I really wanted to be sure the baby size would look just as good in this design as the throw size, which I was confident in. And after feeling happy with how that turned out, it was time to make sure the pattern would work well with using your stash. Again, felt great about it and finally it was time to make my cover girl.
Deciding on the color palette for the pattern cover and main promotional sample can be a little daunting. I always want to be sure the palette and the overall look are exactly what I am wanting to express of the design. It is the first thing people will see when looking at my pattern in a physical shop or online in my shop. It also needs to represent me and my brand well. I want people to recognize it is "Then Came June" but also be equally inspired and not tired of the same palette. I typically tend to go to either neutrals or brights for cover samples. I REALLY wanted to do brights and neutrals together for this one.
I use Pinterest to look at color combinations, pictures of florals, architecture, travel photos if I am not already settled on a palette. Any of those things are jumping off points for inspiration for me. I was scrolling and found this beautiful image of a throw blanket from Anthropologie. It immediately caught my eye and I knew I wanted to do something with hot pink and a bright coral. And I loved the darkness of the brown but couldn't commit to that color as it is not my favorite. But I thought the stars would be pretty to use a deeper golden color.
I also loved the soft colors of the light blue and blush color. I was able to try and color match as best as possible with all of my solid swatches. I landed on using Cotton Couture by Michael Miller because they have really stunning dusty colors. And they had a great neon pink color. I reached out to Kristina of Fabric Bubb to help me solidify my color pairing as she carries Cotton Couture. She kindly snapped photos of my ideas of the colors together and send them to me. After asking her opinion on what the vibes were like in real life, I landed on the final combo. I am SO visual so this is such a help!
The main colors for the 9 Patch Blocks and Stars are all Cotton Couture: Ice Blue, Princess, Cameo, Clementine and Gold. The background colors for the star blocks I picked after I made the 9 Patches. All of those were scraps from my stash but I was able to color match those too. All the star backgrounds are Kona cotton: Creamsicle, Ballerina, Ice Peach, Gumdrop, Woodrose, Petal, Peach and Foxglove. Here are all the stars together so you can see the colors.
I really really love how these colors are play together. I like that some of the backgrounds are darker than the gold, equal to the gold in saturation and some are lighter making the stars bolder. Such a fun variety. And it is really fun to see all the blocks next to each other before being sewn together.
Sometimes when you have a lot of repetitive blocks, it can be hard to imagine how they will look all together. I ended up lining up some of the blocks every other so I could see the vibe overall. So fun!
Then it was time to lay them all out on the floor. I don't have a design wall so the floor is where it happens. Then once they are laid out, I stack them all in rows and label them. So I can clean up and move on with my day if I am not continuing to sew but mostly to just stay organized and work row by row.
I remember it being such a darker and rainy day that the lighting was hard to capture in these photos. But then poof! They are in rows. If only it was that easy...
It has been a little hard to capture the tones correctly of the blush pink and the light blue. But I really really really love how this one turned out. It feels very me!
On the same morning we snapped photos of my Scrappy Campfire Glow, we also took this one out with us. We ended up finding this super fun, spray painted, crazy wall at an art studio here in Portland.
Even though these photos read more "cool" than warm, it is a slightly more true representation of the light blue and blush.
--- QUILT BLOG BREAK ---
Okay, time to break and grab another coffee and then come back and do the quilted photos.
--- COFFEE or TEA BEING CONSUMED ---
You good? Okay, cool! Here we go!
I knew almost immediately what I wanted Michelle to do with this quilt top. I wasn't exactly sure how to treat the stars but I wanted the little loopy knots quilted into every single square. She has done this design for me on a Granny Cabin and it was SO fun and played up all the little squares perfectly. So, this time it was figuring out how to make the stars stand out and Michelle actually figuring out her process for quilting the design.
After a bit of back and forth with ideas, I realllllly wanted the stars outlined in a star line but wasn't sure what to do with the inside. The biggest part was probably Michelle making sure she could quilt the designs in the most efficient way. But you guys, IT IS SO GOOD. I brought home the quilt, unfolded it and my husband walked out and saw it and said "WOW! Way to go Michelle, this is stunning!". So big big praise for Michelle!!
Oh also I believe my binding is Kona in Orangeade. Sorry I just use my stash and it is mostly not labeled. Also my backing is Crescent in Autumn and it is the perfect compliment to the front. Okay, studio pictures here we come!
This is the first photoshoot ever that I have had both of my guys with me to help. The studio has extra cleaning fees for COVID and rules to keep everyone safe. I am grateful we were able to shoot safely here with mask wearing and keeping our distance. Luckily this studio is very large and was easy to make it work. Also, Everett was all about showing Luke the ropes of how a photoshoot usually happens. He was our director.
We were able to snap some family photos also while being here which was extra special.
And Luke learned how you don't mess around when the quilt stays on the wall because you never know how long that will last!
One thing at a few people noticed on Instagram when I shared a couple photos already was that I am wearing a self made top! This spring I got the garment bug and made a few Solee Tops (tutorial by Natalie Ebaugh). I haven't made anything really since but it was fun to actually wear something I made in a photoshoot!
I'm telling you, you never know how long a quilt will last on a wall. Also - cue outfit change!
Ya'll ready for some close up quilting shots?
I mean, I LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE this quilt so much.
Also, one other positive of the extra COVID cleaning (and fees for it) is that the studio was extra sparkling clean. Last time we were there, the floors were too dirty and dusty to do Quilts in the Air! But not this time! Here we go!
Are you guys even still here? Are you tired of all my photos? I do have a couple left to share of all 3 quilts together! It is really fun to see them all together. The pattern can look so different depending on your take on it.
Don't forget to tag me on social media or email me your quilts! I love seeing what you create. #campfireglowquilt #thencamejunepatterns
