something new on the design wall.

Some of you may remember when I started sewing a rainbow? (see back here for details). I spent heaps of time digging deep for fabrics that read as one colour. As I started sewing them all together, very roughly in ROYGBIV order, I just wasn't feeling the love :(

Everything went into the cupboard for a bit, and when I pulled out all the little piles of HSTs this week I decided I needed a change of direction. When I was making a couple of corn and bean blocks for my folk sampler I had wondered what a whole quilt of them would look like. Then I spotted Leah's latest colourful scrappy corn & beans over on insta, and that sealed the deal!

So now I'm making **corn and bean blocks, also known as the 'northwind' block. I made a test block, adjusted my measurements, trimmed my block to 12". 

There's lots of different layout possibilities, see above pic. As you can see though, my original collection of HSTs were all very definite light/dark & light/medium combos, all way, way too stark. (maybe that's why things didn't gel for me with my original plan?)

Following along with Leah's process, I'm playing with the values a bit more. It'll be controlled scrappy, using lots of different, unrelated fabrics & sewing them into colour value groups.

Hopefully that will create some kind of shifting value effect across the quilt top without the value contrast being too stark in any one block. 

Hmm-m-m- it's a bit of work admittedly. I'm keeping many of those early HST combos, but there has been some unpicking too! And a bit of questioning if a particular fabric is light, light medium or medium light?  I'm trying to make quick decisions, and I'm happy if there's some blurring of the lines a little. 

The jury's still out on my final layout, but here's a few design wall progress pics ... 

**I was keen to find out more about this block & it's various names,

and I found this comment from Jodi at tales of cloth

... I was amused this week to discover that 'Corn and Beans' can only be called Corn and Beans if it's made from yellow and green! The block was first published by the Ladies Art Company, who sold mail order patterns, somewhere between 1890 and 1906. Then along came Carrie Hall in the 1930s and claimed that if the colours weren't yellow and green, then the block was named Duck and Ducklings, or Hen and Chicks, or Shoo Fly, or Handy Andy. 

we've ended up back at the beginning

and one final pic as the sun went down ...

As a few have already commented, this quilt reminds me of the very 1st sampler I made way back when I first began my sewing journey. I hope maybe this one - with different weights of fabric & soft limited palette - will capture that intersection of traditional quilting with a modern twist quite nicely.

Thank you, Sara @farmandfolk for this great sewalong!

See my last post for details, or pop over #folksamplersewalong for more inspiration

happy weekending, Linda

which comes 1st - the fabric? or the pattern?

If you're stopping by for the 1st time, welcome! And here's a bit of background to this sampler quilt WiP.
Back in 2018 I randomly bought a curated selection of fabrics from @cottoneer with only a vague plan in mind. It featured a soft cotton merino green floral #outbackwifefabric along with a mix of linen, barkcloth, & woven checks and I fell in love. But then things stalled, and I did nothing with the fabric bundle.

Fast forward to now ... and after spotting the sewalong last month for the folk sampler quilt @farmandfolk, whom I have only recently discovered, I realised this was something I could use those fabrics for.  I added a couple more prints from my stash, focusing on softly blending pinks, peaches & green, a jazzy bit of plum, and muted browns.

Fingers crossed my bundle plus a *sampler will capture that intersection of traditional and modern sewing quite nicely, win/win. 

For my last few blocks, I checked out some more traditional blocks for inspiration, 

and ended up making a crystal star block, a drunkard's path variation block, a card trick block, 

and another Le Moyne star to help balance out my colours.

After making my 20 blocks I was ready to trial a few sashing ideas. I've opted for narrow sashing, a bit of trend just now, yes? I love how this Ruby Star Society 'maze in goldenrod' ties everything together subtly, just enough contrast without being overpowering. Jury's still out on if I should add cornerstones or not. 

Pop back after the weekend & I'll have a quilt top to share! Here's a peek meantime ...

I'm curious now, which comes first with you ... 

the fabric? or the *pattern? 

*Image found on Pinterest where it’s stated that this quilt is part of The International Quilt Museum collection in Lincoln Nebraska.

I'm in both teams really ... I usually do have a pattern in mind, before buying fabric. After buying the fabric though, I usually change my mind about the pattern, sound familiar (wink wink). 

Other times, I see an extra pretty fabric and it's simply a case of having to have a little bit of it! 

Until next time, Linda

pretty vs plain

If you've stopped by lately, you'll know I'm stitching along with Sara's #folksamplersewalong. I’m making a kind of fusion between my own "style" and Sara's very rustic & earthy feel @farmandfolk. 

With only a few more blocks to go, I’m now starting to choose fabrics with even more intention,

like in this extra corn & beans block ✅

and with my chain & bar block, 

my initial version was quite intense

so, I swopped out some of the peach on my flying geese for more cream ✅

Onto the new block this week - Block 12 Le Moyne star ✅. I’m also trying to use up some smaller bits & bobs thru'out this sewalong and, of course, I ran out of the light peach print. Still, it was fun substituting another pretty to fill in the star.

16 blocks ✅

Hm-m-m- there's a bit of a pretty vs plain vibe happening with this fabric mix, I think.

Here's where my thoughts are at the moment ... Using a carefully curated selection of fabrics from @cottoneer back in 2018, I added in a mix of linens & cottons while still trying to keep my colour palette simple. My main background colour is cream, in assorted subtle shades.  

The dominant colour started out as a soft green floral #outbackwifefabric, with complimentary prints in pink & peach, and a little plum print to jazz things up. I've added in solid fabrics in pink and two shades of green, and there's minimal use of soft brown and grey. The checks & stripes add a little fun visual element too. 

Some block combos delight me, and, on reflection, I do love how those plain blocks provide a nice calm contrast. 

The question now is - 

Do I stop at 16 blocks, make a sashing decision, & get a quilt top together? 

Or do I keep on keeping on, and make all the 20 blocks?

... Yep, lots to think about when making a sampler quilt!

folk sampler

We are halfway through the folk sampler sewalong adventure now. 

Sara from farm and folk recommends we keep our palette simple, like the antique inspiration sampler. With that in mind, I opted for soft greens, olive & browns, and peachy/pinks, with a mix of different creams, and a splash of plum to jazz things up. 

Must just add, it's quite an exercise in “control” for me, with a selection of fabrics in a minimal colour palette. I kept rummaging around in my greens to find extras to add in - old habits - but then I realised I actually didn't have to! 

My soft green large floral works so well, it creates a focus and sets the mood. The other smaller scale prints in smaller pieces all seem to connect somehow. 

Unlike Sara though, I'm not using any hand dyes, but a mix of prints, linen, barkcloth, soft cotton merino & woven checks.

I've had this linen for years!

I'm cutting into the pink parts but might use the little girl in the backing maybe?

Block 10 star in the window ✅

Block 11 chain and bar ✅

I made two extra sawtooth stars & one chain & bar block too - super fun revisiting the block and playing around, changing different elements. And I think having some blocks that are similar in construction helps achieve some cohesion.

And yes, I do like some blocks better than others, but overall, it's looking great ...

The #folksamplersewalong is hosted by sara buscaglia from farm and folk. She is using Barbara Brackman's book for her block choices for this sampler.

Until next time, Linda

boardwalk quilt

Last week there were 16 blocks on the wall ...

... et voila!

It's exciting when you get to the finished quilt top stage, don't you agree? 

Love this eclectic collection of fabrics and colour,

all (except the Kaffe spot) from my scrap/stash baskets 

quilt top measures 62" x 62"

And I'm happy to announce that I now have an amazing collection of quilt tops all waiting to become quilts 

So many things to make, so little time, 

Linda

another Wednesday, another block

I'm stitching along with Sara's #folksamplersewalong. There's something quite relaxing about a sewalong, the blocks arrive at a steady pace 1x week - I don't know how it's all going to look at the end, to sash or not to sash, whether my muted colours will work - but I'm trusting the process. 

I’m making a kind of fusion between my "style" and Sara's @farmandfolk very rustic & earthy feel. I'm trying to keep my colour palette simple, using the soft green vintage floral as my focus, with other gentle colours added in like peach & pinks, muted browns, and maybe plum as an accent. 

I'm also using different weights of fabrics in this sampler, like linen, barkcloth, soft cotton merino, woven checks & regular quilting cottons. The more blocks I've made, the more I'm coming to grips with the different fabrics, combining similar weights if possible. Super happy so far with the added depth & texture to my experimenting! 

Soft colours + scattered prints = joy in every block. 

block 8 Snowballs ✅

block 9 Bears Paw ✅

- almost halfway through the 20-week adventure! 

If you love a sampler quilt and savour the process, this one could be for you too.

Linda