It’s my favorite time of year for a walk in the woods. These harvest skies are alight with wondrous color.

I’ve been watching these leaves from my sewing room window as they’ve transformed from green to a splendid golden yellow. Luckily my quilt is finished in time for an autumnal photo shoot!

This quilt became just what I was hoping - a capsule of my happiness during our first autumn in The Netherlands. I love it so much that I had to convince myself to put it in my Handmades shop. But logic won out. I have been adding quilts to me “keep” stack much too fast lately.

Once again, I’m glad I had to make do, fabric-wise, for the backgrounds. The patchy, mash up style makes me smile and feels like “me”.

Oh, and did you notice the gray moon print border? I smuggled some cloudy skies on the front of the quilt after all, hehe. I chose the rust Add it Up binding to emphasize the warm hues. Love how that color looks with these splendid leaves!

Here’s my orphan quilt block, making itself a home on the quilt back. Well, that was a happy accident!

I took more time than usual piecing this quilt back. It’s made with yardage and scraps on hand, as per usual, but with a little more intention. I didn’t want to overwhelm the orphan quilt block, but I also wanted to use some of these showy prints that are spot-on for fall.

I think I reached a balance with the help of color grouping - my browns are on the bottom; then yellow, gray and peach moving upward and blues to the right. Maybe it’s an autumn dawn?

And the quilting? It’s my first time implementing Autumn Wind, a quilting design that reminds me of the leaf clusters we’ve been finding on our walks. The longarm quilting adds a fanciful element that really dresses things up, don’t you think? I’m pleased with the effect!

Harvest Skies is my first quilt developed from a seed block created in the making of The Quilter’s Field Guide to Color. In 2020, when the book is finally widely available, I plan to celebrate and share by making more quilts in this way. Of course, you’re invited to come along for the ride.

xo,

Rachel