Wednesday, March 11, 2015

An Autumn Quilt - Work in Progress

This week in stitches ...
An Autumn Quilt ~ My project this week is inspired by the arrival of Autumn in Melbourne. In case you're not familiar with Autumn + Melbourne, please allow me to inform you that the weather this week has been magical. Summer has departed - and not a day to soon - leaving behind fresh cool mornings, blue skies, gentle cool breezes, and glorious sunshine. The leaves on the trees are only just starting to turn. This is my favorite season.

My project this week is inspired by the arrival of Autumn in Melbourne. In case you're not familiar with Autumn + Melbourne, please allow me to inform you that the weather this week has been magical. Summer has departed - and not a day to soon - leaving behind fresh cool mornings, blue skies, gentle cool breezes, and glorious sunshine. The leaves on the trees are only just starting to turn. This is my favorite season.

An Autumn Quilt | Red Pepper Quilts 2015
An Autumn Quilt | Red Pepper Quilts 2015
An Autumn Quilt | Red Pepper Quilts 2015

I am not sure of how the picture that I have painted translates into the colors and fabrics that I have chosen for this quilt top. Maybe it is a reflection of a shift in energy and a lifting of my spirits, for Summer never has been a friend. I also needed some simple sewing this week, and patchwork meets that requirement, perfectly.

An Autumn Quilt | Red Pepper Quilts 2015
An Autumn Quilt | Red Pepper Quilts 2015

The fabrics used are all from stash and were selected and cut over a two day period. I have used small scale floral prints as well as a selection of stash basics. You may also notice that I have included many beautiful Liberty of London Tana Lawn fabrics and several vintage fabrics. I love working with Liberty fabric and fortunately my sewing machine does also; it doesn't hesitate nor falter when working with the different weight fabrics. 

An Autumn Quilt | Red Pepper Quilts 2015

Quick Quilt Stats
Quilt top measures 60.5" x 75.5"
30 rows of 24 squares
720 squares each measuring 2.5" x 2.5" (excluding seam allowances)
120+ different fabrics used.

An Autumn Quilt | Red Pepper Quilts 2015
An Autumn Quilt | Red Pepper Quilts 2015
An Autumn Quilt | Red Pepper Quilts 2015

This quilt is pieced using my Checkerboard Strip Piecing Tutorial - study the quilt closely and you'll notice that I have alternated light and dark fabrics creating a subtle checkerboard effect. Strip piecing is faster than handling and piecing each square individually - but that's not to say that I didn't have to sew like a woman possessed to get this quilt top sewn together before daylight faded.

An Autumn Quilt | Red Pepper Quilts 2015
An Autumn Quilt | Red Pepper Quilts 2015

Lots of photos today - I hope you enjoy scrolling through; recognizing fabrics that I have used before or perhaps that you have in your fabric stash also. I love seeing how other quilters combine fabrics and mix colors and designs!

An Autumn Quilt | Red Pepper Quilts 2015

More soon and thank you for stopping by,
Rita

RELEVANT LINKS:
Checkerboard Quilt and Strip Piecing Tutorial
Liberty of London - Fabric and RPQ Quilts
More RPQ Tutorials

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24 comments:

  1. Lovely Rita. Autumn is my favorite time of year as well although right now here in northern New England we finally got a teeny taste of spring yesterday and are now longing for more.

    I just used your checkerboard tutorial to piece a quilt and it worked so well. I'm now putting the blocks together. Thanks so much for your inspiration and helpful posts.

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  2. I love this quilt, it's cheerful and just plain beautiful. We are ending our winter here in the Midwest/south of the US, at least I hope we are ! I will check out your Checkerboard tutorial but right now I have tons of scrapes to use in the 2.5 inch size.

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  3. Very fresh colours love it.
    Here in Perth we are welcoming cooler mornings and evenings too but still hot days, a welcome renewed energy level for more stitching time now Autumn is finally here.

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  4. I do love Autumn, too. Well, now that I have moved to Washington, I mean. It's a beautiful state. And your quilt is lovely. It has a beautiful joy and lightness to it. The section in the middle of pictures where you say you hope we enjoy scrolling made me laugh because I was doing exactly as you described! I definitely like scrolling! Thank you for sharing your quilts with us. They always make me smile.

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  5. This is quite lovely indeed! I do see a lot of fabrics that I have used in the past...I just love how you quilt and how you place fabrics next to each other...
    I must also say...Autumn is MY favorite time of year too...It just doesn't happen long enough!

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  6. We're eagerly awaiting Spring here in the States. Your patchwork quilt is amazing. I love patchwork. It's my favorite!
    xx Beca

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  7. It's almost spring here on the southern tip of Vancouver Island, but that beautiful quilt of yours would be awesome any time of the year. Thanks for all the wonderful photos. It definitely is fun checking out the fabrics, and I do see quite a few that are in my stash. Now to get cutting out those squares.

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  8. Beautiful, as always! I can't wait for your class of in Chicago!

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  9. I love searching your quilts for familiar fabrics :)

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  10. You have such a gift for fabric selection!

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  11. love it! Its just so balanced- I'm still struggling with getting the color placement balanced. I think I've got it, then boom(after I've pieced it of course), there's a glob of color somewhere. What's this I read, a class in Chicago? Is there anything posted anywhere about? come to Washington!!!!

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  12. I could look at all of those different fabrics for hours :) Thanks for sharing Rita.

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  13. I love this! I will have to try your technique. I too love Autumn and wish it would last about 6 months! I'm like you and dislike summer. Spring is not a favorite as well. The feeling that Spring does for most Autumn does that for me. Love your work and always look forward to your posts!

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  14. Your quilts are always so fresh and clean! Love all the fabrics! I have a baby quilt in pinks and greens cut out using your checkerboard pattern- this will be my third one. Taking it and my featherweight to sped a couple of days with my sister at her lake house- hoping for some warmer weather and sunshine! Enjoy your autumn!

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  15. It's gorgeous!!
    Love your description of Autumn in Melbourne, wish Autumn would arrive here, still hot n muggy here in North Qld :)

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  16. Lovely quilt! I am with you on not being a fan of summer. We are just swinging into Spring in Virginia. I am looking forward to seeing you at Sewtopia in Chicago. I hope it warms up a bit by mid-April.

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  17. So awesome....you have the best fabrics!

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  18. Lovely as usual. There are never too many pictures.

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  19. So awesome....you have the best fabrics!

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  20. I always love your quilts.

    Being almost Spring time here in England and being opposite to you, I felt my first 'warmish' day this week - flowers are started to push up through the cold soil - I think we both need a little warmth in our bodies :)

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  22. I was wondering why you were making an autumn quilt in the spring and then I remembered, oh, southern hemisphere...! I love your blog and all the beautiful fabrics you use.

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  23. Very Spring-y and uplifting !

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  24. That quilt is really cute and springy. Love those fabrics

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