Pine Sky Quilt Along: Week 1

NOTE: The Pine Sky quilt along has ended, but the blog posts for each week are still available so you can follow along at any time.

Welcome to the Pine Sky quilt along. This week is my favorite week of all as we choose our layout and fabrics. Read on for details on this week’s prizes and discounts, along with a whole lotta lovely mock ups to get you inspired.

Weekly Goal

The goal this week is to choose your fabric and plan how to arrange them in your quilt. In many ways, this is a really easy week, but I’m sure all of you quilters know how easily one can get lost when choosing color palettes. Up first, decide if you are making a 2 color or multi-color version. As you can see in the examples below, the interplay between colors can change the overall look of your quilt.

Next, choose your layout. If you are making a 2-color quilt, this is easy. However, if you are making a multi-color version, you will need to decide how to arrange your fabrics. I tend to choose my placement in this pattern by using more saturated colors on the outside and scaling towards less saturated as I move inward.

Another consideration is the color of your background. I have never made a quilt that can change so drastically depending on the background color. If you are using a darker background, your accent colors will pop out more, highlighting the blank space (star) in the middle. If you are using a light background, there is less of a contrast between the blank space and accent pieces which draws the eye toward the accent pieces instead of the blank space (star).

For my quilt, I chose a bundle of fabrics naturally dyed with madder root, pomegrante, osage orange, indigo, and cochineal. If you want to get started wth natural dyeing, you can see the resources I have available HERE. This pallete feels like spring to me and I can’t wait to see it all come together.

Prizes & Discounts

This week, we have discounts from Fabric & Reason and Rosie Girl Quilting. Make sure to check your email for the discount codes – these will be especially useful this week when you are choosing fabrics. Our weekly prize is a prize basket from Rosie Girl Quilting. To be entered into the prize drawing, share a picture of your fabrics on Instagram or with me on email.

Inspiration

I couldn’t help but make a few mock ups to inspire you all in your choices. If you are struggling to choose a color palette, I have two pieces of advice. First, find your favorite printed fabric in your stash and examine the colors in this print that you love. Often, prints will have color swatches along the selvage to make this even easier for you. Another great tool is Pinterest. I actually created most of these mock ups with images from Pinterest. To find colors I love, I simply searched for palettes such as “desert colors”, “ocean colors”, or “dusty colors”. If you need help getting strated, peek at my color board on Pinterest. Lastly, check our weekly email for a few amazing quilt kits to get you started.