I designed the Blakely quilt two years ago but finally decided to make it a pattern in 2020 but then I pushed it to 2021 because #life. The Blakely quilt pattern was first seen and included in the Ruby Star Society Fall 2020 Lookbook. It was getting Blakely into the RSS release that finally set the fire under my butt to focus on this pattern. Here are the two mock ups included in that lookbook:
The fabric line I used in these mock ups is called Warp & Weft Heirloom by Alexia Abegg and should be shipping to stores in April 2021! It took me awhile to settle on which one I wanted to make in real life. But as you have guessed, I went with the burnt orange, peach and lavender one.
The fabrics in person are even more gorgeous than the digital renderings. I love them so much and they are incredibly soft! The fabric names are included in the Blakely quilt pattern so you can find any of that info there!
I love the combination of the new Warp & Weft line and some other basics - Add it Up and Speckled by Ruby Star Society. I think using the Speckled White Gold is my #1 favorite fabric to use for backgrounds besides a white solid fabric.
I made this quilt top on a mini midweek mountain stay at a friends house in January. It felt so refreshing to get out of our house and do work in a different environment. The sewing felt more therapeutic this way.
I made all the blocks in a day of on and off sewing. An hour or two here, then a snack, an hour or two here, another snack and by the end of the day, I had all my blocks! The Blakely quilt pattern is a great chain piecing one! I also had come to our mini getaway with all my fabric cut so that helped speed up my process.
Getting the blocks done was fun but I also get a little anxious to see them all laid out on the floor. This pattern is intentionally written to highlight an ombre look. It was inspired by watercolor strokes and how after repeated use, the colors slowly fade in saturation. I painted a little example to show people my inspiration.
So now, I laid them out and got very excited to see my original idea come to life.
The next day I watched a lot of Gilmore Girls and sewed up the quilt top! It is a quick and satisfying pattern. And then guess what! The day we were packing up and leaving, we woke up to a new soft beautiful layer of snow! I had been hoping for snow so I could take quilt photos and my dream came true!
I really really love this quilt. And sewing it at a relaxed place in a beautiful setting made me feel even more satisfied with this quilt.
When it came time to ship it off to get it quilted, I stumbled across a brand new pantograph that looks like cable knits made by Tawny Oland. I reached out her and asked if she could squeeze me in and use her new panto and she generously agreed! The quilting turned out GORGEOUS and she turned around two of my quilt tops so quick and with great attention to detail!
Now, we had the Blakely photoshoot in mid February and it was the first time having Alysson's help in person since last March! It was so nice to just spend the time working on the quilts and watching Everett masked and running in and out of shots. Amy, my photographer, got a lot more "working" shots this time and I really love how they turned out.
I picked up 3 dresses for this photoshoot - it's always my excuse to buy a new outfit. So over the course of the blogposts for the Blakely release you will see 3 different outfits haha. First up! I had to take photos with this quilt in my lavender dress. And as you'll see, Everett was all about the camera.
I wonder where Everett get's his silly nature from?
Okay let's do some close ups on the quilting. SO STINKING GOOD. I love the texture so much!
Towards the end of our photoshoot, the light changed in the studio and cast this really fun harsh shadow and light on the opposite wall we were shooting on. So we decided to play with that light and grab some more fun photos. Also, Everett really wanted to jump out behind the quilt.
I have a few more close ups and you can see the backing - same as one of the lavender prints from the front.
I can't wait to share more of the other Blakely quilts I have made. If you make one please tag me on social media and use the #blakelyquilt and #thencamejunepatterns hashtags so I can see it!
