by bedtime, we had a completed quilt top - her very first. she's so happy with it and i'm so happy with her. the way the colors are laid out isn't exactly how i would have placed them if i were choosing for myself, but it is a faithful reproduction of the quilt in the illustration. we love it. it feels like something you'd find in an old farmhouse that your great-grandma made from scraps. we call it "the pleasantest thing" which comes from a line on the same page as the quilt illustration in the book.
Thursday, March 18, 2021
the pleasantest thing
by bedtime, we had a completed quilt top - her very first. she's so happy with it and i'm so happy with her. the way the colors are laid out isn't exactly how i would have placed them if i were choosing for myself, but it is a faithful reproduction of the quilt in the illustration. we love it. it feels like something you'd find in an old farmhouse that your great-grandma made from scraps. we call it "the pleasantest thing" which comes from a line on the same page as the quilt illustration in the book.
Wednesday, March 3, 2021
WIP wednesday 2021.9


Saturday, January 30, 2021
penny patch 3 block variation: process, musings, & a loose tutorial
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vintage tangerine and my penny patch |
in the fall of 2014, rachel hauser of stitched in color ran a quiltalong for her penny patch quilt pattern. it's a great pattern for a quilter of any skill level, from beginner to seasoned, because while it's a good pattern to learn on, it also allows for enough color and pattern play to interest advanced quilters, too.
also, when using the simplified, two block pattern, a strong secondary pattern emerges from the continuous flow of the penny patches on the diagonal. my personal preference was a more mixed, scattered layout that used 3 block types, with variations in the pattern.
making that first penny patch was a journey of learning and discovery for me, an organic process that changed and grew as i went along. before i was done with the top, i already had a fabric pull planned for a second version of the pattern, my penny patch 2.0, and a third one planned from all the leftover pieces that didn't make it into my first quilt, which i call leftover pennies. because i enjoy this pattern so much, i might also have a plan to make one for each season of the year. maybe. as i've been working on 2.0, i thought there might be others out there interested in the 3 block variation of the pattern. so i'm offering a loose tutorial of how to make a 3 block penny patch.
layout and dimensions
- single square block - a simple 6.5" cut square (finishes at 6")
- 4 square block - composed of 4 - 3.5" cut squares, two of each color (6.5" assembled, 6" finished)
- penny patch block - composed of 2 - 3.5" cut squares and 2 penny patch squares (made of 4 - 2" cut squares)
the quilt pattern is simple. it consists of two types of rows which alternate with each other throughout the quilt:
- row A - single sq blocks and 4 sq blocks, alternating. begins with a single sq block
- row B - single sq blocks and penny patch blocks, alternating. begins with a penny patch block
- 60" x 72" quilt
- 120 blocks, each 6.5" cut/assembled (6" finished)
- 10 blocks per row, 12 rows
making fabric selections
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the original scrappy inspiration for the penny patch, vintage tangerine, and 2.0 |
before laying out fabric requirements for this quilt, let's talk about fabric selections. you can totally go very colorful with this quilt (like the multi-colored inspiration penny patch on the bed above, left), or you can pare down your palette and follow rachel's guidelines she gave for getting the look of vintage tangerine, given here. i was so engrossed with studying rachel's vintage tangerine to see what made it tick that i actually printed a picture of it, then noted which fabrics she used, how often, and where. that seems a little extreme and maybe a waste of time, but actually this exercise really helped me decode some of the magic. here are thoughts i have about selecting fabrics for this quilt:
- color theory to get the bright, vintage look of vintage tangerine, rachel recommended using about half low-volume/neutral fabrics and having a 3 color palette - two contrasting colors, one to be the main color (color A) and one to compliment (color B), and a tiny bit of a pop color (color C) for interest and more contrast. refer to her discussion of color selection for an excellent working base on the color theory behind this quilt.
- color proportions i used approximately 10-12 different low-volume/neutral fabrics, 8 or 9 of my main fabric color A, 11 or 12 of my complimentary fabric color B, and 1 to 3 of my pop color C. you can certainly do with less fabric variety but to get the most color play and a great scrappy mix, go for more fabrics! (to be exact, in penny patch i used 31 different fabrics and in 2.0 i used 41 prints.)
- print quantity certain prints were used several times, 9 - 12. many were used moderately about 5 - 6 times. a few prints were used only 2 or 3 times. prints that i wanted to use a lot, i deliberately cut many of. the rest got used based on where i felt i needed some of that color, or a variation from the other prints in that color in a certain area. having so many prints in one quilt gives it lots and lots of variety and interest. yet the limited color palette and mood theme splendidly keeps it all in harmony.
- focal print rachel used the "flea market fancy" orange bouquet print heavily in vintage tangerine, sort of as a focal print. i did the same thing with joel dewberry's "bungalow" dainty daisy print for my 2.0 quilt. the print i chose actually had all of my colors for the quilt in it and i think it helps tie everything together nicely. i featured it once in each row of the quilt and also used it on the back. because it is a larger-scaled print, i only used it for single sq blocks.
- mood theme each of my penny patch quilts has a mood theme to it that helped guide my fabric style choices. penny patch no.1 has a vintage 60's/70's feel to it; fabrics that might have been around just before or at the time of my birth in the early 70's. i chose mostly circle geometrics and florals, like the woodcut prints, that had the feel of that era to me. "first day of school" is what 2.0 says to me. it is composed of school-ish text prints, rich, pretty florals like i might have chosen for a first day of school dress, plaids, and more circle geometrics. i also chose 3 white, closed-eyelet fabrics for my low-volumes in 2.0. my 3rd penny patch, which i'm already calling leftover pennies because it's going to be made of the leftovers/culled pieces from penny patch, has a soft spring-like mood. this one will actually use five colors, not three. however, they blend well and so closely that it doesn't feel like that many colors.
cuts for leftover pennies |
- text prints in both quilts i used a couple of text prints because i loved the look of them mixed with the other prints in vintage tangerine.
- size matters i found it created more contrast and interest if i didn't use each fabric for each of the 3 sizes of blocks. i might use a certain fabric for single square blocks and penny patches, but not 4 patch blocks. some fabrics i used for only one size block. this kept the quilt looking more scrappy and gave it a "use what you have" look since it didn't appear i was working with an abundance of each fabric. it also helped me spread the fabrics around the quilt more and made it easier to not have the same fabric in two sizes touching itself (which i don't prefer). in the beginning i decided which fabrics i wanted to feature more or picked the largest prints and used those for my single square blocks. any really tiny (small scale) prints were mostly delegated to the penny patch blocks, except the very low-volume prints because they created white space in the top when used as single sq blocks.
lots of a light base showing in the color picks will brighten the quilt |
- shades the shade of low-volumes you choose affects the feel of the quilt. in penny patch no.1, most of the low-volumes have a cream colored base and this gives the quilt a warmer, more antique feel. in 2.0 i tried to find low-volumes with a white base to give a cleaner, brighter look to the quilt. rachel used a lot of grey prints in vintage tangerine, which contributed to a cool feel and also contrasted with the warm colors. you can certainly mix the different color bases up but just keep in mind the effect having more of one or the other will produce in the look of your quilt.
- brighten it if you want a brighter look to your quilt, like vintage tangerine, then go for a lot of low-volume prints. looking at rachel's fabric picks, even some of her color choices are rather low-volume: they have a strong white base and just some of the color rather than being color saturated. this gives the colors a lot of room to shine out against all the low-volume squares which actually makes them stand out more than if there were more color-dense fabrics. just look at my penny patch no. 1 and you'll see what more color-dense fabrics look like instead.
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panny patch no.1, fall 2013 - more warm and color dense thanks to cream-based low-volumes and richly-hued, color-saturated prints |
fabric requirements
cuttings for penny patch 2.0 |
- 4 Fat Quarters in color A
- 4 Fat Quarters in color B
- 1 Fat Quarter in POP color C
- 1 Fat Quarter in mid-value neutral (gray or brown)
- 10 Fat Quarters low volume
- 1/2 yd binding fabric
- 4 yds backing fabric
cutting
the basic building blocks - 6.5" single sq, penny patch, 3.5" sq |
once you have decided what fabrics you will use for which kind of blocks, you can begin cutting to achieve these numbers:
- 60 - 6.5" single sq blocks
- 180 - 3.5" squares, in 90 matching pairs (60 pairs for 30 - 4 patch blocks; 30 pairs for use in 30 penny patch blocks)
- 120 - 2" penny patch squares, in 60 matching pairs sets (paired with 3.5" squares to create 60 penny patch blocks). these will actually be made by cutting strips for strip piecing. for each penny patch block, 2 - 8"x2" strips are needed to create the pair of penny patches (that mini 4 sq block of 2" sqs). therefore, 60 - 8"x2" strips are needed (rachel's instructions for assembly here.)
assembly
- i alternated the directionality of the penny squares within the penny patch blocks
- i alternated the value placement of colors within the penny patch blocks
Friday, November 13, 2020
my flocks
This quilt is all quilted up now. I used the HST squares as a grid for doing an orange peel FMQ pattern. I like how it adds curves to contrast with the angles. I've even got a binding made for this project, but as I have 5 other quilts that need binding completed, I'm thinking these geese won't be in use til after Winter, and that's just fine. The sun will come back out in Spring when it should.
Rachel has a pattern for her no-waste method and all the info for constructing a flying geese quilt in three different styles. She's a master teacher, so if you'd like to give geese a try, go learn from Rachel. I already had the project underway and was using the ruler, so I'm using the quilt along mainly for motivation to complete these projects.
the warm-toned quilt has been dubbed Grellow Garden Geese because of the heavy use of "grellow" (greeny-yellows and yellowy-greens) colors in the quilt. I'm using this floral as the inspiration print to guide the additional fabric selections. There are many golden "grellows" in the palette, as well as very light yellows and some spice browns. It's definitely a departure from my usual palette choices: very Fall feeling and with an almost ugly vintage 70's vibe. I imagine you could dig it up out of a chest in someone's attic.
I'm currently in the process of adding in the browns from the inspo floral print. I can't say I love any of these on their own, but I'm hoping it all plays nicely when it's done.
Thursday, November 12, 2020
fall paint lake
A few months ago I wanted a bit more of the yellow Sleeping Beauty Heather Ross print, which I found on Etsy. While I was ordering, I got a few more half yards to build my stash and help justify the shipping cost.
When the package arrived, I was super busy and set it aside, not opening it for a few weeks (As a fabriholic, that’s pretty busy!) When I did open it up, I’d completely forgotten what I’d ordered and was so surprised to find this beautifully coordinated Fall bundle, accidentally curated by me! I took out the green floral print and light blue Rapunzel, but I thought the rest went together really well. I set it aside until I could decide what to make with it.
Up to this point, I have not been a seasonal quilter in the sense of making quilts with the colors or theme of the current season. But I find I am leaning that way more all the time. When it’s Summer, I want to use summer colors. By the time we’ve moved into Fall, I don’t want to work on those summery quilts anymore - I want something reminiscent of Autumn. Many of my quilts don’t fall into a seasonal category, and I’ll work on them whenever. But lately I have definitely been feeling the pull of the season in my quilting.
Wednesday, September 16, 2020
summer fields in a quilt
i'd also like to share the pattern formula at some point.
Friday, July 3, 2020
twin-ish finishes
The last two Stella Grande quilts for my children have been officially completed. Why it took soooo long to finish them up is a mystery to me I love handbinding! It should be easy for me to fit it in even my busy life. Regardless of all that, Étoile de Patisserie and Neapolitan Sundae in Pewter, the two dessert theme named quilts, ces fini.
Baby Girl D5 has her gentle, soothing color palette quilt to snuggle. The sweet, pretty colors in this one make me smile softly whenever I see it.