May is a month of transitions. If you’re in the northern hemisphere, the winter falls truly away and golden summer days stand at the door. School will be out soon and everything begins to vibrate with energy. It’s a time for moving house, planting gardens, tidying up and clearing out.
And that’s what we do when we sew our scraps! We set into motion all those bits of possibility and clear out our baskets to make space for future creative endeavors. This is a great time to begin a scrap quilt, especially one both easy and sparkly.
To find out how to join the Parsnips sew-along, click over to the master sew-along post. It’s a digital pattern, so you can grab it in a flash and sew right along.
Hopefully you already have a copy of the Parsnips quilt pattern and have zeroed in on a gorgeous color for your sashing fabric. Still feeling stumped? If you are craving peace this year, make a whole quilt in a safe, restful palette such as blue or green.
If you want something more dynamic and energizing, go for a rich golden yellow sashing or classic cranberry red. If you just don’t want to decide, follow my lead - Kona Emerald combines perfectly with black stars to yield a feel-good scrap quilt.
WEEK 1 GOAL
18 Parsnips blocks
If you need a little more time to get your sashing fabric, that’s totally okay. You don’t need the sashing yet! We’re going to start with cutting and sewing our scraps into easy-peasy Parsnips blocks.
The pattern lists how many rectangles you need to cut for a throw or baby quilt, but that’s definitely now how I roll. I like to cut, cut, cut scraps without counting and sew, sew, sew blocks until I sense that I should cut some more.
This kind of patchwork is so simple and fun. I enjoy gathering clusters of color and shape, knowing that it doesn’t really matter how I throw them together. In the end it’s happy scrappy ALL Colors In for the win!
Wow, these are fast! Now, to be fair, I already had a head start - 4 blocks and some test sashing completed in advance. But, really, it doesn't get easier or more meditative than sewing such simple, classic patchwork blocks.
Enjoy!
SHARE TO WIN!
I would really love to see what you are working on! This week share a photo of your Parsnips beginnings on Instagram or Substack chat.
Your photo enters you into a giveaway for my Confetti quilt pattern. This one is for your teensy tiny scraps - the ones you may be left with after sewing Parsnips. Now that’s handy, isn’t it?
Winner will be announced next week and giveaway is open worldwide.
Two ways to enter!
On Instagram, share your photo with hashtag #ParsnipsQuilt.
On Substack, share your photo in the Stitched in Color chat.
I highly recommend the Substack chat. It’s easy for everyone to find your photos there since they won’t be lost to the Instagram algorithm. You can enter in one or both methods.
Good luck!
And congratulations to Susanne Purvis, winner of the Parsnips Kick-Off giveaway! Enjoy your gorgeous Anna Maria bundle from Little Fabric Shop. Perhaps you have an Anna Maria scrap quilt like mine in the making!
Love a scrappy quilt!! These patterns are beautiful!
I’m so excited to win the Anna Maria fabric bundle from the Little Fabric Shop!!! 😊 I’ve started cutting up my scraps to make the Parsnips blocks. I love to cut, cut, cut them sew, too. I’m targeting to make a throw sized quilt.