Saturday morning I took a six-hour class with Rebecca Bryan to make her Rainbow Remix quilt from her book Modern Rainbow. The book is filled with beautiful, rainbow eye candy. So many stunning quilts in a variety of styles!
Rainbow Remix is an improv strip-pieced quilt, which calls for fifty 10" squares. I went with solids, like in the book, and I think I ended up with 75 colors, which works great since I'd like a larger quilt.
I got my first 22 blocks made during class.
Here's a look at Rebecca's Rainbow Remix. She gave a design talk in the afternoon about piecing together the blocks into units to create the quilt top. I'm looking forward to having my completed blocks on my design wall to play around with.
Once again I found myself in class with a guildmate. (How fun to have so many common interests with these women I met four months after I signed up for my QuiltCon classes!) She and I have decided that we're going to work on our Rainbow Remix quilts at the May retreat. It'll be hard for me to keep my hands off all that rainbowy goodness, especially since I cut all my strips in class and just need a marathon sewing session to get them sewn together. Luckily, in the meantime I have plenty of other WIPs to choose from, like my improv crosses!
I was also in class with Silvia of A Stranger View. We were new quilt bloggers together and hang out online together on IG and Periscope. It was fun to discover that we had registered for the same class and would get to hang out together. Silvia sent me a few of her photos to share with you. The first is of me working on my rainbow-ish order. The foreground shows a classmate's palette. It was fun to see people working with non-solid fabrics. The second photo is of Silvia's palette. And the last one is of Silvia and Rebecca while they were working on the layout of Silvia's blocks.
I have two quilts to share from the show today. Both are related to Jessica of Quilty Habit. They also share the theme of trees. The first is Jessica's quilt, Home, in the Improvisation category. I love Jessica's eye for designing with improv piecing. Her artist statement reads:
"Home" is my tribute to everything comforting and natural - to me, this is my marriage. I was inspired by Carolyn Friedlander's Botanics fabrics to machine piece trees improvisationally. I chose low volume fabrics for a contemplative background. The trees each display the range of one color from darkest to lightest. Finally, on my home machine, I quilted woodgrain in the background to represent the rest of the forest, and swirls of wind high above. As Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros say, "Home is wherever I'm with you."
This second one that I'm sharing with you caught my eye both for the beautiful, saturated teals as well as for the orange peel appliqué, which made me think of Jessica, as it's one of her signature design elements. I immediately snapped a photo and sent it to Jess. Windy is by Emily Parson. It was in the Appliqué category. Her artist statement reads:
I was inspired by a crisp October day with a deep turquoise sky and the beautiful golden trees. I machine appliquéd the leaves and arranged them as if the wind was blowing the trees and making the leaves flutter around me. Stipple quilting in the background makes the leaves stand out.
Giveaway *closed*
I'm sharing some of my goodies from QuiltCon with one of you. I'll draw one winner on March 24th at 1pm PST out of all entries on my five posts about my QuiltCon classes. (This is the fourth of the five posts.) The drawing is open to everyone. To enter, please comment below and tell me one of the quilts on your bucket list. Followers can get a second entry by posting a second comment to tell me how you follow me (Bloglovin', Instagram, etc.). Thank you! Thank you to everyone who entered. The winner is Anja of Anja Quilts!
Elana goldberg
These quilts are so simple and clever. I love solid fabrics for their modern pop. I have quilt envy on most of them shown here. I think if I have to pick a favorite it's the blowing leaves, which I'm not sure I would the patience with appliqué to pull off.
Lisa
At the moment I don't think I have a bucket list for quilts, other than designing some of my own...but I guess a lap sized improv quilt. I really am enjoying seeing the quilts you share from Quilt Con because some of these are ones I haven't seen before, like these two. They are really beautiful.
Bo Brackmann
I really like the vibrant colors of the rainbow and look forward to your finished piece.
Mel Moore
I love your solids! Can't wait to see it finished. I'm working on one of my bucket list quilts right now - a paper pieced, Polaroid picture with shadow blocks, I spy quilt for my youngest. :-)
sarah
Post authorI've started collecting 2 1/2" squares for a polaroid quilt. No idea when I'll get to that... or who it'll be for. ;-) Oh my, I just read on your blog that your project will have 246 blocks. Wow! I hope to see pictures on your blog as you work on it! Thanks for visiting, Mel.
Mel Moore
I'll be happy to swap some with you if you'd like. I have somewhere in the neighborhood of 120 different prints that are good for I spy. Anytime I'm out and about and see something I don't have (or at least remember having) I pick up at least a 6" strip off the bolt. I've shared with a few ladies at my guild, but they were doing I spy sewing for a grand and didn't have much to share back. I'm hoping to get my monthly goal of 25 Polaroid blocks per month done next week and will post up pics then. :-)
sarah
Post authorI think I have to take a raincheck on this for now since I have so many quilty projects in the air at the moment! Feel free to reach out to me in the future about this.
Mel Moore
I've got it inked in thru Feb 2017 so whenever you're ready. ;-)
Mel Moore
And how I follow you - oh let me count the ways - IG, email notifications from your blog, periscope, and Pinterest. :-)
Patti A.
Wow what would I like to try?? Hard question, like all quilters I have too many in my head. I love rainbow but just don't know if I could pull one off like the on in this article.
sarah
Post authorI, too, have a head swimming with ideas. Never mind my giant pile of WIPs. Starting new projects is always so exciting. But I really need to get some into the finished category. First up for me is finishing the baby quilt for my sister's three day old baby. I'm on the intricate quilting step so it's taking a while. ;-) There are so many beautiful rainbow quilts out there. These blocks go together quickly and easily and Rebecca's book describes how to put them together in strips and chunks for the final composition. It just makes me happy to work on looking at all that color! :-) Thanks for visiting, Patti.
Lisa in Port Hope
I have many quilts on my bucket list! But hopefully I'll soon start a rainbow Quilt using the Terrazzo pattern by Lee at Freshly Pieced.
sarah
Post authorThanks a fun one. Really, anything in rainbow is a winner in my book! Thanks for visiting, Lisa.
Lisa in Port Hope
I follow you using RSS via feedly.
Jess @ Quilty Habit
Great behind the scenes photos! I want to meet you and Silvia! :D I didn't realize that that quilt was pieced improvisationally - I can't wait to see your version. Thank you for sharing my quilt and for sending me the orange peel quilt. Emily Parson's design and quilting are just astounding!
sarah
Post authorI'm bummed that you weren't at QuiltCon West. I'm hoping I can figure out how to swing a trip to QuiltCon East so we can hang out! :-)
Mel Moore
Oh yes! Please come to quiltcon east Sarah! I'd love to meet you and Jess!
sarah
Post authorI can only mentally plan my calendar through the end of 2016 at the moment... once some other plans come and go I'll be able to more seriously consider Savannah. :-)
Anja @ Anja Quilts
Such wonderful rainbow colours. Can't wait to see your quilt progress. My bucket list is to design and make a quilt.
sarah
Post authorAnja, are you familiar with Quilt Design A Day on Facebook? I've been lurking in the group for a while, but dove in yesterday to create and share a daily design. You might want to check it out. :-)
Anja @ Anja Quilts
I follow on Bloglovin and on Instgram.
Rita Long
I would like to do a modern quilt.
Rita Long
I follow you on Bloglovn.
Wendy Darbouze
Well, one of the quilts on my bucket list is an Irish Chain quilt. I love the look and think it would be beautiful on my bed.
sarah
Post authorThat's one of those big, intimidating projects. But I agree, they are beautiful. What colors? Thanks for visiting, Wendy.
Wendy Darbouze
Hmm, I can't decide. I will either go very bold (which is what I am loving now) or pale vintage (which I always love) It will be a surprise to us both. :-)
sarah
Post authorI always vote "go bold"! :-)
Wendy Darbouze
I follow you on Instagram.
Dian Hoffman
I would love to try the "blowing leaves" quilt shown above. Problem is that I have never appliqued anything so there would be lots to learn first. Also, tiny patches are challenging to keep straight and flat. I'm still quite new so lots to learn as I take on new challenges. Love your blog.
sarah
Post authorMaybe you could achieve something like this with little appliquéd bits by using fusible for raw edge appliqué? I'd also recommend looking into machine appliqué techniques, since I come from the camp of not liking the process of hand appliqué. There are many options for appliqué. Thanks for visiting, Dian.
Kathy h
Love those rainbow colors. I have a pattern for a flying geese quilt that I would love to try someday.
sarah
Post authorThank you, Kathy. Are you on Periscope? I'm participating in a skill builder Periscope hop in April or May and our topic will be making flying geese, I believe.
Kathy h
I am a happy follower by email.
Chris
I have a long list but there is a Twist pattern and a Red and White I want to do soon. I love your colors. I need a set. Notice the word need not want. We all have our addictions.
sarah
Post authorRainbow solids are definitely a need. This project forced me to do a bunch of shopping. I was, however, pleasantly surprised by the number of people in class not using solids. Some of them had some really great stuff going on. Wish I'd thought to snap a few pictures. Thanks for visiting, Chris.
Chris
I follow on BL.
Trina
Yay! Thank you for a giveaway! They are always fun!
I don't have patterns picked out for my bucket list quilts, but I have a jelly roll I want to make some sort of rainbow maybe cross-hatch quilt from. I also want to make a quilt that is the perfect balance of masculine and feminine for our bedroom. -This is a taller order than you may think because my boyfriend can be particular in his tastes. lol
sarah
Post authorThe master bedroom quilt is a challenging one for this reason. We settled on purple ninjas. ;-) Thanks for visiting, Trina.
Trina
I follow you on Instagram and Periscope