I had this flash of an idea in my head recently and I knew I wanted to sew it up. Immediately if possible.
The idea was a low volume quilt with rainbow “bites” throughout the patchwork. There was nothing terribly innovative about it, but as someone who usually sews from a tutorial or pattern I needed some help to get my measurements right.
Enter my quilting and blogging buddy Alyce from Blossom Heart Quilts, who is the go-to quilting maths whiz. She’s got a talent for quilt design and the maths behind it, and has just published an extremely helpful e-book called DIY Block Design. If you have an idea for a quilt design but are not sure how to bring it to life, this is the book for you.
I decided to give it a go in a small scale for my first try. Â (Small patchwork is HARD. I find accuracy very difficult to achieve.) As you can see, each square or mini block within is a low volume square with a small coloured triangle. Not quite a HST, but just a ‘bite’ of colour. Alyce’s book gives a full run down on HST sizing, and I was able to use that information and adjust it to cut my coloured pieces at the right size for the effect I wanted.
I love the outcome and I think I will quilt and bind this as a mini to hang in my sewing area, but use Alyce’s sizing references to scale it up and make a large quilt next time. It would make a great cot quilt – I love a rainbow palette for a baby.
Thanks Alyce for such a great reference. It’s a book I’ll go back to again and again. You can check out all the details here and see all the fantastic quilt inspiration and designs popping up on instagram using #diyblockdesign and there are weekly challenges happening on #mydiyblockdesign. You can also follow Alyce @blossomheartquilts .
This is such a sweet design. Love those pops of colour on the neutrals.
Thanks Anorina! 🙂
This is so lovely! I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, I LOVE your low volumes.
Thanks Alison! They are so fun to play with. I love hunting for new ones when I go fabric shopping.
Looks fantastic and I’m with Alison – you have such a knack for low volumes. You should have your own low volume club – like a weekly round up of your favourites at the moment. I would totally buy what you buy!!
Ha great idea! Maybe I should make the occasional bundle and sell it via my blog. Limited editions every now and then! If only the Aussie dollar wasn’t so terrible.
Great design Ros 🙂
Thanks Deborah! xx
I like this very much! Very simple yet very smart looking
Thank you so much! 🙂
I love It!! What a great idea!
Thanks Kara!
I made a all subtle off white one, with the same bright pops of color in the corners, not the same fabrics of course but very bright cheery colors. I love it. Its so much fun to look at. I just woke up one day and made it. I love those sudden urgency quilts.
Oh I can imagine that white with bright colours would be so fabulous! Love those days when inspiration strikes!
This is beautiful design! I love triangles and happy colours so this is just me! x Teje
Thanks so much Teje 🙂
Great design, something to put on my list. Love the pop of color.
Thanks Patricia!
Small might be more challenging but when you master it, you can do ANYthing bigger! Good job!
Exactly right! Thank you 🙂