end of summer

To say it was a beautiful day would not begin to explain it. 

It was that day when the end of summer intersects perfectly with the start of fall.

~ Ann Patchett

- b&w pic to check my values

- loving the end of summer warm light we are experiencing this long Easter weekend

(Here in New Zealand, daylight saving ends the 7th April).

"Stars upon stars' is my favourite quilt from Jolene's new book "a year of quilts" and over the past couple of weeks I've been sewing stars to make a quilt following her colour combo fairly closely. 

The stars are the feature in this quilt. Mine are in a scrappy mix of dark prints in caramel, rose, coral, orange & browns. The nine patch blocks are mainly in a selection of lights & mediums in peach, pink, light browns & cream, all creating a soft but interesting (= busy) background effect.  

I took one final quick look at things on the 'design floor' before I started sewing everything together ... there's Kaffe mixed up with reproduction fabrics, a little Liberty, leftovers from a vintage sheet, and lots of other old & new bits from my scrap baskets. 

I focused on value rather than colour and ... hm-m-m ... arranged my blocks with haphazard abandon? or artful mindfulness? Either way, I like it. A Lot!  

Finished quilt top measures 81" x 65".

Linda

a star a day

I'm making lots of stars, fun stars with just enough wonkiness.

One star a day, or more if time permits ...

and down on the design floor ...

Stars Upon Stars WiP:

• Digging deep in my stash of early fabrics to get that vintage feeling, putting all sorts together, including shirting fabric, old reproduction fabrics, a little Liberty, leftovers from a vintage sheet, and lots of other scraps.
• Machine pieced, 14 more wonky stars to go.
• Pattern from Jolene's book "a year of quilts" and there's a free wonky star pattern on her blog @blueelephantstitches, thanks for sharing, Jolene.

show & tell on the Peninsula.

A catch up with Glenys always generates lots of ideas and gives me a chance to get caught up on some of her creative ventures. This time around I got to see her new 'meadow mist' quilt - all together and all quilted too. It's her version of the 'malted mystery quilt' (see here at meadowmistdesigns for more details) and has kept her very busy for the last couple of months.

Enjoy the photos ...

Like me, she has also been sewing along with Rachel at @stitchedincolor, making her "Positivities" BOM quilt. Glenys is favouring orange/purple/green with a background in a variety of light peach.
It's a great incentive to have another friend stitching away with me in this yearlong project, we tend to inspire each other into action.

I also showed her my exciting mail yesterday, Jolene's book "a year of quilts" arrived. We've both been fans of Jolene's work for years. Her quilts are always instantly recognisable to me (and many others I suspect) for her fabric choices.

What have you been working on this week?

Linda

positivities quilt: update

'Positivities' is a modern sampler created by Rachel at @stitchedincolor. I participated in another of Rachel’s sew-a-longs a while ago, she has a great eye for colour & design. This one is a yearlong BOM where the edges blur from area to area, and stars, squares & curves reappear throughout the quilt, all floating on a consistent background colour. 

- It's not perfect, but I'm happy.

I'm using a few different soft greens as my backgrounds too, so difficult to capture in a photo. 

Can't wait to watch my quilt grow and the colours spread.

Linda

playing with pink & teal

Another house top variation quilt is underway chez Linda's. 

'Dancing Squares' is a new favourite because it too has evolved from the need of using up those scraps. This time around, I went through my scrap baskets (yet again) but changed up the mood of the quilt. Super happy with the combo of teal & pink in these log cabin-style blocks, adding that splash of merlot makes me smile.

I'm drawn to florals, so I needed to pair them up with a few ginghams/spots/dots/solids/even a little animal print to add contrast. With these bold colours & prints dancing around my centre teal squares, each block felt like a mini quilt to me, where the colours of each round flow into the next.

Not following a written pattern is always a fun challenge ... I could see as I progressed, that this one would be another quirky jigsaw puzzle to put together! I decided on lots of pink & off -white for the irregular coping strips - creating little paths between the house blocks, and (wink wink) to fill in the gaps to help get things up to size. Finished size approx. 60" x 54".

Here's my 'modern' take on traditional ...

Now I am working on a third "house top" quilt because, you know, two aren’t enough!

Have you tried making a Gee's Bend-style quilt?

Linda

housetop 9block variation

A gingham in gold, some small pieces of 'posy' by Annabel Wrigley, a few solids, lots of leftover strips

... and a quilt was underway!

... I'd been wondering about what to sew with all the leftover strips in my scrap basket, it's overflowing. I started making up a few trial blocks, and now I'm hooked! 

Going a bit loosey goosey here, making my own version of a 'house top' block, a favourite block obviously inspired by the Gees Bend quilters and their amazing quilts (see pic below) & a recent quilt from Windham Fabrics.

- Gee’s Bend quilt by Amelia Bennett.

💖Love a quilt that's made from leftover pieces from past quilts, it's a real trip down memory lane. This is a fun mix of bright & pastel fabric from over the years that includes quilting cottons and vintage prints, did anyone spot that delightful Laura Ashley print in the border sashing? I've used a colour palette mainly in -but not limited to- peach, pinks, gold and blues.

Yes, yes, more improv! I used a ruler and rotary cutter to help me cut straight, but I didn’t measure anything😉 When I'd made all my blocks, I sized everything down to my smallest block and then added the sashings. 

Lots of fun trying to get that "random" and yet cohesive look. Think I'll make another one now, loving this process!

Housetop 9 block variation, pieced.

Linda

a thoroughly modern medallion*

Hope everyone has had a lovely weekend. 

I've managed to get the next stages of my BBQAL medallion quilt top all together. 

Here's a few progress pics ...

- I even (accidently😂) have the brambles!

Here's my little story... I turned my improv mashup into a garden ... three windblown big blooms with a token few formal borders, and then it all drifts into a somewhat overgrown & messy back garden with brambles, wildflowers, a broken fence & a few birds🤣

As I added each new border, I aimed for fabric and/or colour to flow into the next, and I had my fingers crossed that there would be enough fabrics. I have had to substitute as I progressed, but it's all good, it's a real symphony of fabrics now. Mixing fabric styles is such a rewarding way to play and work my way through my leftovers & stash. 

Present size is 50" x 45" - I think that's probably big enough for a fun experiment, don't you! 

Many thanks to Audrey @ quiltyfolk for all the QAL details, it's lovely to get a little glimpse into her thought processes and creativity.

Linda

*thanks to Pat for this blog post title🙏