Swirlpools is a pattern that I’ve been so excited to share! It’s a bold and modern design that plays with movement and color in such a fun way. While it’s officially labeled as an intermediate-level pattern, I think a confident beginner who’s comfortable with bias edges could absolutely tackle it. It’s one of those quilts that looks intricate but comes together in a really satisfying way.
One of the things I love most about Swirlpools is its versatility. It’s a block-based pattern, meaning you can play around with layout options to create different visual effects. You can lean into an ombré or gradient look for a smooth transition of color, or you can go full-on scrappy for a more eclectic and playful quilt. Either way, the swirling motion of the design creates an eye-catching effect that’s both dynamic and modern.
If Swirlpools looks a little familiar, that’s because it has a sister pattern - Hurrication! The two share a similar construction method, but Swirlpools takes the swirl all the way to the edge, minimizing the amount of background fabric needed. This small change gives the design a more immersive feel, as if the colors are truly flowing across the quilt top.
Swirlpools is written to work with fat quarters or half-yard cuts, giving you flexibility when selecting fabrics. Whether you love pulling from your stash, grabbing a curated bundle, or hand-selecting each color yourself, you’ll have plenty of options.
Quilt Sizes Included:
Baby: 42” x 42”
Throw: 56” x 70”
Bed: 84” x 98”
Usually, when I make a cover quilt, I plan out every little detail, right down to each fabric swatch. I love being able to tell you exactly what I used. But this time? Things went a little differently!
The original palette I had mocked up on my computer just didn’t hit the same once I started laying out the fabrics in person. I had to pivot fast - but honestly, I’m not even mad about it. I’m absolutely in love with how this sunset-inspired ombré layout turned out. The blend of oranges, corals, and soft pinks gives this quilt such a warm and glowy vibe.
The fabrics came from everywhere - two online orders, one local quilt shop stop, and a dive into my stash. It’s a little mix of Riley Blake, Art Gallery, Michael Miller, and one Kona solid in there, too. It was a total fabric adventure, and while I didn’t keep track of every single one, I love the mix that came together.
For the backing and binding, I went with an Art Gallery basic called Oval Elements in a lovely shade of pink. It pairs so well with the front and gives the whole quilt a polished, cohesive look.
I decided to quilt this one myself, and I kept it simple. Sometimes simple is the way to go! Straight-line quilting spaced about ½” apart gave it just enough texture without taking away from the movement of the design.
Swirlpools comes together pretty smoothly, but there are a couple of things to be mindful of:
Bias Edges – Since some of the pieces are cut on the bias, you’ll want to handle them carefully to avoid stretching. Using a little starch and minimizing handling helps a ton. READ MORE HERE.
Layout Planning – If you’re going for an ombré look, definitely take the time to lay out your blocks before sewing. Snapping a photo of your layout can help you keep track as you go. READ MORE HERE.
I’ve got two blog posts that go more in-depth on those topics, so be sure to check them out if you’re looking for more support.
Swirlpools is available now as a PDF download or as a printed booklet in the shop. However you like to quilt—digital or paper—you’re covered. I can't wait to see what colors and layouts you come up with!
And just because I couldn’t resist, here’s a little photo parade of more Swirlpools goodness:
Keep scrolling for some close-ups of the details, and let me know: what do you love most about improv quilting?
Welcome to the the Running Stitch Quilts Color Inspiration blog series! In this new series, I'll be diving into the world of color and bringing you practical color palettes. Every month, I'll pick a set of 3 or 4 foundational colors to use in building out fun and expressive color palettes that you can apply to my quilt patterns or any future quilts. Keeping reading for some quilty inspiration!
For September, I wanted to get back into the swing of things after a bit of a break. We skipped August’s Color Inspo, but I had a pretty good reason—my family and I just moved across the states! Now that we’re settled in (mostly), I’m excited to dive back into quilting. This month, I’m drawing inspiration from the warm, rich tones of autumn. The colors I’ve chosen are inspired by my original Autumn Garden quilt pattern, which is a vibrant and fun design that feels just right for this time of year. As the days get shorter and the leaves start to change, those deeper hues and jewel tones are calling my name—and I’m sure they’ll be calling yours too!
Before we dive into the color palettes, I have a little something special to share! The Autumn Garden pattern is on sale through the end of September 2024, and you can save $3 on both the printed and digital versions. This is a great opportunity to grab this pattern if you’ve been eyeing it for a while!
Now, let’s get into the September Color Inspo!
Just like in previous months, I’ve used the colors from my cover quilt as the base for this month’s inspiration. The Autumn Garden cover quilt was made with a mix of Michael Miller Cotton Couture solids, including Adobe, Antique, Aubergine, Celestial, Cinnamon, Currant, Dusk, Eggplant, Ginger, Spice, and Teal against a Soft White background. These colors are perfect for fall, and they’ve inspired the palettes you’ll see below. You can read more about my Autumn Garden cover quilt here on my blog.
For this month’s Color Inspo, I went with Cadet, Aubergine, Cinnamon, and Ocean, inspired by the Autumn Garden cover quilt. These rich jewel tones have a darker vibe that perfectly matches the slowing pace of the upcoming fall season—like nature hitting the snooze button after a busy summer. And let's be honest, these colors pair as well with fall quilting as pumpkin spice does with just about everything else this time of year!
This first color palette was inspired by the warm, earthy tones of a pumpkin patch. The navy blue and teal act as accents that make the oranges and purples really stand out. I love how these colors mix together in both the Autumn Garden and Winter Garden quilt mock-ups. The contrast between the cool and warm tones gives these quilts a vibrant, yet balanced look that’s perfect for the season.
This second palette feels the most like something I would typically use. I’ve been really into neutrals lately, and this palette reflects that love. The combination of soft pinks, deep eggplants, and golden ochres creates a sophisticated and serene look in both the Autumn Garden and Mod Tops patterns. This palette has such a calming effect, and it’s probably why I’m so drawn to it!
The third palette was a bit of a challenge, but I’m thrilled with the result! It’s inspired by a scrappy ombre version of my Hurrication pattern that I made using an ochre and purple palette. I decided to add teals and navy to give it a fresh twist. The Autumn Garden and Square Burst 2.0 quilt mock-ups really bring this palette to life. The varying shades create a dynamic, ombre effect that adds depth and interest to the design.
Playing with color is one of my absolute favorite things to do, and I’m so excited to share these September color palettes with you. Whether you’re inspired by the vibrant warmth of Palette 1, the neutral sophistication of Palette 2, or the gorgeous depth of Palette 3, I hope you find something that sparks your creativity.
I invite you to try out one of these September Color Inspo palettes in your next quilt! Whether you use the exact fabrics or let these serve as a jumping-off point for your own palette, I’d love to see what you create. Share your quilts on Instagram using the hashtag #RSQColorInspo or tag me in your photos.
Stay tuned for next month’s Color Inspiration. Until then, happy sewing!
Welcome to the the Running Stitch Quilts Color Inspiration blog series! In this new series, I'll be diving into the world of color and bringing you practical color palettes. Every month, I'll pick a set of 3 or 4 foundational colors to use in building out fun and expressive color palettes that you can apply to my quilt patterns or any future quilts. Keeping reading for some quilty inspiration!
For July, I wanted to pull inspiration from a classic, traditional quilt pattern of mine. Rivermill is a modern quilt pattern that takes on the classic pinwheel block. This block-based quilt is a versatile quilt to make because it can be made with fat quarters or half yards. Due to its block-based nature, it can easily be scaled up or down beyond the four sizes include in the pattern!
Before diving into the fun color inspiration palette, I wanted to let you know that the July Pattern of the Month, Rivermill, is on sale through the end of July 2024! You can save $3 on both the printed and digital versions of the Rivermill quilt pattern.
Where were we? Oh yes - the July Color Inspo!
Just like the previous Color Inspo months, I pulled my base color inspiration from the cover quilt of this month's Pattern of the Month. The Rivermill cover quilt was made with Robert Kaufman Kona Cotton solids in the colors Windsor, Cadet, Dresden Blue, Cloud, Sky, Taupe, Parchment, Haze, Shitake, and Ash. This was my first time using brown in a quilt and I have to say - this is one of my favorite color combinations now.
I had so much fun mixing and matching these colors together as I made the Rivermill quilt. This is such a classic color combo, so any color pairing I made turned out fantastic! If you want to look at more pretty pictures of this quilt, check out my Rivermill cover quilt blog post here.
I know I mentioned that the blue and brown color combination was one of my favorite ones, but I figured it would be too difficult to use as a base color palette for this challenge. So I decided to go with a few of the blues for this round! My main colors for the July Color Inspo are Cadet, Dresden Blue, Cloud, and Shitake in Kona Cottons. But since I love Michal Miller Cotton Couture solids so much, I translated them over to that line to get Denim, Delft, Ice Blue, and Haze!
For this first color palette, I leaned into the blues quite a bit and added a teal to the mix. I wanted to go for a "beachy" feel here. The Teal and Denim remind me of the depths of the water, The Delft and Ice Blue remind me of the light reflecting off of the surface, and the Earth and Linen remind of me the sand and pebbles on the beach!
The Rivermill quilt mock-up below really shows off those teal colors in play here. I love how these colors mix together in this quilt pattern. The Noughts and Crosses quilt mock-up screams baby quilt to me!
For this second color palette, I threw some pinks and tans in with the blues! I'm going to be honest, when I think of blue, I automatically think of pink. So this color palette felt like a no-brainer! Cameo and Aulait have my heart in this palette, which balance really well against the Bamboo and Ginger colors.
The pops of pink and tan in the Rivermill quilt mock-up make me so happy. These colors seem to work so well with each other - especially seeing them mixed around in the Hurrication quilt mock-up!
In this last color palette, I had a bit of a harder time. You see, I don't often use greens in my quilts. I think I can count on one hand the number of times I reached for green, actually! So this last color palette was a true challenge. But I am super happy with how these colors look together - I might actually try to use them in a future quilt! The rich colors of Basil and Pine add so much depth to this palette, while the Earth and Pistachio do a great job of grounding.
The Rivermill quilt mock-up feels so much like a "rainy forest" quilt. I love how the earthy tones play together in this quilt. The Chevron Stars quilt mock-up feel lighter and like a breath of fresh air - I think mostly due to the use of Nickel to separate those stars!
Playing with color is one of my absolute favorite things to do! Being able to blend colors together to create such dynamic color palettes for my handmade quilts makes my creative soul so happy. I invite you to try out one of my June Color Inspiration color palettes in your next quilt! Whether you use the exact fabrics or use them as a jumping-off point for your own palette, I'd love to see! Share your quilts made with my color palettes on Instagram using the hashtag #RSQColorInspo or tag me in your photo. :)
Stay tuned for next month's Color Inspiration. Until then, happy sewing!
My newest quilt pattern, Mod Tops, is here! This was such a fun quilt pattern to write. It's possibly the most versatile quilt pattern I've released to date + it's beginner-friendly too! Both the digital PDF version and printed pattern booklet version are available in my shop now. I can't wait to see what you make with it!
If you need a little quilt fabric inspiration to help you start planning your Mod Tops Quilt, just keep scrolling for some quilt mock-up using some beautiful fabric lines!
The Mod Tops quilt pattern is perfect for those just starting their quilting journey! This versatile design, featuring a modern geometric look, can be crafted using precuts or yardage, offering flexibility and ease for beginners. This means that if you have any Layer Cakes, Fat Eighths Bundles, Fat Quarter Bundles, or Quarter Yard Bundles in your fabric stash, you can use them to make a Mod Tops quilt!
The simple yet stylish blocks make this pattern ideal for showcasing your favorite fabrics - the size of the quilt blocks are perfect for larger prints too! Whether you prefer vibrant prints or subtle solids, Mod Tops will be your new go-to quilt pattern.
If you're anything like me, you might have a hard time visualizing what a fabric line can look like in a quilt pattern. The fabrics might be beautiful and just your style, but the wrong quilt pattern can make the fabrics lose their spark or get lost in the design! I wanted to bring you some inspiration by showing you what Mod Tops can look like in some quilt fabric collections you might like. From moody to bright, you're sure to find some inspiration below!
Neon True Colors designed by Tula Pink for Free Spirit Fabrics is the definition of BRIGHT! But let's be real - any Tula Pink fabric line is perfect for those that love color and big motifs. I plugged these neon polka dot fabrics into Mod Tops and fell in love. I love the colors Tula chose for this line and how Mod Tops shows off every single one!
This one is for those that love muted colors and green. Amber Elliot of Alderwood Studio designed the Garden Dreams fabric collection for Riley Blake Designs. If you know anything about Amber, you'll know that she pulled this collection right from her soul. I loved pairing the different fabrics from her collection against this green print from the line. It's how I feel Amber would have done it. :)
My really good friend Fran Gullick of Cotton + Joy has been designing fabric collections for a couple years, but when I saw this one, I knew it was going to be so popular. This is the Between The Pages fabric collection she designed for Riley Blake Designs. It has so many good reading and book designs in the collection - like this handwritten note-styled fabric I chose for the background!
When you think of Ruby Star Society, does your mind automatically go to Starry fabrics too? It's hard not to pop in a few Starry fabrics into my quilt patterns as I design them, because Starry makes everything look good. Alexia Marcelle Abegg designed the Starry fabric line for RSS, and I'm just so happy she did!
I'm bringing you another moody RSS Mod Tops quilt mock-up! This time I wanted to use one of Sarah Watts' most anticipated fabric collections - Teddy and the Bears. She originally designed Teddy as part of a different fabric collection for Cotton + Steel many years ago. People have been asking for more Teddy and I can see why. Look how cute this rock 'n roll themed fabric collection looks in my Mod Tops quilt!
Art Gallery Fabrics is best know for their soft colors and gallery of floral prints. This charming fabric collection was designed by the popular Maureen Cracknell for AGF. Abode features "exuberant colors, intricate florals, and the spirit of home in every print." I love the dainty and sweet vibe this Mod Tops quilt gives off in the Abode fabrics.
Here's another fabric line in muted colors - Fall's Enchantment designed by Atelier Danielle for Cotton + Steel. I paired it with the coordinating Clusters basics from C+S to create this beautiful version of Mod Tops!
When putting together Mod Tops quilt mock-ups, I feel in love with the look of this one. Denim & Daisies designed by Fig Tree Quilts for Moda Fabrics has the best vintage feel to it! It has a Blue Willow china and Morton Salt Girl vibe to it that I can't get over.
Last but not least - a super fun Mod Tops quilt mock-up! This is the Ghost Town fabric line designed by Dana Willard of MADE Everyday for Figo Fabrics. This is the most adorable Halloween fabric collection I've ever seen, so I knew it would look so cute in my Mod Tops quilt! The dainty little bats and the cats in hats are my favorite ones from this line.
Welcome to the the Running Stitch Quilts Color Inspiration blog series! In this new series, I'll be diving into the world of color and bringing you practical color palettes. Every month, I'll pick a set of 3 or 4 foundational colors to use in building out fun and expressive color palettes that you can apply to my quilt patterns or any future quilts. Keeping reading for some quilty inspiration!
For June - since it is the month when summer starts - I almost had to feature the Summer Garden Quilt pattern as my Pattern of the Month! How could I not, right? When I took a look back at this quilt pattern, I knew it would be the perfect fit for June's Color Inspo challenge!
Before we get into the fun color palettes, I wanted to let you know that my June Pattern of the Month, Summer Garden, is on sale through the end of June 2024! You can save $3 on the printed and digital patterns.
Okay back to colors!
The colors used in my Summer Garden cover quilt are Michael Miller Cotton Couture solids in the colors Celestial, Nite, Mosaic, Lagoon, Isle, Luna, Sun, Melon, Geranium, and Peach for the Flowers. The Center accent color is Iris, and the background color is Soft White to make everything POP!
I loved how bright these fabrics were and how well they played together. Mixing and matching them in the making process gave me so many new favorite color combinations! If you want to read more about how this quilt came to be, you can read about it here.
It was honestly hard to narrow down the colors from my Summer Garden cover quilt into just 4 colors to use for this Color Inspo challenge, because I just love them all so much. After some color auditioning, I decided to go with Turquoise, Luna, Geranium, and Marigold. I felt like those 4 colors embodied the feel of summer perfectly!
In this first color palette, I wanted to expand on the yellow and coral gradient to give the full color palette a more vibrant summer feel. I'm not going to lie - this color palette has been one of my favorite to create! It's giving a "strawberry lemonade" vibe that I am so here for!
The addition of Bubble Gum, Girl, and Lava, makes this color palette transform into a beautiful youthful palette that can be used in a variety of project types! I love the pops of Marigold sticking out in the Summer Garden quilt mockup below. The vibrant Lava and Lipstick throughout the Rivermill quilt mockup packs a punch!
In my second color palette, I wanted to tie in the feel of a summer beach by adding in some browns and tans. Whether you frequent the beach of a pond, lake, or ocean, I bet the earthy feel of the colors Bamboo, Toffee, and Tan in this color palette make you feel the warmth in your toes and the smell of sunscreen in the air!
While I love the mix of colors in the Summer Garden quilt mockup, I can't get over how great these colors look in the Hurrication quilt mockup! The deep tones of Lavendar and and Toffee balance out the bright colors like Cameo, Geranium, and Marigold nicely.
I my last color palette, I couldn't pass up the opportunity to create a summer sunset color palette. I envision this sunset happening over the water after a long day of fun in the sun. The darker colors of Teal and Lagoon represent the depths of the water and the colors Nite and Jam represent the darkness of the night sky.
In the Summer Garden quilt mockup below, I paired these colors with a classic white background fabric. I always love how colors pop against a white background. But the magic comes when you take a look at the Mountain Valley quilt mockup below! Using those deep tones as the background and star colors in this quilt give it a lovely dusk sky look.
Playing with color is one of my absolute favorite things to do! Being able to blend colors together to create such dynamic color palettes for my handmade quilts makes my creative soul so happy. I invite you to try out one of my June Color Inspiration color palettes in your next quilt! Whether you use the exact fabrics or use them as a jumping-off point for your own palette, I'd love to see! Share your quilts made with my color palettes on Instagram using the hashtag #RSQColorInspo or tag me in your photo. :)
Stay tuned for next month's Color Inspiration. Until then, happy sewing!
Welcome to the the Running Stitch Quilts Color Inspiration blog series! In this new series, I'll be diving into the world of color and bringing you practical color palettes. Every month, I'll pick a set of 3 or 4 foundational colors to use in building out fun and expressive color palettes that you can apply to my quilt patterns or any future quilts. Keeping reading for some quilty inspiration!
My May color inspiration came from the cover quilt colors of my May Pattern of the Month - Weavers Cottage. (In case you missed it, all Pattern of the Month items are on sale through the end of May!)
The colors of my Weavers Cottage cover quilt are all from the Michael Miller Cotton Couture collection. If you've been around here for a little bit, you'll know that I absolutely love using Cotton Couture fabrics! I talked all about this cover quilt on my blog if you want to read more about it.
These deep jewel tones have been so inspiring recently. And in the spirit of Weavers Cottage being the Pattern of the Month, I wanted to expand upon these four colors (Blue, Boy, Peony, and Rose) and show you how you can turn them into three different full and dynamic color palettes!
For the first color palette, I wanted to squeeze in as many colors as I could to achieve a nice pink to blue gradient. If you've noticed my past color inspiration blogs, you'll see that I kind of love working with color gradients. So you'll probably be seeing a lot more in the future too!
This color palette has a well-balanced feel to it with the deep colors like Royal, Midnight, and Jewel and the lighter colors like Breeze, Flower, and Blossom included. You can see in both Weavers Cottage and Mod Top (quilt pattern coming soon!) that the distribution of these colors plays well with each other in this scattered form and in the true gradient shown above!
In this next color palette, I added purples and teals into the mix to give it an ocean-y, mermaid vibe that my daughter would LOVE. This color palette still has some deeper colors like Sweet Lily and Lagoon in it, but overall, it feels a lot lighter and breezier. This palette does a great job of lending itself to a scrappy feel like in the Weavers Cottage and Square Burst quilt pattern mock-ups below.
In the final color palette, I added in various shades of purple that really gives it a true jewel tone look! Having Opal and Lilac included here brings in the pink side of this palette while the Grape and Hyacinth brings in the blue side. These deeper colors pop again the white background in the Weavers Cottage and Autumn Garden quilt pattern mock-ups below!
Playing with color is one of my absolute favorite things to do! Being able to blend colors together to create such dynamic color palettes for my handmade quilts makes my creative soul so happy. I invite you to try out one of my May Color Inspiration color palettes in your next quilt! Whether you use the exact fabrics or use them as a jumping-off point for your own palette, I'd love to see! Share your quilts made with my color palettes on Instagram using the hashtag #RSQColorInspo or tag me in your photo. :)
Stay tuned for next month's Color Inspiration. Until then, happy sewing!
It's very rare now that I make a quilt that isn't part of a quilt pattern release. But when my friend, Ashley, gave birth to - who I'm calling - my new best friend 3 weeks ago, I knew I had to drop everything and make them their first handmade quilt!
When I was thinking about what quilt pattern I wanted to use for the baby quilt, I couldn't stop coming back to my Weavers Cottage quilt pattern. While this quilt pattern only calls for four fat quarters, I wanted to make it extra scrappy by adding a few extra fat quarters into the mix. I actually asked for some help from Peony Pedal Quilts to get the right mix of fabrics perfected. I showed her my inspiration photo and she put together the fabrics I used in the quilt.
I think my favorite part about this quilt is the sashing details between each block. In the Weavers Cottage quilt pattern, I have it written so that the sashing details are all the same color. But in the spirit of scrappiness, I decided these details needed to be part of the fun too. I LOVE how it looks and might be making all my future Weavers Cottage quilts like this too.
I finished this baby quilt version of Weavers Cottage off with some Mammoth Flannel fabric by Robert Kaufman on the back to make it extra snuggly. If you've never used a flannel on the back of your quilt - I'm here to tell you that it will change your life and you'll never want to back your quilt with anything else ever again. It's seriously so good!
I went with some classic straight-line quilting to keep the drape of the quilt feeling good and added some gray gingham fabric as the binding. I'm so happy with how this turned out. And if my 3-week-old best friend wasn't so dang cute, I might have kept this quilt for myself!
Welcome to the the Running Stitch Quilts Color Inspiration blog series! In this new series, I'll be diving into the world of color and bringing you practical color palettes. Every month, I'll pick a set of 3 or 4 foundational colors to use in building out fun and expressive color palettes that you can apply to my quilt patterns or any future quilts. Keeping reading for some quilty inspiration!
My April color inspiration came from the cover quilt colors of my April Pattern of the Month - Desert Charm. (In case you missed it, all Pattern of the Month items are on sale through the end of April!)
The cover quilt of Desert Charm featured colors pulled from my baby size Desert Charm quilt in the Modern Solids layout. I used fabrics from the Mayfair fabric collection designed by Amy Sinibaldi for Art Gallery Fabrics for this quilt sample.
I loved this color palette so much that I used these colors throughout the pattern in the diagrams! I knew I had to revisit this palette again for this April Color Inspiration. Turns out I love this palette ever more now! Keep reading to watch how I turn these four colors into three different full and dynamic color palettes!
In the first color palette, I took us to a moody place by adding in grays like Charcoal and Pewter and some dark purples like Aubergine and Eggplant. Adding in these darker colors really helps balance out the inclusion of Burgandy in this color palette - having one dark tone can make it feel a little out of place. These dark colors give the quilts some good depth while allowing the lighter colors like Love and Honey POP! Just look at those yellow tones in the Desert Charm quilt mock-up below!
For color palette number two, I went against the current season and channeled my favorite autumn colors! The addition of the orange colors like Pumpkin and Brick with a bit of peachy goodness like Peach and Geranium makes this color palette almost pumpkin-scented, huh? But in all seriousness, these warm tones ground out this color palette to feel balanced and welcoming. Plus look how good it looks in a gradient in the Deltille quilt mock-up!
For the third color palette, I figured I would play around with colors that are more reflective of the spring season since we are well on our way into the heart of it! I played around with more yellows and greens, because I've been dreaming of spring gardening recently. Adding in Marigold and Candlelight for the yellows and Evergreen and Asparagus for the greens makes this the perfect garden color palette. I saved this one for last, because it looks sooo good in the mock-up of my upcoming quilt pattern, Mod Tops!
Playing with color is one of my absolute favorite things to do! Being able to blend colors together to create such dynamic color palettes for my handmade quilts makes my creative soul so happy. I invite you to try out one of my April Color Inspiration color palettes in your next quilt! Whether you use the exact fabrics or use them as a jumping-off point for your own palette, I'd love to see! Share your quilts made with my color palettes on Instagram using the hashtag #RSQColorInspo or tag me in your photo. :)
Stay tuned for next month's Color Inspiration. Until then, happy sewing!
