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!
When I heard I'd be getting fabric from the Michael Miller line, Blue Muse, I got really excited because they are so beautiful! They sent 5 of the prints, but I was tempted to order the rest of the collection so I could make a throw size Desert Charm with them. I ended up using four prints for the blocks and saved one for the backing.
If you've been around for more than a few minutes, you know how much I love a striped binding. So I obviously made sure I had enough to use bind the quilt with that stripe.
I used this large scale cat print for the backing. I just couldn't cut those cats up and the backing is the perfect way to show them off.
I haven't made a Desert Charm quilt in a while and it was really fun to revisit this pattern. It is one of my favorites for skill building because it has a lot of different pieces within the block.
Enough from me, enjoy some pictures!
I am currently in the process of making a new quilt for my oldest daughters bed. Since I am making her a new quilt, it only makes sense to make coordinating pillow shams too, right!?
For this project, I picked two pinks, two purples, and two teals from the new Michael Miller basics line, Coco. It was inspired by Coco Chanel and the subtle texture of the prints are beautiful! They still read as a solid, but if you get up close you can see the dimension in the print. I really enjoyed playing with these fabrics!
For the focal point of the pillow sham, I chose my Desert Charm pattern. It is a big block so it works well in the center. I also added flying geese to each edge to increase the size, but also because I liked the extra element versus just adding more background fabric.
Anyway, read on to see how I made these. :)
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1. Make your pillow sham quilt panel. A standard pillow sham is 20" x 26" so your quilt top should measure 20.5" x 26.5" unfinished.
2. Make a quilt sandwich with quilt top, batting, and backing. Spray or pin baste.
3. Quilt as desired. (I did 1/2" straight lines).
4. Set aside.
1. Cut (2) 17" x 20.5" pieces from the backing fabric.
2. On one 20.5" edge, fold over 1/4" and press, fold over 1/4" and press again. Then top stitch that edge.
3. Repeat with the other fabric piece.
1. Lay your quilted pillow front right side DOWN.
2. Place the raw edges of the pillow closure pieces right side DOWN on top of the pillow front (so these pieces are wrong sides together).
3. There will be about 5" of overlap.
4. Use pins or wonder clips to hold all the pieces together.
5. Sew around the edge with a scant 1/4" seam (so that this seam is hidden by the binding)
6. Bind as usual.
7. Stuff a pillow inside and enjoy your work!
When I made the very first digital mock up of Desert Charm, I pinks with yellow cornerstones. Imagine my delight when I saw the Art Gallery Fabrics line, Mayfair, around the same time. I knew I had to make this quilt with these fabrics. I think the result is stunning. I can't wait to get this quilted up!
I also wanted to share my pattern testers quilts! I have so much love for these ladies. They make suggestions and offer insights that make the pattern so much better.
Here are the beautiful quilts they made:
@turtlequilterjo made this beautiful purple baby sized quilt.
@collectivequilts made a stunner with jewel tones.
@mandipersell (from Sewcial Stitch) used corals/teals from Art Gallery fabrics to create this block. She will be selling these as kits. Go check her out so you can make this beauty too!
@oneblessedmamaquilts also used peachy/corals. She modified the throw to make it a square.
@maeberrysquare made this sweet baby size!
@redheaded_rita used a peachy background and it was such a fun fabric choice! (Also, check out that good doggo!)
@dmking52512 made this red, white, and blue version. Now I need to make a red, white, and blue version!
This pattern has been a long time coming. I started working on it back in January! I took an idea for a quilt block with a sawtooth star and tweaked it bit by bit until it became the Desert Charm block. As impatient as I have felt to get this one out into the world, I'm glad I took the time to make it perfect. And I'm so excited to share it with you now.
Just for kicks, I should do a side by side of that first draft and the final version. They look absolutely nothing alike!
The Desert Charm quilt pattern is a modern quit wiith a classic look. Each block is made up of half square triangles, flying geese, hourglass squares, and snowballed corners making it a great skill builder. I've rated the skill level as advanced beginner. A beginner could definitely tackle this quilt, but it is helpful to have a quilt or two under your belt.
Pattern Details:
- Two design options: Modern Solids and Scrappy Charms. Modern Solids uses the same fabric for each component of the block while the Scrappy Charms uses a mix and match method to add visual interest.
- FQ Friendly (sort of)! While the Scrappy Charms version calls for 1/3 yard cuts, I give instructions and a cutting diagram to modify the pattern if you want to use FQ instead.
- Three sizes: both design options can be made in baby (40"x40"), throw (60"x80"), and bed (80"x100") sizes.
About the cover quilt: The cover quilt is the Scrappy Charms version using 12 different Kona Cotton colors (Plum, Floxglove, Primrose, Amethyst, Lilac, Corsage, Candy Blue, Bluebell, Denim, Petal, Baby Pink, Peony)
I loved working with this color palette. I'm really loving muted colors right now. I'm obsessed with Kona Foxglove and want to find a way to include it in more quilts.
