In an effort to keep things upbeat and to continue sharing projects and inspiration, here’s a look at some recent favorites. An important garment go-to is the Grainline Alder. I love the Alder, because it is easy to wear and it works beautifully in quilting cotton. (Lawn is also a fantastic choice.) Usually garments get made last before a fabric release or quilting event, and so I tend to stick to something that I know will work. Here are two Alder shirts in Jetty.
I have to admit that this print is one I’ve used a LOT of from the collection. It shouldn’t be a surprise that I chose it to become a shirt. As a top, I like that it makes a crisp, white shirt, but with a bright and fun twist. The pale lemon color and the delicate-ness of the artwork makes me happy.
The second Alder top is made using the same design from Jetty but in a different colorway. Blue is a major comfort color for me. It goes with anything.
I guess I’m fairly predictable in what I make and wear. These tops are go-tos for me year round. Mix in a sweater when it’s cool or a pair of shorts when it’s warm. Easy does it.
Also, here’s a tip. When you’re crunched for time, but still want to wear the shirt, leave the armhole finishing for last and throw on a cardigan. I totally pulled this classy move at Quilt Market last October. Haha!
Pattern: Alder Shirtdress by Grainline (I chop off the length and made them tops.)
Want to see some other Alders? Obviously I can’t stop making this pattern. If you can believe it, there are still a few others that I don’t seem to have photos of.
Noodlehead’s Crescent Tote has been on my list since I first saw it in an issue of Making magazine. Like all of Anna’s designs, I loved the sophisticated shape and thoughtful details. Plus, it looked like something I would enjoy using. It’s not too big, but it’s big enough to hold a few things when you need to. A Jetty Crescent Tote was just what I wanted.
To start, I wanted to use one of the special prints in Jetty. These designs feature one color running along one side of the fabric and another color running along the other side. I love these prints, because they’re like a two-for-one. You have so many options on how you can use them.
Any of the colors could work great, and I decided to go with the green. I’ve been in such a green mood lately! I used the dark green side of the print for most of the exterior, and then the lighter side for the lining. (1-1/2 yards of the print is all you need.)
As a bonus detail, I cut the exterior pocket pieces with a bit of the lining side included and in the opposite direction. The direction of the grid is rotated, and you get that fun, grey band in the center. This adds a nice detail with hardly any extra effort.
Since this is quilting-weight cotton fabric, I used a little extra interfacing than was recommended. In addition to the fusible fleece on the exterior pieces, I also interfaced them with SF 101 before adhering the fleece. I interfaced everything else as suggested in the pattern, and I think it worked out great. The bag stands up nicely and holds its own.
The pockets on this bag are just what you need. There’s a smaller zipper pocket inside and another zipper pocket on the outside. If you like to carry your bag on your left shoulder, I’d recommend reversing the exterior pocket. After a shoulder injury on my right side earlier this year, I’ve been trying to do more with my left, including how I carry bags. I made this bag as designed, and so the next time I make it, I’ll probably swap the front pocket to the other side.
This Eads Jetty quilt is my third Eads quilt and a new approach to layout and color. (See the first version here and second QAL version here.)
Quilt making is inspiring; you can take the same design, but make it totally different by swapping out some of the variables.
In this project I wanted to sew up all of my Jetty and Collection CF fabrics into a colorful progression. My fabric collections are always intended to work well together, and these two groups relate especially well. The colors from one round out and complement the colors and textures in the other.
Fabric first…
Conveniently this project can be made from a Fat Quarter bundle of Jetty and a Fat Eighth bundle of Collection CF. You’ll also need a little bit extra of one of the prints–an eighth of a yard additional does the trick. (This one is my pick.) After gathering the fabrics together, I organized them into a pleasing array of colors. Then I cut the block strips (as described in the instructions.)
I can’t stress how much I enjoy working on a project in this way. It’s not only satisfying seeing colors beautifully arranged, but it’s also a thrill to work through new colors and combinations as you sew up your blocks.
Mapping out the color…
Starting with the darkest blues, I arranged the strips progressing to lighter blue, green, yellow, cream, white, peach, pink, orange, brown and black. Even with this same set of colors, I know you could graduate the colors in any number of other good ways.
One note on working with the colors…
While I ordered my fabrics by color, I did sometimes shift choices up or down when/if I wanted to give the block a little more contrast. In many cases I used neighboring choices as planned, but in some cases I offset a choice as desired. Since each block is made with 2 fabrics, it’s easy to plan out these choices. Here is what it looked like for me.
Above my strip pile is on the right, and my pairings are lined up in order on the left.
Approaching the layout…
Unlike my previous Eads quilts where blocks are mixed up and rotated as I wished, in this project I wanted all of the blocks to be in a repeated and symmetrical order. After prepping my fabric strips, selecting their color flow and printing my block templates, it made things easy to work down the block pile.
Because I know how some things can get shuffled, I numbered the back side of every block.
After the blocks were all sewn up, I couldn’t wait to get it all laid out. Again, this type of project is so satisfying to me, especially at this point.
Finishing the quilt…
After sewing the top together, I was eager to quilt it but not initially sure how I’d do it. I wanted something fairly simple that wouldn’t stand out too much, but I also wanted something to give it some nice texture and maybe even a little added color. I like the overall transition of color across the quilt and thought the quilting could be a great place to layer more of that in.
In the end, I did horizontal rows of big stitch hand quilting in colorful threads across the width of the quilt at the bottom of each row. Then I free motion quilted vertical lines across each row of blocks in colors that matched the fabrics.
It was really fun quilting this quilt. I quilted by hand and by machine and with many different colors.
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