Friday, May 26, 2017

My Easy-Breezy Beach Quilt

Mother’s Day 2017 was the kick-in-the-pants deadline I needed to finish two quilts. The first went to my mom. For that, I used a jelly roll I had on hand in colors I know she likes. The second went to my mother-in-law and was designed to coordinate with the living room in her new beach house.

I found the inspiration for the design on Cindy Lammon’s Instagram feed. (Check out the quilt here and here.) Cindy’s use of a dotted chambray as the background fabric was, I think, brilliant. I initially wanted to replicate it, but based on the fabric swatches my MIL provided me and the selections in my fabric stash, I went in a different direction.


Instead of going with a dark background, I went with my beloved Kona Snow. I pilfered some 10-inch squares from an Aria layer cake, by Kate Spain, that I had on hand and fleshed the fabric pull out with selections from my stash and yardage I bought specifically for the project. The result is light and airy—perfect for a beach house!



I even bound the quilt in Kona Snow. Considering the amount of color already in the quilt, the blue or green bindings I tried looked gaudy. A light binding might not be the most practical option, but it reinforced the easy-breezy feel of the project.


The biggest lesson I took from making this quilt was the importance of homing in on a palette. At first I thought I would use the blues—all the blues!—from my stash. Once I had a few blocks sewn, however, I realized that I needed to focus on a few select colors. Using my cut-up Kona color card, I decided that Aqua, Navy, Bahama Blue, Aloe, and Cadet were my priority for the quilt ...


I was pretty proud of myself for breaking into a beautiful layer cake for the sake of this quilt. Usually, I keep my precuts together and use them—whether they’re charm packs, jelly rolls, or layer cakes—in a single project. It was worth it here, however, and I still have probably thirty 10-inch squares of Aria to use in future quilts.

What do you have to say about that? If you’re a precut buyer, are you diligent about using a precut in just one project? Or do you throw caution to the wind and use some of a pack here and there?

Linking up to Finish It Up Friday and Let’s Bee Social ...

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13 comments:

  1. I am a throw caution to the wind kind of person and break up my pre-cut bundles all the time! I really like how you used your cut up Kona card to help find a palette to guide the fabric use from your stash. This has such a light feeling and I can hear the beach sounds just looking at the quilt!

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  2. Beach house beautiful! I use what I need/have no matter from where or how it comes. That includes breaking pre-cuts, making messes, and annoying the quilt police to no end! Again, lovely quilt!

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  3. The blues and green/blues look stunning on the Kona Snow!

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  4. Just a beautiful finish and I love how the blues and greens mix together in this one...hugs, Julierose

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  5. Best part? It's for YOU! Great beauty.

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  6. I love it! The blues and greens are wonderful together and look great in the design!

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  7. What a really pretty quilt! The colors are perfect together and feels very beachy to me! I like to throw caution to the wind! Mix and match!

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  8. Hi Michelle,
    It certainly was worth breaking that layer cake about for this lovely quilt. The colors are SO beautiful, so beachy. ~smile~
    Roseanne

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  9. Hi! What a gorgeus quilt! Blue & White are the best! x Teje

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  10. Beautiful and gives a real beachy feel. I too hesitate to use a light binding feeling it is impractical but you were absolutely correct in your choice, I darker tone would have distracted. I will try to remember your example and be braver in the future.

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