Hip, hip, hoorah, a finished quilt! And I’m so happy with how it turned out! This one was such fun to sew and the finished result is joyful from near and far.
She’s called Under the Maple Tree because the design reminds me of how lovely it is to sit or lie under a great big tree canopy, gazing up toward the sky. The leaves on their branches swirl, layer and cluster, with glimpses of sky and sunlight peaking through. I find that incredible beautiful and restful.
These patchwork leaves developed organically out of my scrap collection, some made of clusters of similar colors (blue/purple or yellow/orange, for example) and some made up of random colors for that full scrappy glow. That made for a flexible and free process, which delighted my creative spirit and my appreciation for using up every last fabric scrap.
Besides the playful leave blocks, I sewed two small series of traditional patchwork blocks in the Spark Gold solid by FreeSpirit. That interplay between scrappy wildness and tidy traditional patchwork feels just right.
To finish her off, I went for a golden yellow solid backing, continuous eight quilting and a yellow apples binding. Everything just hints at fall - not yet full flung, no fiery autumnal glory, but a fresh brightness like the first cool days after summer.
Will you be sewing along?!?! I’m excited. The Under the Maple Tree pattern releases on Monday, and we’ll start sewing October 6, so you still have plenty of time to gather supplies. Sign up here for updates and to sew-along.
I’m looking forward to sewing another version of this quilt during the sew-along, which will have more of an autumnal palette. Fun, fun!
I love everything about this quilt!
Rachel, you have done it again. What a spectacular combination of the very traditional single color solid-with-white blocks and the gloriously scrappy and contemporary brights of your maple leaves. They play off one another beautifully in a way that is uniquely YOU. I love it. Congratulations and Happy Fall!