Hey, friends! Long time no talk. I’ve been having some mild health challenges lately, which are combining with the new puppy to distract and de-motivate me. I recently joined a group going through The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron, and it has been helping me dig through my emotions. I decided it was the perfect time to go back to some quilting “comfort food”. What better project is there than a rainbow scrap buster quilt? And, since I’m craving community, I’m inviting everyone to stitch along with me. Announcing, the Color Catcher Quilt Along!
This scrap bin is annoying me right now. It is a bin full of Island Batik scraps, from when I was an ambassador for their brand. I often pull projects out of it, and it never seems to empty out! I think going through it and cutting a quilt will give me some satisfaction.
This is my original color catcher quilt, published in McCall’s Quilting in January 2020. That was so exciting for me – the quilt looked exactly like the sketch I pitched, and it was just a guess based on what I thought was in my stash. This time, I’m not even going to guess. I’m going to cut all the fabrics, then sort them out and see what I get. I reserve the right to add other fabrics if I feel like the color gradation isn’t satisfying, but NO NEW FABRIC WILL BE PURCHASED FOR THIS QUILT. My stash is making me feel overly greedy lately.
Join me!
Want to play along? Get a copy of my Color Catcher pattern, available in my Etsy shop. (All patterns are on sale until 10/6). I’ll start posting content and videos weekly starting on October 2nd. If there is interest, I may schedule some virtual sew days, where we can stitch and chat together.
Need more fabric?
Ready to play, but don’t have “enough” scraps? I know there are some folks who don’t cultivate a deep stash, and beginners, too. If you are looking for a great way to build a scrap stash, my friends at Gotham Quilt sell scrap bags by the pound, and everything in the shop is 10% off right now. I’ve had the pleasure of assembling scrap bags with them, and I can tell you all of the fabric is top quality, and there are some really cool prints in there. They have solid scrap bags, too, if that is your jam.
This is a version I made using a jelly roll. So, if you like kinda scrappy, but don’t want to make yourself nuts searching for colors, it works with a jelly roll, too.
AccuQuilt
What else. Oh, I’ll be using my AccuQuilt system to cut my pieces. It is not required at all – we are just cutting rectangles, but I enjoy using my system whenever I can. If you are curious, check them out. The Go! Big electric cutter is my favorite. (I actually have all three, since I work with the brand as a designer and ambassador.) The die I’m using is #55159, which is also part of the 8″ Qube.
Schedule
The Color Catcher Quilt Along will run for 7 weeks.
- Week 1 – 10/2 – Fabric cutting and sorting
- Week 2 – 10/9 – Piecing blocks
- Week 3 – 10/16 – Layout
- Week 4 – 10/23 – Top assembly
- Week 5 – 10/30 – Layering and basting
- Week 6 – 11/6 – Quilting
- Week 7 – 11/13 – Binding and Labeling
I hope you’re as excited as I am. I’m looking forward to having some fun, and then having a new finished quilt to snuggle with when the weather gets colder.
Oh, and here are some weekend puppy pics, just for fun. My son often brings his pup up for socializing. Otto is CJ’s littermate.
Curious about The Artist’s Way? Head over to Elizabeth’s page to learn more.
Hope you feel better. That puppy sure is adorable.
Thanks, Sharon! I’m sure I will.
Hopefully you will get a good response and fun sewing time. Recovering from hand surgery myself, so limited to reading blog posts and dreaming of future sewing days. An accuquilt might be in my future plans as I have terrible arthritis in my hands and need to restrict what I do as much as possible to save them for the important stuff in the coming years. Heredity …..sigh.
I hope you feel better soon! I would hate to be physically unable to sew. And the response has been great so far!