Bitty + Squash
There's nothing quite like a new project. Choosing colors and fabrics and patchwork designs can be so perfectly delightful when inspiration flows.
I started this small project with the intention of going bright. I'm making a set of placemats for some friends who like fabrics by Allison Glass. I don't have many of her fabrics at home, but I certainly admire her bold use of color and clean design. After settling on a basic placemat layout and some patchwork designs, I felt my way towards bright or saturated colors like jade, emerald, lemon, aqua, sapphire and gold.
At first I pulled fabrics from my stash, which is organized by color, to create a specific working palette. But as I started cutting and sewing patchwork, I soon found myself rifling through my scrap drawers for already-small bits and pieces. Soon I had a table full of this and that... as well as an assembly of playful bitty blocks.
It's dangerous leaving this much fabric out as kitty Susan just lives for the chance steal fabric and redecorate the house with random fabric offerings. This time the full table seemed to work in my favor though, because she kept moving my scraps and leaving my carefully-arranged bitty blocks just so. Gotcha, Susan!
I'm using two different patchwork concepts for the placemats, so they'll coordinate but differ. My second concept is less playful, more planned. First I chose fabrics with plenty of value contrast, so the patchwork would really pop. Then this morning I made a test block.
You see, I'm resizing the 12” squash blossom block, which I met originally on Jodi's blog, to a 6” finished size. It's quite a big change! I've changed some pieces to flying geese or rectangles in order to eliminate seams. Avoiding extra seams can really improve the final look of a block when you go small.
And, check it out! Success! Now when this blossom multiplies I'll be ready to set my patchworks into placemats and see how the concept works out in real life. Endings... not nearly as fresh as beginnings, but they do have their pleasures. Wish me luck!
I started this small project with the intention of going bright. I'm making a set of placemats for some friends who like fabrics by Allison Glass. I don't have many of her fabrics at home, but I certainly admire her bold use of color and clean design. After settling on a basic placemat layout and some patchwork designs, I felt my way towards bright or saturated colors like jade, emerald, lemon, aqua, sapphire and gold.
At first I pulled fabrics from my stash, which is organized by color, to create a specific working palette. But as I started cutting and sewing patchwork, I soon found myself rifling through my scrap drawers for already-small bits and pieces. Soon I had a table full of this and that... as well as an assembly of playful bitty blocks.
It's dangerous leaving this much fabric out as kitty Susan just lives for the chance steal fabric and redecorate the house with random fabric offerings. This time the full table seemed to work in my favor though, because she kept moving my scraps and leaving my carefully-arranged bitty blocks just so. Gotcha, Susan!
I'm using two different patchwork concepts for the placemats, so they'll coordinate but differ. My second concept is less playful, more planned. First I chose fabrics with plenty of value contrast, so the patchwork would really pop. Then this morning I made a test block.
You see, I'm resizing the 12” squash blossom block, which I met originally on Jodi's blog, to a 6” finished size. It's quite a big change! I've changed some pieces to flying geese or rectangles in order to eliminate seams. Avoiding extra seams can really improve the final look of a block when you go small.
And, check it out! Success! Now when this blossom multiplies I'll be ready to set my patchworks into placemats and see how the concept works out in real life. Endings... not nearly as fresh as beginnings, but they do have their pleasures. Wish me luck!