catching liberty {#dreamcatcherquilt}

Do you ever get an idea so stuck in your head that you can't stop thinking about it, until the time finally comes to get started, and then it feels like a *...meh*—until the very end, when it all somehow comes together even better than you'd imagined it could to begin with?

No? ...Just me?

Welp, I'm there.  With the roygbiv liberty #dreamcatcherquilt.  And if it weren't just a bunch of floating feathers right now I would totally be tempted to stop while I'm ahead.

But, seeing as a dreamcatcher without a hoop would be as effective as a fishing net without the, well, net, that's not exactly a winning option.  So instead, I'm scrutinizing my initial selection for the hoop :: this whimsical Alice in Wonderland-inspired Liberty lawn...

On the one hand, yes, it's a bit busy.  (If you've been here before, you've likely picked up on my tendency to stick to monochromatic everything.)  But when it comes to wild dreams that need some catching... I mean, come on.  So I have to say, multi-coloration aside, I'm inclined to go with my gut on this one.  Not to mention one big upside of bias tape appliqué :: getting to see a little preview before having to commit :o)

Dare I ask for thoughts?

;o)

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BQF: painted leaf quilt no. 1 {roygbiv}

As some of you may recall, last December my Canadian #igminiswap partner (and an ethereal painted leaf in @freepeople's IG feed) inspired this lofty leaf design...

which I am now humbly entering in this year's Blogger's Quilt Festival :: ROYGBIV category.

There's something rather dreamy about this leaf, if you ask me.  ;o)  Of course it doesn't hurt that it's pieced entirely of liberty of london tana lawn "scraps" (a favorite substrate in this house) paired with some of my favorite (let's be honest—they're basically all my favorite) low volume fabrics.

But it also holds a special place in my heart because it was the first thing I got to sew (Succulent Path aside) after a summer filled with morning sickness and a fall full of work (because how else would I replenish my liberty stash? ;P)

In fact, I'm so smitten, lately I've been thinking a bed-sized version is in order for our bohemian-rustic-chic master (the photo above was taken on our macrame curtains, and the one below on our brick bedroom floor).

And now that my mind is made up, the only question is... just how big should that big leaf be?  As some of you may recall, this one turned out to be 20" square, and the final pattern (the #auctionforeleni version, pictured below) finishes at 17".

While I'm mulling that over, I hope you'll take a look at all the other beautiful entries, and thank you so much for stopping by!

P.S.  This mini design is available on my new "patterns, etc." page if anyone's interested!  And I've included alternate "centers" (in place of the tiny sundial) in case teeny tiny curved piecing isn't exactly your thing ;o)

Sarah

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inside addition {a top!}

Remember all those inside addition blocks up on my design wall?

Yep!  They've officially become the latest top in the quilting queue ;o)

Now, ordinarily I'm not one to trim (...totally guilty), but for some reason I couldn't help myself this time.

And I have to say, it was worth the extra effort.  In fact, it kind of made me wonder why I don't always slow down and enjoy the process.

Naturally one look at my wish list quickly cleared that up ;o)  But at least this one can be crossed off the list.

...And now, on to the next!

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inside addition {oakshott + low volume}

***PSA:  One day left to enter the Succulents fabric giveaway to win a fat quarter bundle of Heather Givans' new line for Windham Fabrics!***

The Painted Leaf mini no. 2 might've made its way to its new home, but the low volume/oakshott #insideadditionquiltalong blocks are here to stay.

This project snuck onto my to do list a few months back when Jessica (@alittlegressica)—aka my Sew Down Nashville neighbor—posted the block instructions on IG:  

As luck would have it, I happened to have a double rainbow's worth of 4" oakshott strips on hand.  So I got to work cutting them into squares, and then rummaged through my low volume stash and repeated the exercise.

Within no time, I had stitched countless HSTs and started playing with a gradient of cooler tones...

Which were shortly joined by the rest of the rainbow.

To make this.

And if you look closely, you'll notice I snuck some mini charm squares (trimmed to 2") into the mix (Carolyn Friedlander's "favorites" and Tula Pink's "Moonshine"). 

Why?  Probably because Jessica did something similar during our class with Carolyn Friedlander last spring, and I've been wanting to borrow the idea ever since. ;o)

With any luck these blocks will soon be our eldest's newest nap time quilt for preschool.  Or for mommy.  Because we need naps too, right? ;o)

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painted leaf quilt no. 2 {#auctionforeleni}

***Psssst... If you haven't already, there's still time to enter the Succulents fabric giveaway (one of more than a dozen chances to win a fat quarter bundle of Heather Givans' new line for Windham Fabrics!)***

A few weeks ago, I—along with the rest of the online quilting community—learned of Rachel of Stitched in Color's devastating news:  her daughter, Eleni, had been born with complications.  A turn of events sure to break any parent's heart.  Because when everything is said and done, little matters more than the health and happiness of our children.  

As if on cue, the instagram community rallied together with #flowersforeleni, followed shortly thereafter by #auctionforeleni.  Wanting to do something for the Hausers, I turned to a recent colorway inspired by a painted fish (yes, more paint!) we picked up in my dad's hometown and a surprisingly complementary pack of Karen Lewis Textile *tiny* scraps:

After making a few tweaks to the original painted leaf design, I got to work with my new color palette, adding a handful of liberty lawns to fill in the gaps.

For the background, I once again turned to the quieter side of my stash.  I then straight-line quilted it just in time for last weekend's auction.

Truth be told, I don't know that I'll ever tire of the scrappy, low volume look.  But maybe that's because I'm currently surrounded by it...

(Those are my oakshott and low volume "inside addition" blocks, which are patiently waiting in line to be pieced into a top.  More on that later.)  

Overall the auction raised over $12,600 for the Hausers.  $12,618.08, to be exact.  How amazing is that?  (And of course a massive personal shout out to Rachel for contributing $150 for this mini!)  And in other news, who knew that quilted minis could stick to a design wall?  Not me!  But maybe that's because I've only had said design wall going on two weeks now.  ;o)  Wonder what else I'll learn?

For all you tiny piecing dare devils out there, the Painted Leaf pattern is now available on craftsy (here) and etsy (here).

painted leaf {igminiswap}

For some reason, I've had an itch to paint these days...

This time, it was painting leaves!  Or one leaf, to be exact.  ...For now.  (Our toddler has now requested a pink leaf.)  Either way, this one was inspired by a recent free people post on IG (no surprise there, right?)

It's splashed with a rainbow of liberty lawn scraps, along with some bright white sundial-esque accents radiating around the stem.

The background is a blend of creamy low volumes to complement the classic liberty hues.  And it's finished off with a slew of straight lines.

Well, mostly straight anyway.  ;o)  The mini measures just under 20" square and will soon be making its way to my #igminiswap partner.  Just as soon as I figure out the best international shipping route... eep!  Here's to hoping my partner can forgive the delay? :)

love liberty? and aurifil? read on!

When I first started collecting liberty last summer to make my double diamond wedding ring quilt, I scoured etsy and ebay for little charm packs to get a small sampling of what evolved into a collection of hundreds of prints.  And then while in Europe for my cousin's wedding last fall, I picked up some celebratory prints from the London mecca itself.

It turns out regularly ordering yardage or crossing the Atlantic every time I need a little more liberty in my life isn't in the cards for me.  But I certainly am open to the idea of picking up a fat quarter bundle every now and again.  And guess what?  Remember how I told you about Massdrop last month and the classic bundle they had on offer?  You know the one...

Well there's another one up for grabs(!)  And guess what? Yours truly picked out the prints (...nervous silence.)  Yay...? Nay...? (Eep!)  But really, tell me what you think or what you'd rather see next time :)  Pretty please?

And as you might've guess from the rather prominent "Print Set B," they're re-offering the classic bundle as well ;o)

So if you missed out last time or are looking to bolster your collection with some new prints, then head on over to the group buy page and join now or commit!  Only need a few more to unlock the lowest price :)  And while you're over there, you might notice that they're rerunning the Aurifil drop, too.

And just kicked off one for OLFA cutters and blades.  So go on!  You know you want to...  And of course spread the word, because the more is truly merrier when it comes to Massdrop ;o)

BQF: liberty and justice and whatnot {roygbiv}

As I'm at a real risk of oversharing this one (...again), I'll try to keep this post brief. 

My first entry into the Spring 2014 Blogger's Quilt Festival? "Liberty (of London) and Justice for All."

For reasons that are likely already apparent to my followers, I'm entering this quilt in the ROYGBIV category. 

And for those of you who are new around these parts, I've assembled a compilation of sorts with you in mind :) 

You can find out more about my process in these (teaser) posts:
*something old...
*something new.
*something borrowed... (which, incidentally, didn't make the cut for the DWR challenge quilt)
*something hued.

...And then there's the post-finish hooplah:
*liberty (of london) and justice for all (if you click through only one of these links, make it THIS one)
*oh dear, what to do with these diamond wedding ring remnants? (asked and answered:  the king version is back in play and in the works!)
*...no way.
*...in modern patchwork(!)

And that's not even counting my experimentation in tiny piecing last summer...  (See why I'm reluctant to get into too much detail here?!)
*diamond dresden
*tiny-ness take tw:  round vs. square? (spoiler alert:  "round" wins)

And that (I think/hope!) just about does it.  Thanks for stopping by, and please take a look around the other categories in the show!
 

{mini}{small}{large}{applique}{art}{hand quilted}{home machine quilted}{modern}{original design}{ROYGBIV}{scrappy}

While you're off doing that, I'll be trying to decide which one to enter next :o)  Scrappy?  Original design?  Mini?  Help!

jumping on the #economyblockalong bandwagon

Minus the gorgeous-but-not-so-much-my-style uber-scrappiness.
Plus my coveted collection of grays.

But my friends, insofar as I have a plan—a spectrum of gray squares encasing colorful fussy cuts, all arranged in roygbiv—consider me on board!

Looks like the rest of the week will be full of cutting.  Much of it fussy :o)

Linking up this wip with the talented, newly-minted author Lee!

P.S. Congrats to Amanda (A) of Everyday Fray, who won my first year blogiversary giveaway!  In addition to cutting into my extensive assortment of grayscale prints for these greconomy blocks, I'll also be digging into some liberty tana lawns, oakshott cottons, and who knows what else as I put together a nice little surprise parcel over the coming week :)

P.P.S.  Thank you so much to everyone else who took the time to comment on the giveaway post!  I so enjoyed reading your responses and learning more about each and everyone of you.  Turns out we all have quite a bit in common, which might explain why this (geographically) vast community feels wonderfully home-y all the same :)