I have been wanting to make an all Indigo quilt for years. I have always admired and loved the quilts I've seen before. Blue has been my favorite colors for years but I think it's changed to peach or yellow over the last couple of years - maybe why I haven't made an all Indigo quilt recently. Anyway, back in 2018 I took a really fun Indigo dye class here in Portland with Anna Joyce. It was my first time ever dyed fabric and it was SO fun. We started with just white cotton fabric and then learned all these different ways to fold or tie the fabric before it goes into the dye to make really cool fabric. Well, I have hoarded this dyed fabric for 3 years and finally felt this quit would be so fun with it.
Can you see why I was so scared to use some of this? It's just so pretty!! But I am glad I did, and I decided to make the Indigo the background fabric and then use Indigo blues from my stash for the blocks.
The fabrics range from Essex Linen to Carolyn Friedlander to Ruby Star Society to Andover Fabrics and more. I made sure to keep the tones very similar but the depth of color varied a bit. Granted I wanted to keep them darker in nature so that the Indigo white/blues stood out for the background.
Alysson sewed up these blocks for me as I was neck deep in the move and boxes and packing and unpacking. What a gift to have help in this season of life!
Each block looks so different and I love the depth the Indigo fabric creates while still having a very consistent feel to it.
I am having to learn the new light in our house. I was so used to knowing the time of day to take photos in the old house, and what rooms got the best light. Here, it is all brand new. New angles, new light, new settings and editing to do. But I am excited to find corners of my studio to snap photos in. And I am so happy my studio has the same picture frame railing the rest of the main floor has!
I still love taking the wavy floor photos of the finished top. This one kinda feels like waves of the ocean with all the blues and some whites as wave caps.
This quilt top was sewn together before we even unpacked any of my fabric. I specifically left only fabric out that was needed for the tops - everything else was packed away during the move. But, when it came time to find/make quilt backings I was like shooooot, all my fabric is still in boxes. So what did I do? I opened one box and took out yard cuts for 4 solids and called it a day. It was fun piecing this back together - a fun pop of color blocking!
I sent this quilt off to Michelle of Mariposa Quilting as well - all of my Backyard Party Quilt samples went to her. And for this one I was sort of torn. The entire quilt has a flow to it most of my others don't. So I wanted to make sure the quilting didn't distract the top but added a bit of depth to it. We went for bright blue thread and an angular design that sort of followed the sections of the blocks. It turned out SO cool.
I always love to some contrast in my quilts or a pop of something unexpected. This time I decided to bind with a fun linen fabric from Allison Glass in neon pink. It is just enough of a pop to add and not take away from the all Indigo vibes. Also, it pairs nicely with the pop of pink in the backing.
We threw this quilt up in the guest room as well. Originally we had planned on taking a lot more styled shots in there but the light changed and will tackle it next time!
Lastly we brought this quilt out and I wanted a few photos of it snapped in the garden. It just seems like a garden quilt and is slightly smaller than the other 2 samples so fits perfect on the little bench I have out there.
I luckily didn't use all of my dyed Indigo so I can't wait to use it again and maybe actually dye more! That would be a very fun summer project.
Don't forget to tag me on social media so I can see what you've made! #backyardpartyquilt #thencamejunepatterns
