Monday, January 23, 2023

Mockup Monday - Shiny Blossoms

Introducing Mockup Mondays!

Recoloring designs in EQ8 can be a bit of a time sink, but what a fun time sink it is!  Since I've already spent the time, and I know I'll succumb and do it again, and again, I thought I might as well share some of the versions I've come up with.

Some of the images are actual quilts, some are digital images.  I plan to share alternate colour mockups on the 2nd and 4th Mondays of each month.  Enjoy!


SHINY BLOSSOMS



Check out this post for a peek at how Shinny Blossoms is put together (spoiler:  stitch-and-flip corners and strip-piecing for speed and ease) and this post for closeups of some test blocks.


Fabric details

Top left:  Actual quilt made with fabrics from Connecting Threads' Frost and Flourish collection.  Kits available at Connecting Threads.

Top right: Digital images using Northcott's Dragonfly Dreams collection.

Lower right: Digital image using Connecting Thread's Nuances de Noir collection.

Lower left: Actual quilt using assorted fabrics: 

  • Grey and white shiny solids in the points and checkerboards are Kona Sheen (Silver Filigree and Glacier Grey, respectively) from Robert Kaufman Fabrics.
  • Grey swirls in the large petals is Winter Village: Gray River by Amanda Murphy for Benartex 
  • Background is Shadow Play from Maywood Studio.  I think the color is Fuschia (MAS513-MJS)
  • The pink/fuschia print framiong the blooms is Marrakesh Fusion: Seeds of Marrakesh by Katarina Roccella (FUS-M-2008) from Art Gallery Fabrics

Sunday, January 22, 2023

Hovering - The Blue and Frost version

 A few weeks ago, as I was looking through photos, I came across pictures of this quilt taken last fall.  The pictures were OK, but the rusts and golds of the fall landscape didn't really match the quilt.  Snow would have been a much better backdrop.  While we got plenty of snow at Christmas, it never occurred to me to take the quilt out.  By the time I saw the fall pictures and wished for snowy pictures, the snow had melted.

Mother Nature gave me a second chance.  The day after I looked at the fall photos, I woke up to this.


Freezing fog overnight turned the trees into sparkly wonders. This is even better than snow for a blue and silver quilt!


It would be even better with a bit more snow to mask the leafy ground, but still, I'm quite pleased with the frosty backdrop.



The background fabric is Chalk and charcoal by Jennifer Sampou from Robert Kaufman Fabrics.  The grey accent is a Shadow Play from Maywood Studio.  The blue and silver prints are fabrics from several years ago.  I think they were from Timeless Treasures.


As I mentioned is yesterday's post where I shared another version of the quilt, the blocks and offset accent were strip pieced to avoid cutting and sewing hundreds of squares.  Except for the pause to sulk after sewing on a row on upside down this quilt was a quick project.  It only took a weekend to cut and piece (I'm not counting the sulking time).

That's all the pictures for today.  For the rest of the day, I'm planning a bit of quilting on my 2020 Temperature Quilt.  I'm rather embarrassed at how long it is taking me to finish that one.  I finished piecing it in early January 2021, prepped the backing last September, crowed on Facebook about finally basting the quilt in October yet still have no quilted it.  Toady, there will be progress!  Unless I get distracted by a squirrel.  I'll report back!

Happy quilting,

Joanne

The Hovering pattern is available as a PDF downloads in my Etsy shop or you can ask for a print copy at your favourite quilt shop.



Saturday, January 21, 2023

Hovering in the Wild - part 1

Last November I found the perfect spot to photograph this quilt, and I've been itching to share, but I was asked to hold off sharing photos until the fabric started shipping to stores.  Collaborating with fabric companies is requiring me to develop a little bit of patience.  It's tough, but it's worth it for the opportunity to get first crack at some new Island Batik fabrics.  

Pattern: Hovering by Canuck Quilter Designs
Fabric: Naturescape by Jerry Khiev for Island Batik

I had a flat shot on a wall for the pattern cover, but the quilt really needed some glamour shots.  On a weekend walk at a local park, this spot whispered to me.  I came back the next weekend with the quilt and did a little happy dance.

Pattern: Hovering by Canuck Quilter Designs
Fabric: Naturescapes by Jerry Khiev for Island Batik

The colours of the bark, the lake, the grey sky, and the rusty leaves just go with these fabrics.  The collection is called Naturescape, so I guess that shouldn't surprise me.


I love the little bits of rusty brown in some of the prints.  I wouldn't have thought of pairing those with the light blues and greens, but they really work.  I guess nature has the palette all figured out.

This pattern is an offshoot from the Scrap Garden quilt I made in 2020 that was published in Make Modern magazine in March 2021.  I'd made that one with scraps, with smaller squares and blocks.  Hovering is designed to be 2 1/2" strip-friendly.


The 16-patches and block shadows are strip-pieced, so you don't need to cut and sew a bazillion squares.  You can use a strip pack for maximum scrappiness, but the pattern is written to cut strips from just 8 prints.  I sometimes find I don't like a few of the fabrics in a strip pack, so cutting my strips from yardage instead lets me curate the fabrics to suit me more.


I'll be sharing a second version of this quilt soon.  You saw a sneak peek a year ago when I was testing out the pattern and goofed.  I have finally fixed the goof, finished the quilt, and even found a perfect day to take pictures.  I took pictures of it at the same time as the version in this post, but those browns and rusts didn't do anything for the blues and silvers in the second quilt.  Come back tomorrow for the blue version.

Happy quilting,

Joanne

Buy your PDF copy of the Hovering pattern in my Etsy shop or ask for a print copy at your favourite quilt shop.  

The Naturescape collection from Island Batik is shipping to stores now.