Welcome to my stop on the Modern Quilts – Block by Block blog hop!
Modern Quilts – Block by Block is the latest creative endeavour from the extremely talented Emily Dennis of Quilty Love.
Thanks to Emily and Tuva Publishing, I was given a copy of the book to peruse, and Emily asked if I would like to make a block to help showcase one of the projects in her book.
Of course the answer was most certainly, ‘yes‘! Emily has such a great sense of style and her creations are always eye-catching. I was sure her book would be gorgeous too – and it is!!
The book is a tribute to Emily’s clean and uncomplicated approach to modern quilt pattern design. The projects are fresh and approachable, which I am sure will make this book a favourite among many quilters.
At first glance there were 4 patterns I wanted to make immediately, with the overall beauty of each of the 12 patterns becoming apparent as I turned each page. The beautiful photography and easy to interpret diagrams make this book absolute eye-candy.
So, while I agreed to make one block – one block turned into just a few more ;).
My Hopscotch Quilt
Print Fabrics & Background
One of the things I love most about this book is the fact that each of the projects are distinctly ‘Emily’. While the fabric she uses in each project is different, the projects feel harmonious. I consciously chose to follow Emily’s style lead and keep my fabric choices uncomplicated and fresh.
Each of the 12 projects in the book uses a crisp white background paired with gorgeous bold coloured fabrics that create a strong contrast and modern feel, and I wanted to capture that same feeling in my version of the Hopscotch quilt.
So, while I was really tempted to use a polka dot background in such a large background space, I instead kept my palette clean and crisp with a white solid instead. And I am so happy I did!
For the print fabrics I broke open my hoarded Moda Color Cuts in Daybreak, Lemon Drop and Beach Glass. Each of the prints in these collections are primarily tone-on-tone, or similar fabrics, which keeps the quilt feeling serene and effortless.
Accent Fabric
Another fabric that often appears in Emily’s quilts is Essex Linen. As a general rule, I don’t find linen particularly easy to sew with – but there is no denying that the end result is worth the struggle when you see the gorgeous texture in the final quilt.
Using the linen as the accent fabric in this pattern creates a lovely secondary cross design in the final quilt. I am particularly partial to the way the Essex Linen appears to change colour with the light and time of day. The linen I chose is called ‘Shale’ and uses a combination of charcoal and aqua threads to create the weave.
Backing & Binding
For the backing I searched through my stash to find the perfect combination of classic black dots on a white background. And, for the binding a horizontal aqua stripe. The backing fabric was a remnant piece I picked up locally, so I don’t have any information as to the manufacturer, but the binding is from the Tuppence collection by Shannon Gillman Orr.
Quilting
This quilt is only small, making it easy to quilt on a domestic sewing machine. I spray basted the quilt in the interest of time, and was able to finish the quilting in an afternoon. The nature of the pattern design allows you to quilt from point to point in a straight line without too much difficulty. But for added reassurance I used a piece of blue painter’s tape to help guide me.
I couldn’t be happier with the final result. I love the combination of colours, texture and design.
A big thank you to Emily and the Tuva team for inviting me to participate in this blog tour – I have had so much fun sewing this Hopscotch quilt, and felt inspired turning every page in the book.
Quilt Stats:
- Pattern – Hopscotch from the book Modern Quilts Block By Block by Emily Dennis.
- Size – 40-1/2″ x 40-1/2″
- Feature Fabric – Moda Color Cuts Dessert Rolls
- Background Fabric – Moda Bella Solid 9900-97
- Contrast Fabric – Essex Yarn Dyed Linen
- Backing Fabric – 1/2″ Black dot on white background – source unknown.
- Batting – Wool Blend Batting
- Quilting – Diagonal 1.5″ Grid Quilting on a Janome Memory Craft 8200QCP
I hope you enjoyed seeing the Hopscotch quilt project I made from Modern Quilts – Block by Block.
For more inspiration check out the amazing makers listed below, over the next few weeks.
The Blog Hop Continues…
October 15 – Mathew Boudreaux of Mister Domestic |
October 16 – Jeni Baker of In Color Order |
October 17 – Faith Essenburg of Sarana Ave |
October 18 – Kristen Olson of Heartfully Handmade |
October 19 – Karen Lewis of Karen Lewis Textiles |
October 20 – Jemima Flendt of Tied with a Ribbon |
October 21 – Samantha Dorn of Aqua Paisley Studio |
October 22 – Meghan Buchanan of Then Came June |
October 23 – Rebecca Bryan of Bryan House Quilts |
October 24 – Brooke Osborne of Oh Sew Brooke |
October 25 – Aneela Hoey of Comfort Stitching |
October 26 – Erica Jackman of Kitchen Table Quilting |
October 27 – Cindy Lammon of Hyacinth Quilt Design |
October 28 – Karen Lee of Quiltaposy |
October 29 – Lou Orth of I’m Studio Lou |
October 30 – Amy Smart of Diary of a Quilter |
October 31 – Saija Kiiskin of Saija Elina |
November 1 – Shannon Fraser of Shannon Fraser Designs |
November 2 – Keera Job of Keera Job |
November 3 – Lindsey Neill of Pen and Paper Patterns |
November 4 – Sedef Imer of Down Grapevine Lane |
November 5 – Susan Ache of Yardgrl60 |
November 6 – Holly DeGroot of Bijou Lovely |
November 7 – Nicole Daksiewicz of Modern Handcraft |
November 8 – Anna Graham of Noodlehead |
November 9 – Christopher Thompson of The Tattooed Quilter |
November 10 – Elizabeth Chappell of Quilters Candy Box |
November 11 – Amy Sinibaldi of Nana Company |
November 12 – Anne Marie Chany of Anne Marie Chaney |
November 13 – Megan Pitz of Canoe Ridge Creations |
November 14 – Melissa Mortenson of Polka Dot Chair |
November 15 – Stephanie Kendron of Modern Sewciety |
And you can follow along on Instagram too by searching #modernquiltsblockbyblock.
Samantha
xoxo
Barbra says
What are the individual block dimensions?
Samantha says
You can find the details in Emily’s book 🙂