One Way to Color Scheme

I wanted to show a real life example of how I use Design Seeds when planning out a quilt.  I wanted to make a half-square triangle quilt similar to this one from Debbie of A Quilter's Table.

To pick a color scheme, I searched design seeds until I found a color scheme that I fell in love with:

I couldn't find the direct link to this one on their website, so I took a screen shot from my Pinterest board!

I sat down at my computer and obsessed over figured out which solid fabrics looked closest to the image above.  I ordered the fabric online, and they all turned out pretty close.   In hindsight, that was pretty risky.  Fabrics can look very different in person from their colors on a computer screen.  In the future, I would go into a quilt shop and try to match colors.  Also, many fabric manufacturers sell a color card that has a small swatch of all their solid fabrics.  I purchased one from an instagram destash that is so very handy to have!

This is how the quilt turned out:

 I pieced the back using one leftover block and fabric from my stash.  I made a quilt sleeve using these instructions so I could hang it up on a wall.

I quilted it with a walking foot with two straight lines on either side of the straight seams.

Here is is hanging up on the wall in a hallway of my house:

Oh yes, my house has lots of wood paneling :)  Doesn't the quilt brighten up the hallway?  And doesn't the color scheme of the quilt reflect the bright and colorful inspiration image?  I used solid fabrics, but this would also work with prints.  I'll demonstrate that in a future post.

Happy sewing!

PS: The quilt was pieced by me and my friends in the South Florida Mod quilting bee! I miss you ladies!

Pattern Drafting

I'm getting excited about starting up another round of quilting classes.  I have taught three rounds of classes now (two of which are still wrapping up) and I absolutely love it.  I think I'm going to try teaching a new pattern. I would like something very simple, modern, and something that would work with a variety of fabrics.  What's more simple than basic squares?  

To jazz it up I think I'll show multiple ways to lay them out.  

Feedback from previous class participants said they had a tough time choosing fabrics.  So this time I will also provide more tips on choosing a color scheme.   For these sample layouts, I used my favorite color-scheme website Design Seeds.   

original image from here

The website showcases color schemes pulled from inspirational photographs.  My favorite ones are photos of the natural world (beaches, sunsets, flowers) or from cultural experiences (think Indian saris of every color, and bright doors and window shutters from some remote Mediterranean island).  Some of my favorite quilts originated from this site!  (It's a huge time waster... don't say I didn't warn you!)

All that to say, new quilting classes are starting up in February 2016 here in Berea, Kentucky! I can't wait!!!