BLOSSOM AND GROW BLOG HOP : Old Fashioned Patchwork Quilt
BLOSSOM AND GROW FABRIC BLOG HOP:
Old Fashioned Patchwork Quilt
July 2,2022
Hello everyone and welcome to day 13 of the Blossom and Grow FABRIC Blog Hop!
Today Jessamyn from @rufflespearlsandbows is our maker.
I sent Jessamyn a scrap bundle of all of the Blossom and Grow prints that I had left, and she did a lovely job making a little fabric go a long way.
She assured me that she could do wonders with very little fabric, and she was right.
You can see all of the prints in this collection on the StudioE website here.
Take it away Jessamyn…
WELCOME JESSAMYN!
Hi! My name is Jessamyn and I love to create with beautiful fabrics! My husband and I live on a little hobby farm. We grow and tend a huge garden and preserve most of the food that we feed our family.
I can and freeze hundreds of quarts of food every year. We have chickens, pigs, a few cows and calves and kittens.
I’ve been sewing daily for about ten years now, and I learned to quilt 16 years ago. I sew a little almost every day! I love to machine quilt and English Paper Piece. I also love hand quilting.
I run a small long arm business and love to finish quilts for customers. I also have a small Etsy fabric shop.
It brings me great joy to play with fabric in my spare time, and also helps pay the fabric bills for my own quilts.
I’m mostly self taught because I didn’t sew much at home. My mom sewed some and always allowed me to play in her scraps. I played with buttons and fabric as a child. I always loved combining colors and textures. Quilting just feels like an extension of that. I’m so thankful for the internet! There are pictures and videos of almost every sewing skill somewhere online. It’s how I learned for the most part.
MAKING THE MOST FROM SCRAPS
When I saw the beautiful butterflies in Maureen’s new fabric line, I knew I wanted to make an old fashioned patchwork quilt! I fell in love with the soft colors and tiny florals. I wanted something old fashioned that would show off the colors and patterns well.
I was working with various size scraps from her collection so I really needed a block based quilt pattern. After thinking about it for a few days, I decided that a granny square quilt would be just the right fit for these fabrics.
QUILT PATTERN I CHOSE
I chose the Granny Square Quilt Block from the Blue Elephant Stitches blog.
I have made this quilt pattern a couple of times so far and love the process so much! I decided to cut 3 inch strips instead of 2.5 inch as the pattern calls for to get the most use out of my scrappy fabrics. The sewing process is exactly the same!
I used a white solid background to help show off the prints and give an old fashioned block a modern vibe.
RESOURCEFUL PIECING
When it came time to cut a border, I was down to tiny bits of fabric. I thought about trying to find a piece large enough from Maureen but decided to piece a border together using what I had and I’m so glad now that I did! It’s one of my favorite parts of this quilt.
Don’t you just love when it works out like that? I know I do.
PATTERN ADVICE
I would say this pattern is easy enough for a beginner with some experience. It’s a very easy pattern to piece but trimming the blocks after piecing is a little tricky. It’s not hard but I would definitely recommend making a practice block if you have enough fabric and practice trimming!
FAMILY CONNECTION TO QUILTING
Most of my great grandmothers made the most beautiful quilts with very limited time and materials. It amazes me how much they accomplished with so little. They would be so delighted, I think, at all the beautiful fabrics that we have to sew with nowadays.
My mom and grandmothers all sewed, but they mostly did hemming and mending. They did, however, make clothing and curtains.
I’m an old soul kind of girl and I love to think about my great grandmothers piecing quilts while tending their gardens and children. I spend most of my days doing the same things. I love that I am connected to my ancestors through quilting, even though it skipped a generation.
I don’t own any of their finished quilts as most of them were used and/or gifted and worn completely out, but I hope to be able to pass down lots of handmade quilts to my family and their families. I want my quilts to be used and worn out. I tell my children to let their babies and grand babies dance on my quilts.
SMALL PROJECTS
I also love smaller projects, like the small bag shown above, and English Paper Piecing, aka epp. It gives me some creative time in the extra moments when I’m waiting to pick up kids or while they play outside.
Several years ago, I started swapping fabrics with a friend from California, and she encouraged and helped me get started with epp. I was worried about finishing things, but just as she advised, the stitches eventually add up!
I stitch almost every day and would rather sew than go on the grandest adventures, though if I do go somewhere, my sewing bag always goes along. I often sew when riding in the car and outside!
My children are my inspiration. I love how they use lines and colors and items from nature to create! They claim most of the things I make (including this quilt) before I finish the project. 🥰
I hope you enjoyed this project and it inspires you to make something for yourself, or for a loved one.
WHERE TO FIND ALL OF THE PROJECTS
Make sure you visit and bookmark the Blossom and Grow Blog Hop Schedule where you will find the list of all participants and schedule for the tour. It is going to be filled with so many fun projects, and you don’t want to miss any of it!
Please pin this image to Pinterest,
so that others may find these projects and be inspired to create.
Be the first to know when there is a new project posted.
Please check back in tomorrow.
Next up on the hop is Maureen from @maureenmaker
She has designed an adorable baby quilt, which is a free download.
Thanks for reading til the end!
Happy making,
Jessamyn
PS. We love it when you leave a comment🥰. Let us know what you would make with Blossom and Grow or just say hello👋🏻
