Lovely Leaves

Last week I sewed my first blocks for a new quilt pattern: Under the Maple Tree. My first blocks were full scrappy, with bright happy colors mixed all together. This week I had another idea. What about different leaves in focused colors?

Oooh! I like it! Analogous color schemes (where you combine similar colors such as blue/green/teal) are so soothing and easy to fall right into. Sewing leaves with analogous scraps effortlessly creates a unified leaf-shape feeling.

This is a “yes, AND” situation. Both full scrappy blocks and analogous blocks are fun to sew!

Now I have found my rhythm. I alternate between sewing big batches of half square triangle blocks (HST’s) using scraps in every shade of the rainbow. Then when I have a table full of HST’s, I sew a few blocks with focused, analogous color schemes and a few full scrappy blocks, using whatever is left over.

The analogous blocks: Blue/teal green leaves. Teal/green/yellow leaves. Green/yellow/orange leaves. Orange/pink/red leaves. Pink/red/purple leaves.

My quilt will be a catch-all, but other approaches appeal to me as well. For example, one could use only blue/teal/green/yellow/orange scraps and make a quilt with the three leaf types on the left. Or, you could go for warmer colors and make a quilt with the three leaf types on the right (green/yellow/orange/pink/red).

I am totally loving my design wall with so many different leaves mixed together! Overall, it’s quite visually exciting and energizing, but when you keep looking you notice the little pools of focused color, like little pools of rest.

Leaves are so very lovely.