Today I want to share with you my latest quilty project. I have been auditioning fabric for what I am temporarily calling the Dutch Rose Quilt as this is the name of the blocks I will be using in the quilt.
You can see this block I have already made for a quilt demonstration and which I will be using in the quilt.
The block is from the McGall’s Quilting website and can be found here , complete with a printable PDF which is very handy. In the original pattern, the cornerstones, or whatever you would like to call these 4 little blocks in the corners, were another fabric to those of the sawtooth star in the middle, but I wanted to use up that fabric I used as it is just so gorgeous. I think I will also do this in the quilt I am working on.
Did I mention that aside from the block instructions I have no other ‘pattern’ as such. I am just going to wing it. Which is bad, I know, but I figure I will never get started if I try to draw it myself. In any case, I plan a very simple design with background fabric the same all over, a pale blue swirl, which was too wrinkly to photograph…yes I will have to iron it eventually, I know… but leaving that until the last possible minute. Sashing in the background fabric and then possibly one or two borders. Depending on how I feel.
Unlike the above block I have decided to only use two kinds of fabric per block, not including the background, as I just didn’t have such well matched fabric and so it was just easier this way.
Now this is where I mention how important it is to audition fabric and spend time ‘playing’ with fabric. I can’t tell you how much fabric I rejected from my ‘wish’ pile, as in I wish it would match and go in this quilt to my ‘you’ve got to be kidding’/’you better not’ pile.
So I am guessing you’ve heard enough of my jabbering and want to actually see the fabric.
I should start in an organized fashion with the feature fabric first, the beige fabric. It is this beautiful nostalgic design by Tim Holtz for Coats. It’s from the line Eclectic Elements and is called #PWTH 021 Correspondence.
Next up are the light blues
And some pinks.
Dark blues.
Grey.
Greens.
It is so difficult to get ‘honest’ colors when photographing fabric. If you would like a close up of any of the small pics just click on the photos.
You might notice that not all fabric goes perfectly with the feature fabric, but that is because I want my quilts to look like my quilts and that is scrappy. Not all the fabric are scraps but that is the look I am going for.
So next I am going to wash any unwashed fabric and get it all ironed up, but it might be a while until that happens and I can show you any progress, my house is feeling a little neglected.
So what about you? What’s your process when auditioning fabric? Did I miss anything?
Home Sweet Dreaming 
When I make a quilt (I do denim, designs from my head, lol), I start off organized. All my denim (old jeans mostly) is neat and tidy on hangers, those I reject immediately and those I keep because they may work, or do work. By the time I’m done I have a mess of jeans all over the place! 🙂 It’s fun.
I love seeing an idea end up as a full blown quilt. Like a seed in the garden that becomes a massive plant that will feed me. Or how simple ingredients can make a fabulous meal. Creating something from “nothing” makes me happy!
I look forward to seeing your quilt unfold (pun intended, lol).
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Hi Jodie,
thanks for sharing your messy process, it feels good to know others make a complete mess of it. I did this all on my living room floor so you can imagine the mess, I don’t have a design board, not that that would of worked with the fabric. Creating something from nothing is certainly a pleasure in the quilt making process. Oh how our quilts bring us so much, repeated pleasure. Thanks for stopping in again.
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