I have a few TCJ Make of the Month quilts from 2022 to still get up on the blog. And I am back today to share our October make - Blakely. If you want to get caught up on what other quilts we created in 2022, here are all the links:
The Blakely Quilt Pattern is one of my favorite quick makes. The pattern is quick and includes six sizes with three different material requirement options - Ombre Yardage, F8 or FQ version and Jelly Strip version. For our October Make of the Month we made the Large Throw that finishes at an 83" square. And we used a bundle we curated last year with 20 FQs, the exact amount needed for the large throw size.
For awhile I couldn't decide what fabric I wanted to use for the background fabric. I didn't want a solid fabric or an overly aggressive print. So I decided to stay with the fun graphic plaid/grid/gingham vibes and used an Essex Linen with a soft grid.
The Blakely Quilt is inspired by simple watercolor strokes. With each stroke the color becomes lighter and that is how the Blakely Quilt is built. There are seven colors (or sets of color) and this is how I divided them for this bundle. Starting from the top:
Color 1 - 2 FQs, Color 2 - 2 FQs, Color 3 - 3 FQs, Color 4 - 3 FQs, Color 5 - 4 FQs, Color 6 - 3 FQs, Color 7 - 3 FQs
Once you get all of your fabric cut and organized, you get to chain piece almost the entire quilt top. It can be very therapeutic and calming. Whenever sewing with linens or woven fabrics, I recommend starching your fabrics. It helps give them a bit more equal "weight" and handling when sewing.
You can chain piece the entire quilt at one time or you can work in sections. The quilt is divided into 3 different blocks and that is usually how I batch sew. I chain piece and batch sew for each individual block and then I lay out the quilt and start sewing it all together.
These blocks are showing the variety within a single block set when using FQs in the pattern. I love it.
Sets 2 and 3 also will have fabric variety and then here they are all together.
When all the blocks are finished, you do follow a specific layout but you can play around with which blocks go where within their sets. I messed around for maybe 30 minutes until I found a flow I enjoyed. I was a bit mindful to make sure certain fabrics weren't right next to each other but otherwise the randomness ends up making sense in the end.
I then stacked each row into piles and worked row by row adding in the sashing.
This quilt ended up so lovely. I love the color movement and the different scales of the repetitive prints. And it finishes at such a nice size that it's easy to throw on a bed or snuggle under on the couch.
The wovens add a super soft hand and texture. Some of the fabrics have a slight sheen to them and the colors kinda bounce off each other.
I sent this quilt off to Favorite Day Quilting with the beautiful Black Speckled Wide backing from Ruby Star Society. I chose this fun vintage retro pantograph called Posy Patch by Julie Hirt. We used a shiny gold thread and boy does it look fabulous on the front and the back!
The Blakely Quilt Pattern is available in the shop now! And if you want to check out other Blakely Quilts we have made over the years, click the links below.