Rosewater + Gingham Quilt


rosewaterginghamquilt1

My Rosewater + Gingham quilt is finished and in use around our house.  I quilted it very simply with straight lines in the ditch around all the seams.  It’s  a quilting style I haven’t used much, simple, but also needing great attention to detail to maintain straight lines.  To be honest, I’m not sure yet how much I like it, and yet I don’t dislike it either.

rosewaterginghamquilt3

I chose a second gingham for the backing and it makes my heart sing.  It’s a lovely bright blue diagonal plaid print from Jane Sassaman, and I added a strip of my favorite Jennifer Paganelli floral.  I’ll be so sad when I run out of scraps of that print!

rosewaterginghamquilt4

I used my scraps from the quilt top to make a scrappy binding that continues the theme of the quilt.  This was such a fun project, made entirely from stash by combining fabrics I already had in a way I never planned to do.  This was a fun but simple creative exercise for me.

rosewaterginghamquilt2

It makes me wonder what other awesome fabric combinations are hiding in my sewing room because I simply haven’t taken the time to discover them yet.  I hope to devote more time to this sort of sewing in the future.

Jennifer Relevant Post:

Rosewater + Gingham quilt top

Rosewater + Gingham {a finished quilt top}


rosewaterginghamfabric

Introducing Rosewater, a collection by Verna Mosquera for Free Spirit Fabrics, released (I believe) in 2014.  I’ve had a jelly roll of this collection sitting for at least a year, and it was time to use it.

It’s been more than a month since I attended Kathy Doughty’s workshops here in Utah, but so many things that she said are still swirling around in my head!  She has motivated me to work more within my own stash to find fabric combinations that are a little less predictable, that make each other really shine, and use what I have.  I’d been poking around on Pinterest for jelly roll quilt ideas and came across this jelly roll quilt top which I used as inspiration for mine.  But I didn’t want to just pull out a solid.

Enter black and white gingham.

I got started.

quiltcenter

The gingham was cut in 1.5″ strips and I just added alternating borders of prints and gingham.  I ended up cutting a few strips from my stash to add to the project because I wasn’t sure if the jelly roll I was using had enough strips in it to reach my goal of 60″ square.  In the end, it worked out and I had plenty, but it’s nice to have a few other prints mixed in.

Especially that gorgeous green floral by Jennifer Paganelli.  I wish I had a bolt of that fabric.

rosewatergingham1

This turned out to be a really fun and simple project.  Somewhere in the middle I felt a little bored with doing the same thing around and around, but then all of a sudden I was nearly finished and it worked out perfectly.

rosewatergingham4

I’m SO glad I used the gingham!  I feel like it adds depth and interest, and keeps the quilt top from being too “sweet.”  The Rosewater collection is so feminine and delicate; the gingham grounds it.  And makes me want to get a closer look.

This particular gingham is the Medium Cotton Gingham in black by Riley Blake Designs.  It’s a printed, and not a woven, gingham, and was therefore really easy to work with in this project.

I purchased mine here
more than a year ago, and it looks like they still have some in stock.

rosewatergingham2

This quilt top feels like a victory to me.  One less jelly roll sitting on my shelf with no specific plans, a quilt top completely from stash, something actually finished around here!  The backing is already pieced (another gingham, I’m so excited!), along with the binding, and I’m trying to decide if I want to quilt it really simply and let the fabrics speak for themselves, or do something else.

rosewatergingham3

I love the sight of a quilt top hanging from my cherry tree, gently blowing in the soft breeze.  Summer!  My heart is happy.

Jennifer

Spools Mini Quilt


spoolmini4

I participated in the Secret Sister Swap at Quilt Bliss, and was happy to have Lori assigned to me.  When I read her list of preferences, the first thing I noticed was that she loves blue fabric.  A girl after my own heart!  After some back and forth and stressing about what to make, I settled on the Spools Mini quilt from the Liberty Love book.

bluefabric

I pulled some favorite blue fabrics and settled on a scrappy low volume background.

spoolmini1

The block was fun to make and came together quickly and precisely.  I think this one was my favorite:

spoolmini2

The final product:

spoolmini3

I would quilt it differently if I made it again.  I chose straight line quilting in a diagonal grid, but wish I’d done some free motion quilting on each spool.  I was nervous, however, because I’m out of practice and even when I’ve been practicing my fmq leaves much to be desired.  So I went with something I knew I could do, but I’m not sure it was the best choice for this mini.  Still, I do like it and I was out of time so it had to work!

A couple of things I re-learned in making this mini:
1.  When I sew for myself, it’s generally relaxing.  When I make a gift, I generally enjoy it.  When it’s a swap, I’m a total stress case.
2.  I really, really love low-volume fabrics, backgrounds, everything.  The trend hasn’t bothered me a bit and I’m not at all tired of it.  I love the visual interest it gives a quilt.  Low-volume makes me happy.

And there you have the story of this mini quilt.

I hope Lori enjoys it!

1 2 3 4 5 6