Monday, April 17, 2017

Moth in the Window

My grandmother used to say that if the first butterfly you saw in the spring was white, it was good luck. After a couple years of seeing yellow butterflies, I was happy to see a white one this year!


Mine was IRL (in real life), but maybe this block set the right tone. Yes, it's another new Bonnie Hunter project! This is Moth in the Window, from Bonnie's new book, Addicted to Scraps:


I know I've talked a lot about how Orca Bay will be my next new quilt, but I am still tweaking my plan for that. In the meantime, when Robert Kaufman announced that the Kona Color of the Year would be Pink Flamingo, I had a burning need to make a pink-based quilt. But in February, nobody had it in stock. And then I found this pink print from Blend, which is almost the same colour. It was discounted to about half the price of Kona (Kona is expensive in Canada) at a fabric outlet near here. Score!


Bonnie's Moth in the Window is made with plaid shirts and black sashing, and I love it. But, I had a feeling it would also look good with pink sashing. And, the simple two colour block is a great way to show off your fabrics.

I had the day free on my birthday recently, and I thought, what could be better than a new project? An hour with the calculator, a couple of hours moving heavy boxes in the basement, whittling down to about 60 fabrics, rough cutting them all, and by the end of the day, the first block made:


Most of my colour inspiration is coming from collections that Pat Bravo did for Art Gallery a few years ago, especially Indie. The three backgrounds above are all her fabrics. Even though the sashing is pink, I don't want the quilt to be too "bubblegum." I chose all the fabrics to coordinate with the sashing. Of course there is a little Kaffe too:


And I don't know how long that daisy floral has been in my stash. But aren't they awesome together? It is so fun to try out different combinations. Even the wilder blocks blend when they're all together:


This is just the start, there will be a lot more of the blue-greens to come. My original plan was to make 56 blocks, and use leftover squares for the border. Bonnie used HSTs in the border, but I still need at least 800 HSTs for my Cheddar and Indigo quilt, so I thought I'd just use squares. I sewed up some strip sets...


...but I decided yesterday that even in these nice fabrics, they will not do anything for the quilt. So now my plan is to make more blocks, hopefully 90, and just put 3" of the pink around the edge. Maybe there was a reason I never put all the fabric away again! Other than mere laziness...

Anyway, I am having a lot of fun with this, and now I have a project for the Kaleidoscope of Butterflies again! Come back on May 1 to see how much progress I've made.

15 comments:

  1. What a fun "new" project! I sure like it that you start new projects! Those wild blocks will make this a fun quilt. I like your idea of a 3" border instead of HSTs. . . sometimes, HSTs can just bog down a project. Congrats on the great score of the pink fabric!

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    1. Thanks, Terry! With Bonnie's black background, her HSTs have a nice sparkle, but I'm glad you also like the idea of a simple frame in the pink. I think my blocks are enough on their own! Never a dull moment. :D

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  2. these blocks are looking so good what a great quilt you are going to have and a good buy with the pink fabric. Wondering how big the blocks are or maybe they are only small

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  3. Those moths look like they might feel like dancin'!

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  4. Oh, boy, I feel as though we were twins separated at birth😉! This is another of Bonnie's blocks that I particularly like. Your colors are talkin' to me, too! And recently I have been in a pink mood as well. Isn't Kona's color of the year just yummy and bubbly and optimistic!

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  5. With all of your projects on the go concurrently, you have my head spinning. Jeepers! How do you keep all of those projects, with their multitude of various fabrics, separated in your studio, never mind in your head? Your source of fabrics (your stash) has to be absolutely amazing. I'm in awe!

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    1. I have been re-arranging, actually, and now each project has a drawer, which makes it easy to switch from one to the other. Two projects went out a few weeks ago, now two new ones are in! Since I already have to put everything away each night, each day is a clean start. I would probably be more confused if I did have a studio!

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  6. Perfect block pattern for using up those scraps!

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  7. Love that pink sashing! It's gonna be a fun one, especially with all those lovely colors you're adding into the blocks!

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  8. Ooh yes, I like this one! I love the sashing around the 'moths' and think the pink is working very well for you.

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  9. Funny...I know this block as Odds and Ends and have had it bookmarked in an old book for ages to make as either a 4 inch or six inch block. Now that I see your blocks I'm totally inspired!

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  10. Lovely block. I also know it as Odd and Ends. It also reminds me of the scrap/waste butterflies Cathy has been making, but your sashing really emphasizes them. Janie (at Crazy Victoriana) also made some and alternated them with very soft colored 4 patches. What fun to see so many variations on a theme.

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  11. I commented a couple of days ago, but obviously didn't save it! Apologies. The pink background is fabulous - it really works with your colour choices. I'm also interested to see how well the two colour blocks work. You can see the impact that decision has on the overall harmony. I'm learning a lot! Like Margaret, I'm curious about the size of the blocks.

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    1. Oh yes, the disappearing comment, it happens to us all! Thanks, Jillian! The block is 8". Ann and Cathy mentioned the Odds and Ends name, which is the same block only with more colours. It was Bonnie's idea to reduce it to two colours -- which streamlines construction quite a bit, and makes it more graphic. And then I came along and realized the two colour format would let me really go to town with the range of fabric. Step, step, step...

      The pink was the first colour choice, and everything else was chosen to match it. If they all go with the pink, then they also all go with each other.

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  12. You were smart to start with the background and it is so cheerful and summery. So it looks like it is pulling out all of your colorful fabrics, which get to shine with only the two. A good idea for my leftover Kaffes. Keep up the good work!

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I'm told Blogger has been bouncing some comments, so if it happens to you I'm sorry! But the settings look right so I can't explain it. In any case, thanks for reading!

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