teal-and-chartreuse diamond mini quilt

Ever since I received the latest batch of Maze and Vale fabric panels for the shop, I've been itching to sew with the new designs. I'm quite smitten with the trio of prints that are printed on a gray organic cotton base cloth, so I picked this gorgeous teal heart print to use for my first project, and paired it with coordinating teal and chartreuse prints from my stash.

When it came time to figure out what I wanted to make, I almost immediately thought of the yellow-and-white diamond quilt that I posted recently, but actually made quite a while ago. I loved how the pattern worked with solids and almost solids, so I decided to have a go at making another, smaller version, this time using only prints.

I auditioned a few different low-volume fabrics for the background, before settling on my favorite black-and-white polka dot.  For the backing, I used a scrap of Marimekko vine fabric (I love the pop of eggplant from that lone bud!).

I used the same method of quilting for this version as I did with the original: white outline quilting in the background, and angled teal quilting lines within each of the diamonds. A pretty diamond pattern emerged on the back as a result.

The teal heart print plays so nicely with the other prints, and I really love the mix of hand-printed and commercially printed fabrics. This quilt is now available in the shop, as are individual panels of the heart print. I would absolutely love to see what you would pair this fabric with in your own projects!

Quilt Stats
Finished dimensions: 16" x 21"
Fabrics used include: LoveHearts in Deep Peacock by Maze and Vale; Firefly Whisper from Hello, Bear by Bonnie Christine; chartreuse prints from Chicopee and Hope Valley by Denyse Schmidt; and teal prints from Botanics and Doe by Carolyn Friedlander.
Block tutorial: Half-Rectangle Triangle by Latifah Saafir for the Modern Quilt Guild

hope valley mini flying geese quilt

While packing up my studio and preparing for our recent move, I came across the leftover squares of Hope Valley fabric that I had cut for this baby quilt a few years ago. Rather than tossing them into the scrap bin, I decided to take advantage of the fact that they were already precut and create a small quilt from them. I cut an equal number of squares of a natural Essex linen-cotton fabric, which complemented Denyse Schmidt's pretty prints, and paired the fabrics to create small 2" half-square triangles.

For the layout,  I settled on three columns of flying geese, pointing both north and south. I love the bit of unexpected movement that the layout creates.

I used a puffier-than-normal batting that gives the mini quilt a nice loft, which was especially apparent after I stitched in the ditch; the geese really appear to pop! I used a whimsical, long-hoarded Japanese cat print for the back, which happened to coordinate with the quilt's color palette.

I did a scrappy, hand-stitched binding to finish everything off. It was fun to make use of leftover fabric and work once more with a fabric collection I've long loved; it's something I hope to do more often! This mini quilt is now available in the shop.

christmas in july

Before mailing off Christmas gifts last December, I snapped a few photos, which I'm finally getting around to posting, if you'd like to see...

For my twin nephews, I made two sets of bibs from this excellent pattern, using a crab print I picked up on a trip to Nashville last fall and prints from Denyse Schmidt's Chicopee line.

I also made some simple quilted placemats, using fabric from Cloud9 Fabrics' Monsterz collection and a kitchen print gifted from a friend.

I used my favorite tutorial and a Leah Duncan print from Grey's Fabric to make some pillowcases for my parents.

And finally, I made a pair of quilt-as-you-go potholders with rounded corners, using green scraps.

Have you started planning any handmade projects for next Christmas? Any favorite tutorials you'd recommend?

P.S. I'm posting more over on Instagram these days. Come follow along!

hope valley baby quilt

After sharing the mermaid quilt with you this past weekend, I figured I'd go ahead and pull another never-before-blogged-about quilt from the archives.

Back when we were living outside of DC a few years ago, I signed up for a ticker tape quilt class at Stitch DC, a local yarn and fabric shop.

I was excited to try out a new-to-me quilting technique, and happy to finally use some of the Hope Valley prints from my stash. I opted to do squares for my layout, and stitched each one to my quilt sandwich. It washed up quite nicely, and the pieces frayed around the edges as they were supposed to.

Perhaps the best part of the class though, was the friendship I formed with Katie, one of only a handful of people I managed to befriend during my short time in Maryland. Katie's blog is beautiful and inspiring, and definitely worth a read.

P.S. Thanks to my friend Kait, the lovely model/quilt holder in the pictures above, for her assistance when I took these photos OVER A YEAR AGO!