Saturday, January 10, 2015

Comfort Zone? What Comfort Zone?

Last weekend I started foraging to find what I thought was going to be fabrics for a baby quilt. I've long loved the look of this quilt from Blue Elephant Stitches and thought I'd try my hand at making one of my own, but despite having a room full of fabrics, I didn't land on anything that really got me intrigued or excited.












Until I found this little pile. I bought this bundle of Kaffe Fassett fat quarters on eBay a decade ago when I went through a bit of a phase, but was disappointed when the mailman dropped it off (there are a few missing from this photo). Through the years I've been tempted to give it away several times but would change my mind at the last minute thinking that it would be a good excuse to try something new - you know, get me out of my comfort zone. Last Saturday was the day.






The palette is very soft and a little more washed out than the photos show - very much out of my traditional colour range, so I'm not finding much to mix with it from my stash. But I love the large, lush prints so I started to sew. And the white for the stars is a piece from mom - I can tell because she had it pinned to cut blocks from it.








I used 4.5" and 2.5" squares so a block will finish at 12", which suits the scale of the prints.
















And this time, instead of using a strip of painter's tape as a guide for my diagonal seams I'm laying down a thin piece of cardboard and following it from corner to corner. No marking - easy peasy.














So the collection on my design wall door grows (note to self: make a design wall).

A few geometric prints were included in the bundle (you can see one off to the right) but I'm undecided as to whether or not I will use them. They look good in the bundle but I'm thinking that all florals might be a nice look too. There will be enough for 12 blocks, which would make a nice lap/baby quilt. What do you think - would you go all floral?....M

8 comments:

Robin said...

I like what you have done so far. It's very cheerful and upbeat. I admire those who can put these bright and crazy fabrics together. I have some that I bought about 5 yrs. ago and they are in a box under the bed patiently waiting.

Kyle said...

Your blocks do look cheerful and fun. They'll make a great baby quilt. Glad you finally had a chance to use those fabrics. It's good to try new things once in awhile,

Anonymous said...

You know me Marie, I'd say go with all florals, love the look and excited to see this in real life. Keep cookin', it's lookin' good. Linda xo

Chantal said...

Good choice of pattern block to show off this bright fabric. I love what you got done so far. As I am not a "floral" type of girl, I would say add the geometric print. It could add some interesting focal points like that right bottom piece in the blue block. I love it.

Karen H said...

I'm with Chantal! If the geometrics were part of the colour grouping of fabrics I think they will work well with what you've done and they'll add some interest! If you make them and don't like how they look with the others then you can put them on the back!

Liv Aagot's Quilt Blog said...

Thanks for Your Nice comment on my blog, Marie, and thanks for letting med find you blog - you make wonderful Things!! The star quilt is adorable!

Jeanne said...

I think the florals will make a lovely baby quilt! The block showcases the fabrics well.

audrey said...

I wish I had Blue Elephants stash for sure! Love how these fabrics with the star blocks. Wonderful color and texture already.:) So much fun to dig into our stash and find fabric that suddenly has new potential. That's why I'm always so hesitant about throwing out any fabrics. There's been too many times I've suddenly discovered the 'perfect' use for a previously disliked fabric.:)