pop star

Hi! Today's post is all about bright and happy color!! Think Lisa Frank, jelly shoes, and mixed tapes. If you don't have a memory of those, then just google life back in the olden days. haha. 

But truly, when I started on these star blocks in November, I wanted something bright and happy that reminded me of sweeter times. So I pulled all my Ruby Star Society prints that fit the bill and started making. 

I knew I wanted to do sawtooth, but wanted to make some sawtooth stars with a fun center piece. At first, my plan was to turn these into pouches. But I was having so much fun making them, that before long, I had 18 stars! So I asked instagram if they should be pouches or a quilt and the insta peeps said quilt, so a quilt they became!

At first, I decided to border each star block with bright fabrics on all sides.

I did that for half of them, but when I put them on my design wall, I felt the color became the focus, and the stars were getting lost in all the vibrant color. So I got my seam ripper and grumbled my way through seam ripping block by block. Boy, did I grumble.

I decided to leave a color print border on 2 sides, and have the other 2 sides be low volume, and alternated  the colors were top and bottom on one, and the next block, they would be left and right.

When I put them back on the design wall, I felt better about it, and started sewing them together.

This is one of those quilts where I think the binding is the best exclamation point. This quilt actually reminded me to put more thought into binding, because, boy, does a good one have an impact.

This quilt features some of my favorites!! Bananas, ice cream cones, milk cartons, typewriters, the beautiful red print flecked with gold, and my ALL TIME FAVORITE LOW VOLUME-- the Birthday fabric multi-colored dots. I WISH I HAD BOUGHT A BOLT. I am down to less than a 1/4 yard, and I will cry when it is gone. If the good ladies of Ruby Star Society ever come across this--- please please please reprint this amazing fabric. 

While the quilt is mostly Ruby Star Society, there are others thrown in. Lile those Heather Ross surfer girls!!

I really loved making this quilt and kinda wish I made 100 star blocks so I could create several quilts. The colors and fabrics just make me smile. 

a heart quilt

My first valentinesy quilt!!! I drew out my design and started cutting and it came together pretty quickly.

If I was going to do this one again, I would do smaller squares. In fact, I have done the math, and want to make this again in 2.5 inch squares. And maybe add an angled border?? I am not sure, but I would make this one again for sure!! 

I love a quilt that has a great background, and one that the fabrics and color play shine. I added it to my shop, but it has since been purchased. 

I got influenced, but the good kind of influenced.

When I started my quilting journey, instagram was a BIG part of it. I was seeing what other people were making, scrolling through beautiful fabrics, striking up connections with other quilters, and it was all beautiful. Suffice it to say, Instagram was a big part of my development as a quilter. The connection and inspiration were beautiful.

But a few years, the little app that I loved started to shift. Instagram became more algorithim focused, ad-driven, and a lot of the things I loved about it seemed to dry up. I took a big break, came back, and still really miss what it used to be. So I set out to engage with quilters, follow new people, try and find that connection that I loved. 

This past fall, it seemed like every time I got on instagram I was seeing these beautiful makes using Heather Ross fabric. Specifically, @cambridgestitches was blowing me away with her patchwork makes. It pushed me to open up my storage bin of Heather Ross fabrics, and start cutting.

Let me tell you, when you are a hoarder of Heather Ross, that first cut is HARD. What's that song, the first cut is the deepest. Well, she probably wasn't talking about fabric, but she may as well have been.

I decided the best way to feature her adorable prints was a 9-patch color based block. And voila -- a quilt entirely made of Heather Ross fabric, from the fussy cuts to the background, to the backing to the binding. Check out the sweet little quilt below --- and see what else it inspired me to do below!!!

Once I finished the quilt, I kept going, and made a bunch of mug rugs and pouches, some of which are still available in my shop.

Is there a fabric or designer that you hoard?? Heather Ross, Ruby Star Society, Liberty of London, and Sarah Jane are a few that I have cherished!!

Trees. Or as my kids said "another Christmas tree quilt"

A couple years ago, I made an improv tree quilt, and I really, really loved it. My kids kept calling it my Christmas tree quilt, even though it was just a tree quilt. 

This type of design is one I could make over and over again. No rules, just a general shape, set against a varied background to add depth. MY FAVORITE. 

So I grabbed my greens and my low volumes and started cutting. 

I construct this in rows. For example, if I decide the first row is going to be 12 inches tall, that is my only parameter. So I cut a wonky triangle in green, with two background pieces on the left and the right, and build from there. My tree can be big or tall, thin or wide, it doesn't matter. This is also a great way to use scraps, because you are basically building each tree block out from the tree until you get it where you want it. 

I used both whites and off-whites for the background, along with the occasional linen taupe fabric to add a little dimension, and the result is a quilt that I really loved. I can guarantee you, I will make this one again. Almost as quickly as I added it to my etsy shop, it was gone. I love that these little trees are living in someone's cozy home. 

xoxo.

Shannon

still here

 How many times has that been the title of a blog post?

If you are still here -- HI FRIENDS!!  I am, indeed, still here. Working, mom-ing, staying busy, and sneaking time to quilt whenever I can. 

Since I last posted, I went from two jobs that kept me crazy busy, along with all kinds of kid's sports, hobbies, and big life things. Fast forward, and I still am busy with the kids and their sports, but I am down to one job, and I think when I removed the stress from working so much, it allowed space for my brain to settle and find inspiration for creativity again. 

I have made quite a few quilts in that time, so I am hoping to share them here, over time, so they can have a permanent place to live on my blog. (Many times, when I want to make a quilt, but unsure of where to begin, I will flip through photos of previously made quilts and figure out how to do it differently, or in a different color palette.)

Starting with this quilt below. I would consider this one a very beginner-friendly quilt, where each row is cut to a different size, and I sew pieces together in rows until I get my desired size. 

Also -- here is an observation I have made, having made quilts to keep, give, and sell on Etsy for over a decade. A quilt does not have to be a complex or challenging design to be treasured. Some of the quilts that are met with the most positive feedback are simple patchwork, big patchwork, strip patchwork, improv patchwork. My take away from this is - if you are struggling to come up with a design or feel a quilt is too easy, trust me when I say that simple quilts are very much loved.

Crinkly, delicious fabric goodness.

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