BQF: painted leaf quilt no. 1 {roygbiv}

As some of you may recall, last December my Canadian #igminiswap partner (and an ethereal painted leaf in @freepeople's IG feed) inspired this lofty leaf design...

which I am now humbly entering in this year's Blogger's Quilt Festival :: ROYGBIV category.

There's something rather dreamy about this leaf, if you ask me.  ;o)  Of course it doesn't hurt that it's pieced entirely of liberty of london tana lawn "scraps" (a favorite substrate in this house) paired with some of my favorite (let's be honest—they're basically all my favorite) low volume fabrics.

But it also holds a special place in my heart because it was the first thing I got to sew (Succulent Path aside) after a summer filled with morning sickness and a fall full of work (because how else would I replenish my liberty stash? ;P)

In fact, I'm so smitten, lately I've been thinking a bed-sized version is in order for our bohemian-rustic-chic master (the photo above was taken on our macrame curtains, and the one below on our brick bedroom floor).

And now that my mind is made up, the only question is... just how big should that big leaf be?  As some of you may recall, this one turned out to be 20" square, and the final pattern (the #auctionforeleni version, pictured below) finishes at 17".

While I'm mulling that over, I hope you'll take a look at all the other beautiful entries, and thank you so much for stopping by!

P.S.  This mini design is available on my new "patterns, etc." page if anyone's interested!  And I've included alternate "centers" (in place of the tiny sundial) in case teeny tiny curved piecing isn't exactly your thing ;o)

Sarah

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folksy fish {new patterns!}

For those of you who keep up with me on IG, these fish aren't exactly news.  Over the past several weeks (or has it been months?) I've been piecing together an arsenal of scandinavian-inspired fish.

It all started with a bit of oakshott and some scraps from my friend Heather of Crimson Tate's new fabric line, Succulents.

 

And then I ventured into Doe territory (somewhat prophetic, given that it was right around the time I decided my next Succulent Path would be a mash up of the two lines).

On to my itty bitty scrap packs of Karen Lewis Textiles...

And of course I couldn't resist digging into my Liberty lawns...

Neons...

Or the teensy bit of Anna Maria Horner in my stash (I know, blasphemy)...

Or capping them off with a cheeky bit of cotton + steel (you know, the catfish).

Now the only question is, when do I stop? ;o)  Certainly not just yet.  Not now that I've recently come into a charm pack of Gardenvale courtesy of my friend Amanda of Material Girl Quilts (she's closing up shop to focus on patterns, so grab her inventory while you can!)

As for these little fishies, if you'd care to sew a school of your own, you can get the patterns in my craftsy or etsy shops (the eight designs to date are available in two sets :: angular and linear in my Folksy Fish pattern).

angular series {nos. 1-4}

linear series {nos. 5-8}

And tell me, what other creatures should join this crew, fish or otherwise?  I've been sketching a few tribal-inspired designs, along with a few curve-free fellows.  Let me know if you can think of anything else you'd like to see in this sea!

Thanks for stopping by :)

Sarah

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scandi windmill quilt {oakshott scandinavia blog hop}

Welcome welcome!  

4 May :: Sarah Sharp {you are here!}

5 May :: Heather Scrimnscher 

6 May :: Amy Sinibaldi 

7 May :: Rossie Hutchinson

11 May :: Elaine Poplin

12 May :: Sarah Fielke

13 May :: Nicholas Ball

14 May :: Lori Landerberger

I'm so happy to be a part of the Oakshott Scandinavia blog hop, and a big thank you to Lynne and Michael for the gorgeous fabrics featured in this post.

If you've been here before, you know I'm a huge oakshott fanatic.  (H-u-g-e.)  The color range is so brilliantly vibrant, and the latest scandinavia collection—though undoubtedly more subdued—is no exception.

I had about a million ideas cross my mind when Scandinavia first popped up in Lynne of Lily's Quilts IG feed.  Ultimately I was inspired by the potential for playing with transparency given the muted tones in this new collection, so I couldn't help but request some more saturated shot cottons to add into the mix.  And as luck would have it, Oakshott's freesia F8 pack seemed like a perfect match.

I mean, really.  Here they* are all together:

*plus camargue and white marble, which I'd initially intended to use as sashing for this project 

Meant to be, no?

tiger mint + white marble = copenhagen :: lilac + bergen = tromso :: and so on... ;o)

As for the design, I opted for a traditional block (no surprise there) called "Indian Paintbrush."  Though I'm calling this rendition Scandi Windmill (#scandiwindmill), because (for me) Scandinavia brings to mind crisp, clean decor, folksy patterns, and a picturesque, blue-skied countryside scattered with windmills.

Perhaps one day I'll have the opportunity to fact-check my imagination and visit that part of the world.  But for now, this lovely little naptime quilt will continue to fuel our daydreams of Scandinavia.

The pattern will be available for free as part of this hop (in fact, all the designs will be compiled into an e-zine available via Oakshott's free patterns page, so keep an eye out for that!)  

For this 40" square quilt, I paper-pieced twenty-five 8" blocks and arranged them in a 5x5 layout, but this block would also be gorgeous (and less tedious!) at twice that size!  The 16" block pattern is now available as a free download in my craftsy shop.

Thanks again for visiting, and be sure to follow along the hop for some beautifully muted inspiration!

Sarah

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