Last spring, I participated in a big scrap overhaul hosted by FeelGood Fibers. I decided it would be easier to organize a smaller, less-daunting pile of fabric, so I started the process by pulling bits for a project or two.
One of those projects was Plaid-ish, a free pattern from Erica Jackman (Kitchen Table Quilting) that has been made by thousands of quilters. I highly recommend this pattern. Because Plaid-ish uses no background fabric, it’s a super-duper scrap buster!
I like to rein in my scrap quilts with a concrete palette, and I started my Plaid-ish pull with orphan charm and layer-cake squares in shades of salmon, periwinkle, and grassy green. (Kate Spain fans may notice bits of Canyon and Aria in the picture below; those prints set the stage here.) Then I found those same colors in different values. I added aquas but not teals, navies and grays but not blacks.
Overall, the quilt is built around low, medium, and high values. Each of my palette colors appear in at least two of those categories. I also made sure everything was on the modern end of the spectrum; none of my more vintage-like scraps, such as those from Denyse Schmidt, made it into the pull.
I can’t tell you how much fun this process was for me. I loved discovering bits in my bags and bags of scraps to include in this pull, and when I exhausted the possibilities in my scrap bin, I moved on to my stash. A few fat quarters that were hard to use in other projects worked well here. I like when some prints appear throughout a scrap quilt—I think it adds unity to the project—so those fat quarters served an important purpose.
I’m looking forward to quilting this beauty. She’s low on the priority list, though, so I’m not sure when that will happen. You’ll be the first to know when it does, though!
After I assembled this fabric pull, I did overhaul my scrap storage entirely. I cut a lot of pieces into 2.5-inch squares for future scrap quilts. Believe it or not, what remained fit nicely and neatly in one drawer! The time and effort that I devoted to this project were well spent. (However, I could have done without the mild case of tendonitis I got from using my rotary blade so much. Ha!)
If you’ve made a Plaid-ish quilt, I’d love to see it. Please upload it to this week’s linky along with any recent finishes. Thanks! And have a great weekend, everyone!
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Your quilt is beautiful! Happy stitching!
ReplyDeleteOn my bucket list too but too many other things taking up space.
ReplyDeletewhat a fun quilt - and sew scrappy
ReplyDeleteI have always admired this pattern. Each time I see one made up, I just love it and yours is no exception. You did a wonderful job of choosing your colors - and explaining the pull too. Value is sometimes a struggle for me so I appreciate reading through the process. Very pretty!!!
ReplyDeleteI love your quilt. It looks so hard and complicated. I would love to make one like that. Any last minute tips to help!??
ReplyDeleteIt's not as complicated as it looks! Sometimes a fabric's value is more apparent when there aren't a bunch of colors in the print. If you look at my top, a lot of the prints "read" as just one color or two colors. I have some other prints with more variety in them, too, but they're the exception, not the rule. Also: Take a picture of your fabric pull in black and white; it can help with determining value.
DeleteI'm pretty sure Erica has a highlight saved on Instagram that talks about fabric selection for the pattern. You might want to check that out!
Good luck!
Well done on creating the plaid - it looks fantastic!
ReplyDeleteIt's funny, because when you said grass green I had to go back and look at the pieced quilt top again; there it is! It's a beautiful quilt top.
ReplyDeleteI love your top! I am still planning to "one day" sew this pattern :) xo
ReplyDeleteYou've done a great job with your colour and fabric choices. Thank you for explaining your process. This quilt pattern is on my bucket list!
ReplyDeleteWhat a fabulous design! Love it! Pinning.
ReplyDeleteMichelle
https://mybijoulifeonline.com
Wow, I love your Plaidish, Michelle!!! Such a yummy color palette!!! Thanks for inviting us to link our Plaidish up--I made mine in 2020. It was a lot more of a haphazard color scheme!?!
ReplyDeleteNice directions on how you pulled your colors to get them to work so well as a "plaid-ish" quilt.
ReplyDeleteWhat a fun quilt and love all of your fabrics. Have a great week and thank you for hosting the link party.
ReplyDeleteHi Michelle! I have not made Plaid-ish nor do I recall seeing this lovely before. You did such a nice job! I love the thought of a scrap quilt but always think our scraps will never turn out as nicely as yours. Thanks so much for sharing the link - it is something we could aspire to try someday sooner than later. Give Rosie an extra belly rub for me, please. ~smile~ Roseanne
ReplyDelete