Hello Cabbage Patch

Back about 2 weeks, if you recall, Sharon, Kay and I celebrated summer and Kaffe Fassett by coming together to make our own versions of his pattern Floral Columns. You can refresh your memory here.

In the days following that, I made a second version for the backing, which will make it a reversible quilt. However, knowing that one has to be larger than the other, I needed to add one more column. I did that last week.

My tubs of KF fabric were still sitting out, and so I began sorting through looking for something suitable. Cabbage Patch, above, seemed a perfect addition to the springier side of my quilt.

And here is a picture with the additional column. I like it next to the yellow column. The first version ended with that yellow column and I just added that Cabbage Patch fabric right onto it and I like it better as the edge. Happy. Happy.

Did you notice a different bed in my guest room? This is my grandmother's bed, which I've had sitting in our garage for about 3 months. DH and I finally switched out the old bed last week. We moved up the matching dressers and night stand soon after we got them, so now the room is complete. 

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Floral Columns - Reverse Side

In keeping with my plan to have a reversible Floral Columns quilt, I stitched up the reverse side yesterday. The first side - Tuesday's effort - features the colors of spring, a light, airy mix of pastels and vivid colors.

The back - side 2, if you will - features the colors of autumn: rich, warm hues of orange, chocolate, green and red.

 As soon as I finished side 2, I pressed it and dashed out to our newly hung clothesline. It was after 6pm and the evening shadows darkened my shots considerably.

 I tried a few different angles so that the shadows might have less impact on the colors. I know, it's like torture to have to look at several pictures of the same quilt. *wink-wink*

I now have the front and back of Floral Columns completed. If I take this to Terry for quilting, I will have to add fabric to one or the other, as they are exactly the same size presently. The longarm machine needs to have the backing larger. I could just add one more column to the back; this could then become part of the quilt back, or I could trim it off, depending on how much is drawn up in the quilting process.

I don't know if all that makes any sense or not, but suffice it to say, I have been considering my options for finishing the quilt.

Another thing I have been considering is how simple and easy this quilt was to piece. The pattern came from a book by Kaffe Fassett, but most of us know that this doesn't really require a pattern at all.

 The width of each column is whatever you decide to make it (I went with 8.5" because that's the width of my ruler), and the number of columns is also optional - make it as big or small as you desire. Even though a pattern isn't absolutely necessary, I am glad KF decided to put this simple quilt in his book, otherwise I would never have come up with this idea on my own. Had I not seen it in print, all my gorgeous fabrics would still be in the bins and tucked away in the sewing room.

We have reached the end of June! The year is half over already, if you can believe that! Gracious! And if you want to know something else special about the end of June, just click here. (The magic number is now 37.)

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Summer Sewing With Friends

The sewing day with Sharon and Kay was a huge success! I doubt it is humanly possible for three women to have more fun playing with gorgeous fabric than we had yesterday.

We began the day with a simple goal in mind - make our own version of the Kaffe Fassett quilt called Floral Columns. The three resulting quilts all look so incredibly different, yet each one is absolutely spectacular.

Sharon's is predominantly soft blue and teal with splashes of color throughout. Two or three of these columns are fabrics donated by Kay or me.

Kay's is dark blue - not surprising since she loves blue quilts and has made many over the years. Kay has a couple of donated columns from Sharon.

Mine does not follow a color scheme - I preferred to use a little bit of everything. I had my columns cut out ahead of time and went with 10 columns, while Sharon has seven and Kay has eight.

I have to give DH kudos for helping me string up a clothesline so that I could photograph my quilt out in the backyard woods. Wouldn't it be pretty to have all three quilts hanging on the line?

While sewing on Tuesdays with Sharon is a regular feature of my week, I am really glad to have included Kay in the day's activites. She is the one who started all of our interest in KF fabrics. Each of us have amassed huge stashes of KF, and from the looks of what we worked on yesterday, we all have different favorites. The one constant, though, is the incredible intensity of color. We just cannot get enough of it.

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Columns - Celebrating Summer

Back in May (I think) Sharon and I made a plan. We wanted to celebrate Kaffe Fassett and the beginning of summer - so we agreed to dive into our respective KF stashes and make a KF quilt we've long admired called Floral Columns. I introduced the idea here.

Over the weekend, I pulled out a couple of my KF fabric bins and began auditioning fabrics.

This grouping, above, is a spring-inspired combination that I really think will work well.

Sharon suggested that we select a second grouping that would be the back of the quilt, and then we'd have reversible quilts. Great idea and with that goal in mind, I pulled a second set of fabrics.

This combination has a decidedly darker and heavier look - winter tones? However I describe it, I like it and the distinct contrast with the first grouping.

All of them together; I think they will work. I do have a few more fabric bins to search through. I will look at them to see if anything is worth considering for these groupings.

The big sewing day is tomorrow. In addition to Sharon's coming, we have talked our Frienzie Kay, also a KF collector, into joining us. It promises to be a really fun and productive day!

Happy Quilting, Friends!