I thought I’d let you in on my process for designing a quilt. Of course, every quilt is a bit different, but here’s how this one is transpiring in real time! I had the unusual desire to make a Christmas quilt. I have NEVER come near this thought before! I’ve never been a real fan of the traditional Christmas colors for a quilt. Although there are many cute Christmas prints and palettes, it was one area that never tempted me.
But suddenly I’ve been hit by the desire to make one! So what do I start with? In this case, the options are limitless. I don’t have a specific pattern or color palette I want to use. I turn to Pinterest and other favorite image sources and start searching for Christmas quilts to see if anything catches my eye and to narrow down what I like and don’t like.
I usually go through a few different ideas before I settle on one. In this case it was…
houses quilt……scrappy houses……..I love Cotton and Steel’s older Christmas collections………maybe I should buy some of them……….actually I don’t want to make a house quilt…………..here’s a vintage quilt on Pinterest that I like!……………let’s make this one………..and I shouldn’t buy more fabric so I’ll look in my stash……..
Here’s the vintage quilt I found on Pinterest. Isn’t it lovely and the perfect Christmas quilt pattern? So looking at these blocks, there are 3 blocks across and 4 down. If I make each block finish at 20″, that will be the perfect size!
Next comes color placement choices! I drew out one block and colored it in. Then I took a photo of that one block and uploaded it into Picmonkey on my laptop. From there I can duplicate the block and turn them to make the design. I like it! I don’t think I’ll even try any other combos, since this one is a win for me.
Next comes the math. A quilt like this is fairly simple to figure out, as it’s just one block repeated and each block has only squares and HST’s.
Finally it’s time to raid the fabric cupboard to see what we have on hand. More than enough color selection! Although it would have been fun to have an excuse for a few cute christmas prints, I think these will do nicely!
And now we will see if this can be done before Christmas!
Looking good! Thanks for sharing and hope you get it all done before the big day.
That's going to look wonderful! Thanks for sharing some of your thought process and steps you go through when deciding on and planning a project. I really appreciate it as this is an area I often struggle with!
I shall follow your progress. I like that it is made using squares and HST's, something I'm capable of doing 🙂
Very interesting thought process! I often start a design by the inspiration of others – that's what is so great about the quilting community.
Sounds Great. I will follow with interest. I love the sound of the Picmonkey thing you did. I think I have that app but have never used it. Sounds like I need to try and play with it. BTW I agree with what Kelly has said! 🙂
Thank you for sharing your design process. You make the most interesting and beautiful quilts. Would you be willing to do a blog post on how you chose the fabrics for a quilt?
I love your color choices! the blue in there makes it feel country
This will look lovely – like seeing how you have planned it too. I reckon we need to see a stash photo one day …..
It's refreshing to see you design with paper and hand coloring! Your design looks great! =)
Very informative article and you have explained concern things with very deeply appreciated!