muted

I am going through a muted phase. Not the non-speaking variety, unfortunately for my children......I am talking color palettes.

I had been drooling over this gorgeous Kelly Ventura lawn print in Cottoneer Fabric's shop for a bit. That picture isn't the best at showing the color-- this picture is better  I think it is the top right fabric, because the gray is actually like an icy blue-gray mix. I bought it, along with a bundle and some other fabrics, and as soon as I saw it, I fell in love.
this picture is better
I started building around that main fabric, and eventually had a color palette. (which definitely evolved to include another color, with one of the fabrics below being omitted.)

And in keeping with my idea to Quilt the Book, I flipped through the book to determine a pattern. I knew I was going for a soft, modern look, one the did not look overly planned. So the Tagged Quilt was the clear choice for me.

And so I began constructing a basically improvisational patchwork quilt, using bigger blocks, and keeping a soft palette.

I knew  before I began quilting it that I loved it.  But the quilting just amped up the love.

Sometimes that happens for me, where I am not sure if I love it until I quilt it. And sometimes even after I quilt it, I'm still unsure. Fortunately, the latter is pretty rare. Because I know pretty early on during the piecing process whether or not I am liking a quilt. And the ones I am not are usually cast aside. There have been a few I continued on with. And of those, most I am happy I did. -- I will be honest and say that I have made a couple that even after it is finished and washed and all crinkly and cuddly, it still feels blah. I can think of 3 right off the top of my head, but I don't think I should share which ones because one was a gift, one went in my shop, and one is still sitting here, and I don't want to attach my meehhhhh feelings to these quilts. haha.

sorry.....I got sidetracked.

This quilt was not meeehhhhhhh AT ALL. I loved it. Here she is!

This quilt is available in my shop here  :)

Watercolor Boardwalk

I ordered the most delicious bundle of fabric from Cottoneer Fabrics. The bundle , titled Gelato, was built around a Nani Iro fabric that is pure fiber magic. The colors, the double gauze, the soft design as if someone painted delicately atop the fabric.  MAGIC.

As soon as my order arrived (which was full of fabric goodness), I quickly searched for a minimal pattern that would do the fabrics justice. I have a list of various patterns I want to use, and pulled up this one I starred a while ago from Cloud 9 Fabrics, called Village Life. You can find the pattern HERE.

I decided to size it down a bit, so if you are interested in my block size, let me know. It ended up finishing at 40 x 51 inches. I quilted it with straight lines to stick with the simplicity of the quilt.

And here is where I will break the rules of quilt humility and say I really love this quilt. It is soft and dreamy and filled with negative space to evoke that easy, yet modern feel that I crave.

I almost went with a striped binding in lavender and I am sooooo glad I changed my mind after cutting two binding strips. Not sure what it is about the silver Kona that I love here but I feel like it perfectly frames it.

I mean, look at that house lavender house (which is made with Lucy Engels handprinted fabric I have hoarded for a year) with the most perfect Nani Iro roof. I would move into that house in a heartbeat.

Remember when I said I bought 13 yards of the lavender fabric, so be prepared to see it popping up in quilt backs. Well. I was speaking truth.

My kind of village. 

What is it about a quilt swirl that makes me sigh a big ol breath of content? 

This quilt might be my most favorite in quite a while. When my husband FaceTimed us from the desert today, I was so happy with it, I made him hang on so I could go get it and show it to him. I never do that. He's not as into quilts as I am. haha. But he still put on a smile because he could see how happy I was with it. 

The quilt is listed in my shop HERE!

quilt the book. again, and this time I mean it!

Updated to add this: After writing through this post and flipping through some of my beloved quilt books I was wanting to flip back and forth between books, so I am altering my goal. Instead I will be quilting the bookS. I am going to try and tackle a few quilts from each of the books I mention below and I am aiming for 2 quilts from these books a month. So my new challenge will be #quiltthebooks18 


------------

Two years ago, after flipping through one of my favorite quilting books, Quilt Love, I decided to create a project goal for myself, Quilt The Book. You can read about my earlier experience here. 

I may have mentioned this before, but when it comes to long term quilting projects, I pretty much always fizzle out. I guess I just don't have the stamina....I'm more of a burst quilter. As evidenced by this blog. Nothing for 6 months and then back to back to back quilts in a weeks time. Past quilting projects I gave committed to but gave up not even halfway in- quilt the book 2016, #100days100blocks, the sewcial bee sampler, the 100 day project......wow, this is depressing. I will stop there.

So, knowing what I am and am not great at, I am taking on this challenge again, but with a loose frame so I don't feel boxed in.

The book I chose is Wise Craft Quilts by Blair Stocker. It is AMAZING!! Even if you don't take on the premise of taking fabrics you already have and turning them into quilts, it is packed FULL of amazing patterns that are so inspiring. I have not been this obsessed with a quilting book in a couple years.

Here is my plan. I am going to shoot for making 1/3 to 1/2 the quilts in the book, and while I am tagging this self-guided challenge #shannonquiltsthebook18, I am not necessarily needing to finish by the end of 2018. There are 21 quilts in this book, so I'd like to make at least 7-12 quilts, and I am shooting for one a month. I am not going to limit myself to only making patterns from this book. Which is necessary because I need the freedom to make other things.

So would you like to join me? You don't have to make from this book, it'd just be fun to be in community with others who are putting their own spin on a well-loved book. I am also using the hashtag #quiltthebook18. I would love for you to quilt with me!

Are you wondering about ideas for books? I am OBSESSED with quilt books. I am not sure what specifically it is about them, maybe just the different ideas and translations of this art form I love. So here are a handful of my other favorite quilt books if you are needing a good quilt book!

Liberty Love. (I LOVE this book!! It's top 3 for me!!) The Marcelle Medallion and Sugar Stars are each amazing in different ways!!

Quilt Love. Also amazing, and the source of my earlier neglected quilt the book challenge. I have made 3 favorite quilts from this book -  Morning Coffee Quilt Circle, Leaving The Nest, and New Baby Quilt. You guys-- this book is incredible.

Last Minute Patchwork + Quilted Gifts. Love this one, too! That color wheel quilt!!Just Sweet Enough!! Stacked Coins! And I have made Summer Breeze and it is perfection.

The Improv Handbook for Modern Quilters. This is another book chock full of beautiful motivation to step outside your comfort zone. On my list of quilt scores to make- Floating Squares, Strings, and Modern Block Improv. Seriously, typing all these out makes me want to use this book for my next challenge. 

And last but not least Quilting From Every Angle. These quilts speak to my modern, minimal, negative space loving heart. My list of quilts to make includes Wayward (I LOVE this pattern!!), Colorblock, and that Desert Blooms Medallion is GORGEOUS!

There are dozens more books I love but I thought I would stick to my top 5 and not overwhelm you! I tried to link a variety of sources for these books- I get nothing from it, just wanted to share, but you can google each title and find what works for you :) 

Join me in quilting the book!!!! 

in the works. and maybe I DO like purple.

That first half of that title is misleading. Because if I was going to honestly share my 'in the works' pile, I would have about two dozen different things to discuss. It appears that once I put something in the bin, it only has a 10ish% chance of every climbing out of there. So basically, I am going to need an enormous design wall so I keep everything out of the bin.

I have spoken before about inspiration and how for me it usually either begins with one of two things- a color palette, or a pattern. More often than not, I choose a color palette first and then pick a design. This color palette came to me in a different way. I try to not look on pinterest for patterns, but I love looking at interior design pictures for cues on color palettes and lines. This particular photo is not a color palette I'd typically gravitate towards, but I could not stop thinking about it.

Photo source here

I think it was the combination of the warm lavender and deep golds and rich orangey browns set against the stark coolness of the gray that did it for me. I could not stop thinking about it. I knew I probably wouldn't incorporate this palette into my home fully (because I don't like purple and am so confused!!!) , but I can make a quilt in these colors for a subtle pop of the palette. So I emailed the girls at Fabric Bubb and they were so sweet and worked with me to design a bundle mixed with florals, solids, and modern geometric prints. My favorite threesome!!!

And here it is in progress.

I decided to go with an improv wedge strip design. It allows freedom and movement in the quilt, and is fun for me to put together. 

It is growing! I am so eager to get this done, because I can't wait to wrap myself up in it!!

----

Switching gears a bit here, but sticking with the title. I made another quilt with lavender being the focal color, and while completely different from the top above, it is making me rethink my dislike of the color purple. Or at least, lavender. I feel like lavender truly goes with everything and brings out the warmth in just about every color!!!

Again, modern simple design to let the floral fabric shine!

I quilted it in my favorite method. Easy curvy lines. 

I recently bought 13 yards of that floral print from Whimsy Quilts closing sale so be prepared to see a lot of quilts backed with it :)

Curved corners for a little extra delight.

What about you? Do you have a color you don't like? Do you have a shade of it that appeals to you?

I linked up with Sew Can She!!

carrying on with the quilting

Two posts in one day? Say what?? This is a result of two things- needing to clear my phone of photos (so I am posting them here so I do not lose them) and wanting to share about something I want to do after I share the latest quilts and I want my new goal/project to begin on July 1.

So. Like I said earlier, I've been quilting away the sorrow of missing my husband, and as it turns out, I can sure fill some time with fabric stitching. I have been trying to focus on making things that truly make me happy, and that is generally a combination of beautiful fabric and fairly straight forward design. Let's just say no one has ever described my quilting style as overly complicated :)

After I made the custom quilt I mentioned here, I wanted to make another but infusing pink into the blue.

My third time making this design, and I still love it. 

Pretty sure I will be making it again soon, because it just makes me smile.

Simple quilting to echo the frames, with one whimsical line you can see in the next photo.

While making this quilt, it was especially stormy, and while I love a good summer storm, the grayness was playing with my mood. So one night I decided to cut into a couple charm packs of Heather Bailey fabric I'd been keeping for a long time, thinking sewing with sunshiney fabric would be the equivalent of being in sunshine. I was right about that, but wrong about thinking the charm packs were in tact. Halfway through the patchwork rows, I realized I was missing many squares and the quilt would be very small. So I set it aside.

I came back to it a couple weeks ago and decided to make it work, I folded my rectangle of squares together in half and in half again and then sliced it at an angle. I added a thick sashing in Kona Snow to all 4 sides and then stitched the piece I cut off back on. And what I had was a patchwork diamond, framed in snow, with more patchwork in each corner. Still slightly small, I added another border of Snow. None of this would happen if I planned and created like MOST people, but since I make on the fly, I am constantly in 'okay, so what can be plan B' mode. Which is a pain in my backside, but.....I actually like how this quilt turned out. So....... Plus, I am old set in my ways, so I should just embrace it, right?

Heather Bailey fabric sure is good for the soul.

I wasn't sure what to make of all the negative space, so I added some big stitch hand quilting in pink Valdani Pearl Cotton, size 12, that I grabbed from Sunny Day Supply.

I went with a scrappy binding because I could not decide. This quilt is so sunny and delightful. It's in my shop here. 

And finally a simple patchwork quilt in pinks and grays. In my opinion, simple patchwork never goes out of style. 

all or nothing as far as quilting goes

I have always been like this, but it still catches me off guard how I can go without making for quite some time, and then I make almost manically. It's like my mind decides I need a pause, and when it hits play again, boy does it. When my husband is gone and I miss him tremendously, quilting helps. It busies me, settles my mind some, and lets me feel productive and creative and that helps ease the burden of missing him.

So here is what I have been making as of late. It all started with the first custom quilt.

This sweet customer purchased a quilt I made last year for his granddaughter (you can see that quilt here) and asked me if I could make on just like it for his new grandson.

I mimicked the design, just had the focal square be on the left instead of the right.

There is nothing more humbling to me than someone coming back to me, asking me to make another quilt. 

I loved how the blues played off each other in this quilt. And stripey bindings forever!!

This next quilt.....I LOVE everything Alexia Abegg designs and her Sienna line is no exception. I could not wait to make something with it!!! 

Big, chunky strips of beautiful fabric. The focus gets to be on the color play and the fabrics and this is a design I will make again. 

I love simple design. 

I really enjoyed quilting this one. This one is available in my shop! 

Still feeling blue, I started on this one.

My take on a classic design. Big ol patchwork and scrappy low volume fabric in the background. 

I decided to not quilt the star, something I don't usually do, and instead framed it. The result was a drapey, sort of puffed star.

I have had Nicole's Stack Quilt pattern for a bit, and I guess I was waiting for the color scheme to hit me. In this case, I based the color palette on the Leah Duncan backing I wanted to use, and voila!

The Stack Quilt pattern is simple and quick and speaks to my simple, plenty of negative space loving heart!! This is the second pattern of Nicole's I have made - you can see the Peak Quilt I made here - and I love how simple they are. This coming from a girl who rarely makes from a pattern, or at least, sticks to a pattern. 

Look at that gorgeous backing!! 

Quilting this was super fun!! It is also listed in my shop!! 

I have a few more quilts I have recently finished, along with some in progress, and my GLORIOUS #pinkquiltbee2018 blocks that have been arriving!! So much to share.