Working Title for This Quilt: Happy Scraps

Barbie Pink became a trend right when I needed it. Hot pink is always a dopamine hit for me. I will seek out the colour on a down day, fixate on things in this delicious hue until I feel myself smile.

This particular quilt started as a mess on the flower. More than a decade ago my son was playing at my feet as I wrote. He pulled down the coloured scrap bins and had a grand time throwing fabric around. He was happy and I was sewing so it was a win win situation. When it was all over I had a mess of pink, orange, yellow, and a grey scraps all over the floor. Clean up got a lot more fun when I simply started sewing. That’s right, I grabbed two pieces from the floor, sewed them together, and repeat until all the pieces were picked up. A much more enjoyable way of cleaning up! A little while later I had a small quilt top.

Then it sat. And sat.

Last year, as I finally felt healthy after a years long depression, I embraced all the pink in the world. This quilt, then, came to mind. The top I made more than a decade ago was a small, awkward size. I generally don’t worry too much about size, but I wanted this joyous one to be big enough to snuggle with myself. Luckily, I never have a shortage of scraps. I simply sewed pieces together, making slabs to ‘border’ the original top. I assembled them log cabin style around the original in the hopes that it would blend more.

It gave me such joy to finish piecing her, to play with this colourful fabric. There are some treasures in here, some long time and recent favourites playing together. I will never not smile looking at this quilt top.

Tula - Using a Single Fabric to Make a Quilt

Tula

78” x 78”

Years back I worked with Lucky Spool, the quilt book publisher, on some challenges. Called Mighty Lucky, a group of designers came together for some fun challenges for participants. This particular year my challenge was to play with a single fabric. (The year was 2016!)

I finished this quilt top in 2018 and then it sat. It sat for no great reason, just hung out in the quilt top pile until motivation hit. Motivation came in the form of wanting to complete a long overdue wedding present and this top seemed right for the couple.

In the end, I quilted it with a unique response to each round of the quilt top. Using a deep rose pink from Aurifil to match the tiny pink strip in the Tula Pink fabric. Honestly, you don’t really see the quilting much. It doesn’t add much to the overall design, but it does help define each round a little. And, of course, it makes the quilt cozy!

While making the quilt I returned to the store on 4 separate occasions to buy more fabric. I would have been better off buying a bolt! Somehow, I had the foresight to buy an extra meter for binding. Considering how long ago I made the quilt that is some serious foresight! I’d always had it in my mind to make a bias binding for this. As I was stitching it down, however, I realized that a plain stripe would have complemented the last round of the quilt a bit better. The bias doesn’t look bad, not at all, just that the plain stripe might have been a better choice. Oh well!

If I had bought the bolt I might have had enough fabric to use it on the back too. Alas, I had to make do with another Tula Pink fabric, this time in pink. It’s quite a nice contrast to the stripe, but still coordinates in colour. Geez, have I ever been this matchy matchy?

Turns out you can still access the 2016 Mighty Lucky Challenges as a PDF. Check it out!

Quilters' Playcation Adventure Sewalong 2024 - Getting Started

It’s back!!!

The 2024 Quilters’ Playcation Adventure Sewalong starts next Tuesday, January 9. Weekly, for 49 weeks, I will lead you through a free, live improv quilt block tutorial. Like 2023, this year’s instalment of the Adventure Sewalong has a theme. Rainbows will be our inspiration, our guide, our joy on this playful adventure. Seriously, who doesn’t love a rainbow?!

DETAILS

Tuesday

10 AM Mountain

Starts January 9

Live on Instagram @cheryl_arkison

Saved to You Tube each week

COLOUR SCHEME NOTES

With a rainbow theme the colour scheme seems kind of obvious. That doesn’t mean you have to go with the obvious though. Not all rainbows have to be deeply saturated. Those are gorgeous rainbows, for sure, but you have a lot of other options.

• Pastel or low volume in rainbow order

• Neutrals

• A colour combo you love, not even in rainbow order

• A favourite fabric bundle that deserves to be used

• Monochromatic in value gradiation

• Analogous colours like red, pink, and orange, for example

• Use your scraps as they come to you

You will need a background colour as well. It doesn’t necessarily have to be white or black, either. Think about this background as a good complement or highlight to your rainbow.

Solids or prints will both work, you always have that choice. I would simply recommend that you use one or the other, not both. The exception being that your background can work as the opposite, as strong frame for your rainbows.

FABRIC REQUIREMENTS

The total fabric needed will depend, in large part, on your block size. The bigger the block you make, the more fabric you will use. We will take advantage of any scraps as much as possible, so know that you will be maximizing your fabrics.

Start with 1-2 meters/yards of each of your rainbow fabrics. Mix and match, as needed. Same for the background.

If you buy fabric for this sew along, as I did for one of my versions, take note of any fabric colours or names. Save them somewhere you won’t lose them. Then, if necessary, it will be easier to repurchase fabrics.

SIZING

One of the reasons I went with 49 weeks this year is that 49 blocks gives us a nice 7 x 7 quilt block layout if you make square blocks. You don’t need to make all the blocks, but if you do, then this is what you will end up with.

How big you make your blocks is up to you. As you will hear me say many times, you will want to make at least a handful of blocks before you decide on a final size. But if you want to aim for a certain size finished quilt (at some point) then here are some sizing suggestions for you:

6.5” blocks = 42” square quilt

8.5” blocks = 56” square quilt

9.5” blocks = 63” square quilt

10.5” blocks = 70” square quilt

12.5’ blocks = 84” square quilt

Simply use this as a guide. It’s pretty easy to do the math, or even ignore the math, no matter what size you blocks end up being!

Like I always say, come to play without the expectation that your make HAS TO BE SOMETHING. So come, have fun, make a block or not. You are under no obligation to turn what you make into anything.

This is what I am going to play with for version 1 of my own rainbow. I’m already working on a different saturated rainbow quilt so I decided to go pastel. After a survey of my stash I realized that I didn’t have what I wanted on hand so I went shopping. I had a stack of solids in my hands, I did, then I got distracted. First I went to a tone on tone mix. Then my fear of the fabric running out got strong so I changed gears slightly. I picked out all the Grunge options in the store and made myself a pleasing pastel rainbow. Yes, I took my own advice and took note of the colour names just in case I run out. My background is this fun, creamy terrazzo print. I debated a denim, but decided to lean in to the fresh and soft look of the pastels instead.

The second version I am going to make all comes from my stash. My one and only fabric collection - Tag - came out back in 2017. I keep using the fabrics, but when you get a bolt of each, you have to work to use it all! So I decided to make a monochromatic gradiation with the fabrics. The bold, large scale print on top will be the background.

These are going to give me two very different rainbow themed quilts. I am very excited to see where I end up! That’s improv for you: starting without knowing where you are going to end up. So let’s have fun on this year’s Quilters’ Playcation Adventure Sewalong!

Scandi Village Quilt Top!

This quilt is a total escape. It was in the making of it and now when I look at it. Dreams of snowy villages in Sweden, mountain forests in Norway, and fairytales of Scandinavia. One day I will plan a trip and this quilt will come with me for an extension of the magic.

Over the last year and a bit I’ve spent moments playing with these blocks. Like most of my quilts, they started with an idea and a willingness to experiment. With early successI was motivated to both keep going and offer this as a Party through the Quilters’ Playcation. Loads of other have made their own Scandi Villages, all with an individual twist. Each block is improvised - free hand cut and sewn - and unique. Because each block ends up a different size putting it together becomes a puzzle. Thankfully, it is an easy puzzle to do. Seriously, there is no math, nothing fancy, and 99% of the time nothing but straight seams.

It is surprisingly hard to get a good picture of this quilt top. The scale of the houses means there are a lot of blocks. So it is see the overall quilt top or details. The largest house is about 4” and the smallest is less than 2”. None of the trees are bigger than 3”. I LOVE working small! That being said, I have a handful of blocks blown up big that may be its own quilt or become the back of this one.

To take pictures my son came with me to my favourite spot of urban forest to throw rocks on the ice, climb trees, and snap a few pics. We try to get outside everyday, even in the winter. But when we come home, we can still have the forest with us!

These little houses are so easy and so addictive to make. Yes, I started another version. This next one will have a dark background, so it looks like a village/forest at night. When we were having the last party someone suggested we add Northern Lights and now you know I am going to be hunting down my best greens to do that!

But first! I need to figure out how I am going to quilt this one…