Bear Tracks rainbows
I relish my turn to lead the monthly charity quilt for Comfort Circle of do. Good Stitches! Of course I enjoy getting to choose the patchwork and the colors - that is my favorite part of quilt-making. But, I also love how in the weeks that follow I receive so much happy mail. Small, squishy packages of delightful quilt blocks drop through my mail slot and brighten my day.
And then comes the really exciting part! I definitely anticipate the moment when I look at all our bee blocks together for the first time. As this quilt is a rainbow-blend project, it was a fun moment for Elora and I to enjoy together. She helped me sort the blocks first by color and then arrange them on the design wall. Rainbows are a joy we certainly share!
I am still waiting on one last squishy package, but I have seen a picture of those blocks and thus know what colors are coming. Thanks to the design wall and that photo, I was able to figure out where I need to make a few new blocks to fill out our rainbow. Time for a little scrap sewing!
Sponsor of the Week
Dragonfly Quiltworks
Want to sew a Rainbow Scrap Quilt but struggle to wrangle your scraps? Creating a rainbow blend is easier if you have basics like this fat quarter bundle of Ombre Wovens. A simple, tonal stripe looks good with everything and keeps patchwork from getting too chaotic. It’s an investment for many scrap quilts to come!
Funny, the fill-in blocks needed are all cool shades. These are the 3” squares for making HST blocks, which become the claws.
The Bear Tracks quilt is an ideal scrappy project, because each bear paw block stands alone and requires small cuts of fabric. You can find the pattern for this quilt in my book, The Quilter’s Field Guide to Color.
Hello, fresh bear paw blocks! That was fun.
Here’s to the simple joys of rainbows and scrap quilting!
Every cloud has a silver lining and a glorious rainbow can follow every storm. Let’s rifle through our scrap baskets to pull out rainbows this spring. There’s nothing like sewing a rainbow to help one focus on the bright side. Come join the fun online this March!
Hurrah, for another Rainbow Over Head! This sweet-sized quilt would be perfect for that baby or toddler in your life OR to hang up on a wall where you sew. She’s 41” square and 100% made with love and light.
Storms come and storms go. After the clouds of change blow through, even while the rain still fringes the view, the rainbow gathers. Can you see it hanging, just over your head? Look up, another rainbow is about to break through.
At last, they are finished! Two rainbow patchwork duvet covers are ready to be loved and cuddled. I made two of them, since duvets need to be washed much more than quilts. How about some construction notes?
I love sewing curves. I used to be terrified of them. Then when I learned the ins and outs, I felt empowered; however, it was still a high-focus endeavor to piece patchwork curves. Now I feel both relaxed and engaged when I sew this type of patchwork. It requires more attention than straight lines, but the payoff is so cool!
Sunshowers block no. 2 was this beauty on a Speckled Sunstone Metallic background. Wow, that Speckled fabric really makes it special! I followed the lead of the colors splattered across the background print when choosing my arch colors. I love, love, love the atypical rainbow effect. Hopefully Elora will like it too!
Ta da! My first cheery Sunshower’s rainbow block! I used two different background fabrics: Tarrytown Holepunch Dot Orchid and a Tilda Basics tiny star print. I was wondering if two backgrounds would look strange, but I like the effect. For my arches I have a red strawberry Heather Ross print, a golden yellow tone on tone print and two solids from the Ruby + Bee collection.
We are settling in at home again after our summer travels, picking up our old rhythms and making some new ones as well. Part of settling in for me is starting a new quilt, and I am very happy that my next project will be a quilt for Elora’s bed!
Red-orange-yellow-green-indigo-violet or ROYGIV, that’s the rainbow and she never gets old. I have recreated my Dear Dottie quilt as Dear Roy. He is a square-format color wheel quilt made up of delightful, scrappy polka dots. And I love him, love him, love him!
Some color transitions, like life transitions, come easily. I have just the right colors in my fabric stash, as with this orange-yellow-green blend. Familiar territory. These are the life transitions that one has made before and can comfortably make again. How many times have I separated green-blues from true-blues? How many times have I packed and moved house?
Do you know what I love? Sewing scrappy dottie blocks. They’re just fun. At the moment these blocks are just the right combination of color play, simple repetition and a touch of technical challenge to keep me engaged.
What, really?!? I never sew on solid white; but, for some reason I am convinced. Maybe because it’s summer? Maybe because it looks so yummy graphically? Well, whatever the reason for this change of heart, here comes a scrappy, dottie rainbow on white.
If you want to sew literal rainbows here is a happy host of patterns to choose from. Do you prefer a scrappy look for your arches? Modern minimalist? Something artsy or something sweet? What about technique? You might choose applique or curved piecing. Choices, choices!
It was the birds that did it! Once I started cutting up that bird print and putting it up on the design wall, I knew I had arrived in my happy patchwork place. Before long I had a delightful rainbow quilt top: happy scrappy rainbow kaleidoscope blocks and pastel rainbow cornerstones, nestled in a bed of black and gray. Very urban-cool, yes?
Confession: lately I have been feeling stumped with my kaleidoscope blocks. I know that I want to set them in an irregular grid, but I also want to make a rainbow blend. One concept requires order while the other suggests freedom. Sometimes it is hard to know what to do next in order to move in the right direction.
Yesterday I got to start a new quilt. Yay for fabric scraps! I guess it’s been since May that I worked with them? That’s a bit too long in my book. I am even following the siren song of rainbow order scraps. Here we go again!
This quilt is called Rainbow Over Head. It represents my choice to believe that no matter what storms come in my life, it is possible to find a rainbow again. This is not the trite message that everything all works out and that everything is always somehow okay, but that beauty and love exist alongside the real loss. Like color in the darkness or a rainbow after a hurricane. I acknowledge the existence of both in my life. And I choose to be happy.
People often ask how long it takes to make a quilt. The most impossible question! First because the time varies radically based on the patchwork and quilt size. Second because most quilters don’t keep track! When we’ve really found our groove with a delicious project, time falls away into an immersive, satisfying present.
Your rainbow messages, bee block rainbows and a fresh take on my Rainbow Plus quilt. This is the third time that I started fresh with arranging the pieces. This time, I am really loving it! May you enjoy the beautiful colors of today.
This month I have been keeping a secret. Or really, it’s been longer than that. Certainly my marriage has been dying a long, slow death of many months and years. For a long while the edges of that growing reality were soft and slippery until their form became a solid thing that could not be denied.
We all know what happens if you give a mouse a cookie; but, what happens if a quilter plans a trip to Keukenhof, the famous Dutch flower garden?
I relish my turn to lead the monthly charity quilt for Comfort Circle of do. Good Stitches! Of course I enjoy getting to choose the patchwork and the colors; but, I also love how in the weeks that follow I receive so much happy mail. Small, squishy packages of delightful quilt blocks drop through my mail slot and brighten my day.
Next month is my turn to lead the collaborative charity quilt for Comfort Circle of do. Good Stitches. A rainbow-blend Bear Tracks quilt is the project that I have chosen, inspired by the quilt I made for my book. Time to get things rolling with a few blocks!
It’s seems I’ve captured the rainbow again. This swirl of happy, scrappy patchwork makes me smile, just like that bow of color in the sky. Come see my finished quilt! Psst - a new round of Pas de Deux is on sale now. We start fresh in April!
A rainbow of diamonds sparkles with vibrant color, bringing to mind a field of spring flowers. The wedges in between the diamonds offer slivers of contrasting blue and lavender skies. This wash of contrast enhances the diamond colors just as a bright, sunny day brings a garden to life.
a Rainbow Over Head Quilt