It's almost here...the 2021 Kinship sew along with Gnome Angel and I thought I'd share a bit of past projects and my plans for this year's quilt! Make sure you scroll down to see the new color combinations!!

I originally did the #100days100blocks in 2017 when we were using Tula Pink's 100 Modern Blocks book. That was lots of fun. I was really excited to see Ange release her own 100 blocks quilt "Kinship Fusion Sampler" for the 2019 sew along and I knew I had to do it! My Thatched basics fabrics were coming out with Moda and it was a great opportunity to play with them. If you are not familiar with Thatched, it can function like a solid or a blender with subtle drawn, nubby lines. It gives the colors a nice rich feel and a little more depth to the look than a plain solid.

My goal was fairly simple- use a limited color palette of white and 3 grays and add in pops of color with pairs of orange, green and teal/turquoise. I really enjoyed making my blocks because the cutting schemes were so logical and efficient and I knew that if I cut a width of fabric strip in a 4.5" size, I'd be using that whole strip in the variety of blocks we were making. 2.5, 4.5, 6.5, 1.5"...it was consistent with a nice amount of play and experimentation. A block a day. I can do that when they are no too hard yet have the right mix of variation. I bought my pattern directly from gnomeangel.com as a download but shops also have a printed pattern. I just saw them at Cozy Creative in San Diego this last week! Links to Ange's shop are at the end of this post. 

I used Ange's Kitchen Sink version of laying out the blocks with 1" finished sashing in between the blocks (1.5" cut width). I decided to "frame" my quilt top by adding a thin strip of scraps of the colors I had used (1" cut width for 1/2" finished size) and surround that with a 3" cut border.

I really like the balance of white and color and clean modern look of this quilt.

Even though I pieced the top in 2019, I didn't get around to quilting it till mid way through 2020. I purchased a used longarm Bernina Q24 and had some pandemic self-training using YouTube videos to figure out what I was doing. That is a whole other blog post...but it was tremendously gratifying to get this quilted and bound! The pantograph is Swirl Out Jr by Mike Fountain, purchased from IntelligentQuilting.com. 

This is sized to be a twin quilt but with the sashing and border, I can put it across the bed and cover my king bed! I started this sew along again last year, doing a scrappy version of blocks, and started making 2 of each block to made a king quilt. Now I'm rethinking that plan since I probably don't need two of all the blocks if I add sashing. I got busy with other projects so might rejoin with some of those scrappy blocks this year as well (or save them for 2022?)

That brings me to THIS YEAR and what my plans are. I like the layout, the idea of a limited palette with some accents, the distribution of accent colors, and the border additions. So I'm calling this Kitchen Sink Renovation (Ange's layout with a little reno). And since some NEW Thatched colors launched at the beginning of this year, I'm keen to try it with some of those.

This is Hygge Happy Dance because I think of that Danish soothing comfort vibe with these soft neutral warm colors and a little coral to red to pink warmth. This is the version I am making this year. I am currently very smitten with the new background color, Washed Linen, Thatched 158. Since I'm making this color combination, I'm gathering the fabrics to get ready for July 1st. The other colors in this quilt will be 62 Fuchsia, 122 Early Dawn, 185 Olive, 177 Green Curry, 156 Toast, 72 Cocoa, 183 Smoked Paprika, 181 Pink Grapefruit and 36 Cream.

This next mockup is called Midnight Jazz and you could make it with a dark blue Thatched, like Midnight (which is in the new Cottage Bleu line) or Dark Wash Indigo. But Pam at Serendipity Woods, and I decided a Nautical Blue Bella Solid was a great background fabric for this. The Thatched colors are 173 Bluebell, 144 Ocean, 125 Seafoam, 124 Greenery, 103 Apricot, 82 Tangerine, Cream 36, Washed Linen 158 and Toast 156.

Changing the background to White (Bella 200) brings a light and sparkly look to this same color combination in Morning Blues.

And my original, which I'm calling "Winter Turns to Spring" is Bella 200 Off White pared with Grays of 117 Shadow, 24 Pebble, 85 Gray, oranges 103 Apricot, 82 Tangerine, and greens of Chartreuse 75, Sprig 14, Peacock 77 and Turquoise 101.

If you are looking for these kitted and ready to go, then check out SerendipityWoods.com for some kits of each of these color ways. I believe Pam will be sewing along with us. I'll also be meeting with Quilt Emporium in Woodland Hills CA to go over the colors and they usually have all the Thatched colors! I'm happy to share any information of shops with Kinship/Thatched kits so let me know.

I hope you are joining in the #100days100blocks sew along with GnomeAngel using her Kinship quilt pattern. See you posting in July!

Visit Gnome Angel's website/blog  for more info on the sew along and answers to questions you might have at  https://www.gnomeangel.com/100days100blocks-event-information/ or purchase a pattern in her shop https://shopau.gnomeangel.com/collections/books-patterns/products/pattern-kinship-100-block-fusion-sampler

My dear Roxy has decided she likes this quilt. It's her colors. She must be touching it and making sure it is hers...at all times. 

Week one of Sampler Spree is ON! Whew! I kept up and got 10 blocks made.

With block 42, I used a bigger mix of fabrics than the block in the book. I still made strip sets to subcut but just not as long. I'm happy with how that block turned out. With the top left light block, I used Mist Thatched and flipped it to the backside to get a lighter blue shade. 

Block 99 in the lower left is another favorite since I like how those white triangles sparkle in the corners. For this block I used a 4 1/2" rectangle that I added stitch and flip corners to, instead of the rectangle with half square triangles attached. I thought I would simplify by taking that seam out since I wasn't changing the background color.

The last two for the week are 86 and 80. I meant to put the butterfly fabric into the little squares in the middle of the block on the right and realized I used dark blue instead after sewing that part together. So guess what, it stayed! Getting to the last block of the week was an accomplishment and I wasn't going to undo that.

It is fun to look at them all together!

Susan Ache is sewing with different color groups each week and I'm doing BLUE each week so hope you don't get tired of seeing my blocks. I have to say, I am really happy to be doing this project in Cottage Bleu since I have not made many mostly blue quilts until I designed this fabric line. I think having a sampler in all blues with a little yellow and green will be really calming and serene.

I think I'll try to tuck in another block here and there, trying out the other colors, and those could make blocks for a nice accent pillow!

In case you were wondering if I am planning on doing color studies on the individual blocks...at this point I have not planned on it and the sewing is at a faster clip than blockheads...so I think I'm going to adopt a summer vacation break from color studies, at least for awhile...we'll see. Also, Sewcialites just ended and I need to still join my blocks and make the quilt top! AND...ANOTHER sewalong is starting in July that I am going to play with. I'll post about that too but it will be an all-Thatched project so very different feeling than this one.

​Happy summer sewing!!

If you've been to the blog before you probably know I enjoy doing sewalongs for quilt samplers. I love the community and seeing the different interpretations of the same block. Plus I find my motivation to "get 'er done" is higher when I have other people to sew along with. So why not add some summer fun with a sewalong?! Yup, I'm happy to jump back into the weekly community with the Facebook group from Moda Blockheads to do Sampler Spree by Susan Ache.

Sampler Spree is published by Martingale and is the book to get if you are sewing along. Susan has done a number of books- as a contributor as well as authoring them fully herself. I was first enchanted by her work in her lovely instagram feed (@yardgrl60) and enjoy seeing the beautiful quilts she creates. For this quilt, Susan is sewing in color groups but I'm keeping my colors a bit more uniform...more on that in a bit. Some of the things I really like about this project: I enjoy the little pops of fun things I see like a pear, some baskets, an evergreen tree and some boats, combined with other blocks that are purely geometric play. And I like making 6" blocks which feel so doable and cute.

Cottage Bleu fabric was a little delayed in arriving to shops. The perfect thing about that is that it is freshly in the quilt shops now and just in time for this sewalong! I'm making my whole quilt from Cottage Bleu, focusing heavily on the blues and using the greens and yellows as smaller accents. I will be following the sashing and layout that is shown in the book, although the squares where the sashing meets will be 4 smaller patchwork squares. And I'll be rotating between blue background colors.

My overall theme of the colors will go from darker blues on the perimeter, medium blues next and white to the middle. Think of light radiating out from the middle block. I mocked it up on the computer to play around with the idea and this was the one I was most satisfied with. It might look a little rough, messy, "off" to you but that is how I sometimes play quickly on the computer, with shapes I draw quickly and not so perfectly aligned and matched. 

I'm pretty excited! I haven't made many all blue or mostly blue quilts (except for my Gypsy Wife quilt with blues and grays and that was also in a sewalong) and I am just so happy to have my fabrics and see those big blue hydrangeas and yellow fluttering butterflies. The Thatched colors in Cottage Bleu that I am using for the borders are Midnight 148 (the darkest), Cornflower 147 and Mist 146 (the lightest). For the middle ring of light/medium blues, I'm planning on using Mist for all and flipping to the lighter back side for the every-other sashing to get that lightest blue shade. 

I know one of the next questions would be "how much yardage is this for each color?" and this is a computer generated mockup and not an actual yardage based file in EQ8. This is done in Adobe Illustrator and is a rough idea.
Moda so kindly put these yardage suggestions from the book page 8 on their blog:Page 8.  All yardage is based on 42" wide fabric. 

• 1 yard total of assorted cream prints for large blocks
• 3 yards total of assorted light scraps for blocks - or approx. 3 yards for a single background.
• 3.875 yards total of assorted medium and dark scraps for blocks - referred to collectively as "dark".
• 1.25 yards of white solid for sashing
• 2.375 yards of peach solid for sashing

​My best estimates based on my sashing plan is to have:
1.5 yards (one and a half) of each of Midnight, Cornflower and Mist for sashings. 
.5 yard (a half yard, in case you can't see the . decimal) of  each Midnight, Cornflower and Mist for making blocks background
.5 (a half yard) of Broken Lines from Cottage Bleu in Midnight 48694-18 if you like that on the outer sashing
1 fat quarter bundle of Cottage Bleu (and this is really a guess...you may want more of a particular print or a little extra of yardage on the hydrangeas)

So its not exact and is an estimate/best guess. The great thing about this sampler quilt is that it will look great being scrappy and having more fabric friends join in!

I couldn't resist. I had to make one and get started. Hydrangea pear anyone? 
Hope you are joining us over on the Facebook Moda Blockheads group, starting next Wednesday, June 16th.
​See ya there!

​Just a note about the giveaway I was doing with the Martingale book...I have drawn a winner and congratulations to Karen Cole! Thanks to everyone for such nice comments!!

In May, virtually we started showing the lines that would have been at a spring Quilt Market. I am happy to share my Carolina Lilies that will be shipping in November. This line started as I was thinking about my mom who loves day lilies and I know she has been waiting so patiently for me to do some with warm happy colors. She always had a mix of yellow, orange and red day lilies in her garden and I particualarly liked the ones with spots. When I saw the Carolina Lilies and their dramatic colors and big speckled petals and curved back cap shapes, I knew they were the ones!

The curve of the petals, and the hanging stamen remind me of twirling dancers with their elegant legs and ballet slippers. I've added graceful ferns, lacy leaves and a painted paisley to accompany the spotted florals. 

The colors for this line are Ruby, Peach, Grass and Aqua, with a few pops of Teal. It is a similar palette to the Painted Meadow Coneflower palette. The teals, greens and aqua especially correlate strongly with Painted Meadow.

The selvage quote is from Dolly Parton and says "Wildflowers don't care where they grow." Dolly Parton has given so much to research and vaccine development for Coronavirus. She is a fabulous example of a beautiful, creative and strong presence with the spirit of giving to others. Thank you Dolly!

With Carolina Lilies, we have five new Thatched colors to complement the collection. I am especially smitten with the deep red of the Ruby color. I'm happy to say that with wideback Thatched fabrics, the Seafoam, Cream, and Pine are wonderful compliments to a Carolina Lily quilt top.

I had a great time playing around with some existing patterns with these new fabrics. I used Emilia and love how the half square triangles and border look in both Thatched Soft Washed Black and the tone on tone cream of little vines and leaves from Carolina Lilies, as well as in the Ruby Thatched border with Toast Thatched triangles. 

I've also redone Blockstep in this new line and use Thatched seafoam, soft black, washed linen, pebble and greenery as some of the accent colors for the light and dark versions.

A new pattern for this group is Mod Flower Box. I'm showing this in both Carolina Lilies and in all Thatched. The Thatched version uses Fat Eights of fabric. The Carolina Lilies version uses yardage for the background with a single charm pack. The pattern has a template for making the quarter circle blocks but I usually use the Creative Grids Circle Savvy Ruler for cutting my curves. This is a wall or lap quilt and if you want to leave the outer border off, it can work on smaller wall surfaces or as a table topper. This unit can also be grouped with four units to make a bed sized quilt. On the Thatched version, I've used the darker Soft Black for the background and pared it with the Chalkboard Scribbles fabric for the bigger background. I like how this emphasizes the corners on the circles. 

Carolina Lilies should be shipping to shops in November. Due to the world events with the pandemic and the shortage of shipping containers, there have been delays in the past year for deliveries. Every effort is made to get things shipped on time but things happen and there are only so many resources and containers. Just know that we are all trying as hard as we can to make it happen. Your patience is appreciated so much!!

Now, back to summer and graduations and designing new lines and working with new arrivals. Happy summer. Stay safe. Stay calm. Enjoy each day.