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!
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!
Square Burst is a pattern that has become a fan favorite. It's definitely one that I often find myself coming back to again and again. I think this is because there are so many ways the Square Burst quilt can be made. This particular pattern holds a special place in my heart, as it was one of the very first designs I came up with and released back in 2019 (if memory serves me right!). Since its original release, Square Burst has undergone a little makeover, receiving a well-deserved revamp and a vibrant new cover quilt back in 2021. So if you see the "2.0" in the pattern title, that's what that's all about. ;)
In addition to revising the Square Burst pattern, I went the extra mile and whipped up three unique versions of the quilt (check out the cover, cornerstones, and minimalist versions). Among them, my blue minimalist version, which you can see above, gained a lot of attention and quickly became a fan favorite. It has been one of my most popular quilts on Pinterest, and the one I get the most emails about! Lots of people have a quilt crush on this version and I totally get it - I do too!
I was getting the itch to make another minimalist version of this quilt, so when Fableism came out with their Everyday Chambray line, I immediately ordered the Rosa color and a coordinating plaid fabric from the Arcade Wovens line. I was so excited when I got these fabrics in the mail. I might have even done a little happy dance too. I think some of you can probably relate to this "happy mail" feeling!
In case you've never sewn with wovens like this before, I would recommend shortening your stitch length. By using a shortened stitch length, you essentially provide additional reinforcement within the seams of the quilt. This small change ensures that the quilt withstands the demands of regular use and the occasional tug or pull - hello quilt forts!
Okay I'm about to gush about these fabrics real quick. The fabrics I used in the Rosa Square Burst are the epitome of softness. Each time I came back to making this quilt and I'd pick up the fabric pieces again, I couldn't help but be surprised by just how nice the fabric felt. The final quilt that came out of this is just so cuddly and is a true testament to the amazing quality of the Fableism fabrics! If ever you get the opportunity to sew with any of the Fableism fabrics, I totally recommend you do it! Okay okay, that's it... for now. Ha!
The Rosa Square Burst was longarm quilted by the wonderful Katie Hanson, owner of the amazing Modern Textiles. I leaned on her to use her expertise in longarm quilting to pick which panotgraph I should go with. She selected the traditional Baptist Fans design and of course it was perfect!
I love that Katie's choice of the Baptist Fans motif was a deliberate nod to traditional quilting. The curved lines of the pantograph work really well to soften the straight lines and angles in the patchwork of the Square Burst quilt pattern.
I absolutely love how this quilt turned out. This is has definitely become my new favorite quilt. If you'd like to make a Square Burst just like mine, I have quilt kits in stock in my shop just for you! I can't wait to see some quilt twins out there in the quilty world!
Fabric Details:
All fabrics are Fableism
- Color 1: Everyday Chambray in Rosa
- Color 2: Arcade Woven in Soft Rose (also used for binding)
- Color 3: Sprout Woven in Sugar
- Backing: Arcade Woven in Cherry Blossom
Meet Square Burst 2.0!
It is exactly the same pattern as the original Square Burst just brighter and happier. Don't get me wrong, thought the fabric in the original quilt was cute, but I love this brighter one just a tad more. It feels more ME!
Coming up with 21 Kona solids was a bit of a challenge, but it ended up being fun. I started with my current favorite colors (Windsor and Foxglove) and started adding from there. When I had 21, I would start swapping out one or two until I was happy with the final result.
In the end, the final 21 Kona colors were: Evening, Dusty Blue, Blueberry, Blue Bell, Windsor, Sage, Aloe, Berry, Plum, Mulberry, Amethyst, Lupine, Princess, Lilac, Dusty Peach, Blush Pink, Deep Rose, Rose, Ballet Slipper, Sea Glass, and Carribean.
I sent this off to my favorite long armer, Jill, to work her magic. She chose the Birds of a Feather panto, and its just lovely! I really enjoy sending her my quilt tops and letting her choose the quilting design. Its always a fun surprise to open my quilt back up when it gets home and see the result. Jill hasn't steered me wrong yet!
For the binding, I went with the striped fabric that is in the Minimalist version. Striped binding is my favorite and I will always choose that if its an option!
Now for pictures!
If you want to read about the rest of the Square Burst 2.0 series, you can do that here!
The Cornerstone Square Burst quilt is the second quilt in Square Burst 2.0 series!
Fun fact, when I was coming up with the quilt design, this was the original coloring placement I was going to go with. When I design patterns, I like having a feature/accent fabric that is the same across all blocks that helps tie them together. The super scrappy variation came from a desire to have a fat quarter friendly option!
This quilt uses the same 21 Kona colors as the super scrappy variation with the addition of Essex linen in Chambray. I really liked how the texture of the chambray was a nice offset to the combination of colors. It looked like it belonged in the group without being overly matchy-matchy.
I quilted this one myself with a wavy stitch that is about 2.5" apart. In hindsight, I should've added another row of stitches in between, but that's okay! The less dense quilting makes the quilt soft and squishy. The drape is lovely and I think it will crinkle nicely when washed!
I used a gorgeous print by Rahsida Coleman-Hale for the backing from her Akoma line for Cotton + Steel. It is a beautiful teal color with pinkish/purple florals that compliments the front perfectly.
For the binding, I used Kona in Lilac that I had leftover from the backing of my cover quilt. (#thriftyquilting).
If you want to read about the rest of the Square Burst 2.0 series, you can do that here!
The Minimalist Square Burst is the third, and final, quilt in the Square Burst 2.0 series. This variation uses just two fabrics to create a more modern look!
Is this my favorite quilt I've ever made? Maybe.
I love absolutely everything about this quilt. From the texture of the Essex linens, to the softness of the Art Gallery print on the back, to the striped binding, and the overall sense of coziness I feel when I look at it. This quilt has my heart!
When I set out on the task to make this quilt series, I chose the fabrics for this quilt first. I looked at the Essex 1/4" Stripe colors available that had a matching solid to narrow my choices. I was debating between chambray (which I chose), a cream/tan color, or a black/gray color.
I knew I wanted to use one of the fabrics from this quilt as the cornerstone fabric of the Cornerstone quilt. Ultimately I chose chambray because it kept with the 'bright and happy' theme I was going for.
For the backing, I went with the cream and white floral from Art Gallery Fabrics Lower the Volume collection. It gives the quilt the perfect Joanna Gains farmhouse vibe when paired with the neutrals and stripes on the front.
Speaking of stripes, I used the striped fabric from the quilt as the binding. Striped binding is my favorite and I will use it any chance I get. ;)
I quilted it with a diagonal crosshatch about 1.25" apart. I think the simple straight line quilting adds to the timeless, classic look of the quilt!
Check out the rest of the Square Burst 2.0 series here!
While I loved the original Square Burst quilt, remaking the cover quilt has been on my To Do list ever since I made it. I wanted a brighter, more colorful quilt on the cover.
Not only did I remake the cover quilt, I also made other variations of the pattern with similar fabrics. Seeing these three quilts together brings me so much joy!
When I added the new cover quilt to the pattern, I also updated the layout inside. The cornerstones and minimalist variations used to be a bonus page, but now they are written into the pattern itself.
If you want to buy the updated version, you can do that here (paper or PDF). However, if you want to save a few dollars, you can buy the old pattern here (paper version). It is exactly the same information, it just looks different!
Introducing Square Burst!
My latest pattern is now available! I have been so, so excited about this one.
At the beginning of the year, I worked with a fabric designer to create a new quilt pattern for her new line of fabric (Curiosity by Sandra Clemons for Michael Miller Fabrics). This pattern had been sitting in my queue as next in line, so I was thrilled that she wanted to use it for her new fabric collection!
Unfortunately, I don't have many pictures of the original Square Burst quilt. I was working on a pretty tight timeline to get the finished quilt to her for lookbook photography, and I only snapped the cover photo before mailing it off. I wish I had had more time to take better photos because the fabric is adorable and this one picture really doesn't do it justice. [Update 8/23/2020: I took tons of pictures of this one and added them to the end of the post!]
Interestingly, this super scrappy version of the pattern wasn't the original idea I had designed. The fabric designer liked the scrappier mock up better, so that's the one I ultimately made. But I still couldn't get my first idea out of my head.
After the quilt was made and the pattern was written, I did some extra math and included a bonus page of TWO additional design variations: cornerstones (my original vision for this pattern) and minimalist (because who can resist a 2 color option!)
Each of the three design options can be made in baby, throw, or bed size. Because this a block based pattern, you can easily make a larger or smaller quilt by chaining the number of total block you make. Instructions are included for figuring out how many FQs you need based on the number of blocks you want to make. This pattern is so versatile. I just love it so much.
Half Square Triangles (HSTs) are the most basic of quilt blocks. It is one of those buildings blocks in quilting. Once you master this one, it opens up a whole new world of blocks to make. I’m just guessing here based on my own experience, but it is probably one of the first quilt blocks attempted after a 4-patch.
There are many, many ways to make an HST. They can be made 1 at a time, 2 at a time, 4 at a time, 8 at a time, on a roll, with the perfect HST paper method, etc. Today, I’m going to focus on the 4 at a time method because it is the method I used to make HSTs in my two latest quilt patterns (Eternally Yours and Square Burst).
The upside to this method is that it makes 4 HST at a time. The downside is that it yields units with bias edges which make the blocks more prone to stretching and distortion. But, don’t let that scare you. That is nothing a little starch and light handling can’t solve.
An HST is two right triangles of contrasting colors/fabrics in a square. Because the final result is a square, these can be made in any size needed. The handy reference sheet includes a chart with common sizes and the math formula if you want to calculate your own.
To get started, you need your two contrasting fabric squares, a rotary cutter, and pins (if you use them).
Take your squares and place them right sides together. You can pin them in place if you would like, but I find that I don’t need to.
Sew a 1/4” seam down one edge. Tip: I like to chain piece these by sewing the first edge of all units at a time.
Sew a 1/4” seam down the second edge. I like to sew the opposite side next. I have found that it helps prevent the top square from shifting. (I should have used a contrasting thread that was easier to see, but I didn't think about it until this very moment.)
Continue sewing a 1/4” seam around the remaining edges.
I sew all the way to the edges so my seams overlap at the corners. This is a non-issue once you cut it apart.
When all 4 sides have been sewn together, it’s time to head to the cutting table. If you have a rotating cutting mat, it is especially helpful in this step. Line up your ruler from corner to corner and make a cut.
Before moving the pieces, rotate your mat (or carefully rotate the squares) to make another cut from the opposite corners like shown.
You now have 4 HST units!
Press seams open or the side - whichever you prefer - but be careful to lift the iron in an up and down motion to prevent distortion of the blocks.
They come out a little bit to allow you to trim them down to the appropriate size.
That’s it! You’re finished!
Yep, I have a few final thoughts for you:
Download your reference guide, grab some fabric from your stash, and get sewing!
