The Meadowland Quilt Pattern is available for purchase now!
Get prepared for A LOT of photos in this blogpost...maybe even more than the Meadowland Quilt - Cotton + Steel blogpost. ;) I have taken this quilt on three different photoshoots. And because I have a million photos, I am splitting them up into different blogposts. I'll be writing up a blogpost soon to post all the photos from the quilts-in-the-wild shoot I did with this version in Central Oregon.
After I finished the scrappy version of this pattern, I knew I wanted to now figure out how to make the pattern with different cuts of fabric so it would also be easy for someone to NOT make it scrappy. I played around in Illustrator a lot and did a ton of math crunching until I decided on giving people the option of FQs or 1/2 yard cuts.
Once I decided that I wanted to use 1/2 yard cuts for my pattern sample, I played around with the palette I have been so drawn to this year. Peaches, lemons, golds, dusty pinks, candy purples and hints of blue. This fabric bundle was born.
I wanted a palette that was fresh and crisp but had depth and warmth all at the same time. All of the fabric for this quilt are Robert Kaufman's Kona Cotton Solids - White, Caramel, Grellow, Lemon, Gumdrop, Blush Pink, Petal, Salmon, Creamsicle, Spa Blue, and Sea Glass. You can buy a FQ or a yardage bundle from Fabric Bubb right here.
One thing I love about this pattern is it can evolve with each block. I start by cutting all my pieces and then mix and match the pieces to create the color palette in each block. I had no real game plan beyond knowing I wanted some blocks to have more similar tones together - petal, peach, caramel. And other blocks I wanted to have more contrast - gumdrop, lemon, spa blue. It gives the quilt movement and depth so your eye can easily roam over the quilt but as a whole it is still cohesive.
After each finished block, I would tape it to the wall and stand back and look at the overall feel. Sometimes I would go back through my piles of fabric waiting to be turned into blocks and adjust as needed. Maybe I didn't realize that a few colors were being used together a lot so I would mix it up a bit. Making sure there was more diversity in the pairings.
And before I knew it, my top was complete! It did take me awhile of shifting blocks around to find the balance I was striving for but once I felt it, it was perfect.
I brought both this quilt and my scrappy quilt over to Michelle at Mariposa Quilting. Since she does all free motion quilting and not a computerized design, I typically have no ideas what I want. haha I love getting her opinion and just talking through ideas. I knew I wanted a quilting design that was structured and not linear at the same time. (just reading that last sentence makes me cringe because its so wishy washy haha) I feel most indecisive and creativity annoying when I am at Michelle's house trying to figure out what I want hahaha. Sorry Michelle!!!
Michelle ended up bringing out her test quilt from a long time ago when she was first trying out the clam shell ruler. And the second I saw that design, I knew I wanted the same thing! So she did all of this quilting freehand and with a ruler. I love that it doesn't perfectly line up with every clam curve because it gives that organic playful feel I love. I am seriously obsessed with this quilting.
We also choose to have the clams quilted "sideways" so they didn't run horizontal but vertical down the quilt. The quilt design reminds me of that Plinko game on The Price is Right. You know what I'm talking about? The game where the contestant places a round disk at the top of the board and it falls and bounces around down until it reaches the bottom and the money slot of what they win. Anyway - I love this quilting haha.
And let's take a moment of silence to appreciate the quilting on the back of this quilt. It is beautiful.
The Meadowland Quilt Pattern is my favorite one I have ever designed. I cannot stop making it and dreaming of new versions of it. It really is so versatile and I love that it is block based. Easy to size up and down to whatever your needs may be.
I brought Everett with me to this shoot and I am SO glad I did. As much as my business is about me, Meghan, the designer and quilter, it really is a team effort of me and my little man. We are completely in this together day in and day out.
He wanted to stand in front of the quilt like mama does. (swoon)
Then, of course, he needed to be in the photos with me.
In the photo above he was saying "bite my fingers mmmoooommmmmmmm". Four year olds. ha.
I really love that I have these images forever. Everett's childhood will always be associated with the beginning of my business and I am grateful to capture the joyful times. Working from home is hard, and stressful, but when I get to have these moments it is worth it.
Working with Amy (my photographer) is so fun. For this shoot, we put on 90s rap and just talked and hung out. I could not say more good things about her as a person and as a talented creative. Her skills are top notch and it is really fun to see her work and see her viewpoint of my quilts/designs. I love this photo of me - all directed by Amy.
We also used the temporary dark teal blue wall for some photos with this quilt too.
And then these quilts photos quickly turned into another photoshoot of Everett. He is shy at first and runs away but then he secretly loves it and wants to the be the center of attention.
I am glad I had both quilts done for the photoshoot but it is fun to have a few photos of them together.
Okay, now that I have throughly photobombed you with my studio shots, let's look at what my OUTSTANDING testers made.
Let's start with the QUEEN of scrappy quilts - Jessica (@euphoria_jessica). Jessica is a Portland local and she has tested Sienna Burst for me too. I love her style and her ability to make any pattern beautifully scrappy and joyful. Jessica - lets take this on a picnic this summer and drinking some strawberry lemonade!
Eliane (@patchworkandpoodles) has tested a number of my patterns and she is always SO helpful with figuring out tricky quilt maths. I also love her sense of color and using a little more earthy saturated colors. Here is her first small throw quilt version in all Cotton + Steel fabrics and she is currently working on a second one!
Kate (@katebasti) is always dishing up insanely beautiful rainbow inspirations. She is a lover of color and I am so happy she tested for me! She made a really fun 9 block quilt and she ended up using sashing to break up the color a little bit. It's a fun take on this pattern. Her fabric is mainly Welsummer from Kim Kight and Checkers for Cotton + Steel. She also said she is working on a second one already!
Kelly-Anne (@aylagracepatchwork) made TWO beautiful Meadowland quilts. Her first was a fun saturated Amalfi fabric one. Her second one is a springy floral square throw size and I am obsessed.
Rachel (@mrs.thomeczek) has impeccable taste, amazing choose in colors and stellar photography skills. I love her version - she used Essex linen and a variety of FQs in her stash. Also - how adorable is her little girl wearing the Meadowland top as a cape?!
Joy (@themakingsofjoy) made a bold, happy quilt! I love love love how she keeps the selvedges on her fabric and they pop up here and there throughout her quilts. She used Firelight and Sunshine from Cotton + Steel to make this amazing Meadowland quilt - using all of the lower volume prints as the background fabric for each block. She did it half scrappy, half FQs and its marvelous!
Leah (@dixie.stitches) didn't want to break her gold record of testing every single one of my patterns. Even after moving across the country, her husband on deployment, this girl did it. She bought all the fabric and busted out this quilt top in a couple days!! I love you lady!!
Evie (@evquilts) made not only ONE insanely beautiful version but TWO! She is quilting up the second one as I type and holy smokes, I can't wait to see it fully finished. On the first version - she used a Leah Duncan print as the background fabric and made all the other fabrics the supporting players. It is so striking what she accomplished and I want to make one just like it!
Meghan (@meghanboyer) made a Meadowland quilt with one print from Amalif for Cotton + Steel as the background. All her other fabrics are beautiful solids. It is sharp, saturated and punchy. I really really love it!
And that's a wrap! Thank you all so much for all your love on this pattern! Don't forget to go grab one now! Oh and please tag me in your makes and use the hashtags #thencamejunepatterns and #meadowlandquilt.
