrap' here

Linda

and then there were twelve

 

It's quite liberating, 

sewing without stopping to think about having the traditional light & dark sides!

Thanks for stopping by, Linda

more log cabin love

This weekend I'm working on a simple scrappy log cabin in a restrained colour palette of gold, blues - of course - peach & plum. 

Some soft colours, some sweet florals, 

and lots of quilty memories from previous projects all wrapped up in these blocks.

It's the simple things, right?

Sharing my lastest project here for 'oh scrap' this weekend

Linda

log cabin in prints & plains

 

- on the design floor

- I've got a bundle of FQ solids that I've been trying to team up with my florals, 

sometimes blending, sometimes not so much!

There's quite a few things that I’ve really enjoyed about making these scrappy 14 1/2" log cabin blocks ... finding a few hidden treasures amongst the fabric strips & leftovers that I've used in other projects over the last couple of years ... love mixing up this scrappy combination from different designers & collections to make my quilt unique ... I’m super happy with the contrast of the multi-coloured prints vs the plains ... and finally, it feels great to finish a quilt top in a week!

Linking up with Cynthia for 'oh scrap' here

Until next time, Linda

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!