fresh patchwork with Our Fair Home
I adore the name of Anna Maria Horner’s latest fabric collection - Our Fair Home. What a sweet and idyllic sounding group of words. The fabrics aren’t bad either, I think you’ll agree (wink). That pretty purple peony print on top is a widleback fabric.
I knew immediately that I would want to work with Our Fair Home as a group. In fact, I rarely sew collection quilts, but every now and then something really special comes along, and I indulge. Freespirit Fabrics sent me these fabrics, which are hitting stores soon. I am definitely going to enjoy them.
First I pressed all the yardage as one big batch. Then it lay lounging in my sewing room, winking at my suggestively.
In between sewing Positivities quilt, I will be sewing a Crossroads quilt, pattern by Treehouse Textiles, with Our Fair Home. Crossroads is the sort of easy-peasy patchwork that also shows off busy prints well.
The block includes tiny 1 1/2” cut strips. I decided to pull out random AMH string scraps that might go along. This quilt is going to be wild and scrappy-looking, even though it’s from a fabric collection, because Our Fair Home is quite a colorful, busy group of beauties. Thus, adding some scrappy strings should work out well and certainly feels economical. Yay!
Here are my first blocks. Meh, the lighting is terrible here and I haven’t yet sewn the pieces together, but you get the idea. It’s going to be wild! I am using solid red scraps for the center squares, as well as Ruby solid by Art Gallery Fabrics. Red is such a sassy anchor. I love it!
I love my Crossweave quilt design with its playful X’s and pointy diamonds. And then to sew it in fabrics by my very favorite designer, Anna Maria Parry; well, that was the cherry on top!
Okay, can you give me some feedback? Given that I want to use the Brimming print, is there one or two other prints that you would suggest removing? In other words, does something stand out in a bad way or do you have any other tips for me regarding my fabric mix?
Exciting News!!! Since your response to Positivities has been so positive, I am going to run a 2nd Chance club that begins in April! It will be a faster-paced club that spreads out the quilt over 6 months instead of 12. Same content - different start date and more compact pace. Maybe you will join us?
Hello and Happy New Year! I am away for a few days, welcoming the new year in a small Belgian city. Of course, I brought along a quilt (or two) to photograph, and today I am excited to share the first with you. Crossroads was a relaxing sew and at the same time a visually stimulating project. My favorite feature to the finished quilt are the smattering of white crosses.
Floris says that my latest quilt top has a retro vibe, but I think of it as pure Anna Maria Horner. It’s about abundance - all the colors, all the patterns, all the energy and life. What could be better on a drizzly December day?
First I pressed all the yardage as one big batch. Then it lay lounging in my sewing room, winking at my suggestively. In between sewing Positivities quilt, I will be sewing a Crossroads quilt, pattern by Treehouse Textiles, with Our Fair Home. Crossroads is the sort of easy-peasy patchwork that also shows off busy prints well.
I surprised myself by choosing this decadent print for the edge pieces, instead of opting for a somber solid. The Labyrinth print in berry hues is delightfully over-the-top in a very lush, Anna Maria Horner sort of way. I like it very much!
I am in love! Come see the first block I made using my Tangential star pattern, from Angled course: I mean, wow! I think that it came out so well! The colors are absolutely divine. I love Anna Maria Horner’s saturated, dramatic tones with the Kona Avocado background.
Dreaming up a quilt color palette, choosing fabrics, even scattering fabric ideas on the design wall - all those stages of quilt planning are so easy and open and free for me. With a sampler quilt like Pas de Deux, actually choosing which block to sew first, on the other hand, can be a bit intimidating.
How I’ve loved cutting and sewing with the large scale hexagon shape. It really showcases splashy printed fabrics to their best advantage and allowed me to thoroughly enjoy this collection of colorful florals that I’ve collected over the years.
I absolutely adored cutting these exquisite floral fabrics, but along the way I couldn’t really visualize how it would look put together. A leafy green is nature’s accompaniment for flowers, but how would it serve as the background color in my quilt?
It’s happened to you too, I’m sure. You’re happily sewing, your mind relaxed, contented and open. Suddenly it strikes you that the scraps of your current work-in-progress are positively perfect fodder for a new idea, and you feel instinctively that it must be.
There’s everything magical about flowers. They are sunshine to the mind, food for the soul and inspiration to the eyes. What serendipity that I happen to be sewing with all the flowers, at this very moment.
June has finally brought warm weather to The Netherlands. After an unusually long and cool spring, we’re feeling the sun on our legs and looking for some water to splash around in. Time to welcome summer with a new sundress!
This weekend I got really excited about my Seafarers quilt. I love it so much, I think I’m going to have to offer it as a stand-along pattern! Let’s catch up on that progress.
Look what I just finished! It’s a charming quartet of Compass blocks for my Seafarers quilt. These new, 16” blocks will be placed at all four corners of Seafarers. I love the large scale! Not so many pieces and makes a great impact.
I’m an AMH fan, and this Hindsight collection definitely a good one. It’s fun to see some of our favorites from Anna Maria mixed up and recolored in playful ways. I’ve decided to use the fabrics for my Seafarers quilt. Fingers crossed!
At last, a finished quilt! How I’ve missed it. I love the satisfaction of zigzaging the binding on and then spreading the quilt out on the floor to take in the finished effect for the first time. A deep breath in and a deep exhale. A photoshoot. A cozy quilt.
You know how the world shines and sparkles, after the rain? When the sunshine bounces off wet branches, dark sidewalks and washed-clean walls? I like to think this quilt top is akin to that fresh moment. Such a sharp contrast.
I want my quilt revival to have the save effect as the original. In the first version I see lots of dark values: black, navy, charcoal gray. There are also a few bright colors: raspberry, turquoise and jade. Each row of spunky blocks contrasts light and dark fabrics.
Why do we make quilts? Is it the journey or the destination? This journey was rich, color-focused, slow and meandering. I used my full cadre of Anna Maria Horner fabrics, sparing none, enjoying all.
Oh my, look what happened! I thought I’d take my time assembling my Gyspy Wife quilt top, but I couldn’t resist the fun of puzzling it together. I guess I am a fan of partial seams. They keep things interesting!
I can hardly keep up with all the loveliness that comes through my quilting studio. Unfortunately I don’t get a chance to photograph all the pretty quilts that I work with, but here are some I did catch. Enjoy!
One of my favorite fabric designers is Anna Maria Horner, and I’ve been collecting favorites from her collections since 2010. As I’ve worked with my AMH stash for the Gypsy Wife quilt, I’ve noticed some color shortages.
a summer berries scrap quilt