Our brightest and boldest Simple Joys is getting it's moment on the blog today!
The Simple Joys Quilt Pattern is available in our shop now!
The Simple Joys Quilt Pattern includes seven sizes! So far we have shared the makes for the Medium Throw Size - Cover Quilt and the Large Throw Size - Confetti Quilt. And the Carnival sample creates the Twin Size Simple Joys!
Before we decided on the palette for this sample, I knew I wanted something very saturated. I wanted this quilt to be loud and bold and play with warm and cool tones. Here are a few of the other mock ups I created before deciding on the Sassy Pink background.
I really loved the pops of bright pink in the quilt tops but I thought, what if bright pink was EVERYWHERE instead of just a pop.
This is what decided it for me. It made all the pinks and corals and reds toned down a bit and made the yellows and blues the pop. A really fun contrast.
All the solids in this quilt top are Kona Cotton. The background fabric is Kona Sassy Pink and here is a photo of how I separated the FQs into Bar and Cross Blocks.
Cutting the fabric for the quilt is pretty quick and painless.
Once all the fabric is cut, it's time to strip piece and batch sew. Que the TV binge watching or podcast/audiobook listening.
Once all the chain piecing and pressing is done, you cut your bar blocks out as well as cut and then piece together your cross blocks. All of these can be chain pieced again. Next up, all the blocks are ready to be assembled together!
We followed our diagram in the pattern, each block alternates between cross block and bar block and some of the bar blocks change direction between laying vertical or horizontal. Be mindful of these changes as it is what helps create visual movement in the quilt top.
We laid our blocks out on our design wall and then sewed them together, row by row.
Sewing the rows together flies by because you don't press any seams until all your rows are assembled. Then, you you press each row the opposite direction as the one above it so that each block seam nests. Easy peasy.
You can be like me and NOT pin when you sew all the rows together because the seams nest. Or you can totally pin and sew them together. It's up to you.
It quickly became time to sew the last seam. And then I pressed every single row open to help make the final quilt top lay as flat as possible.
She is bold, sassy, bright and joyful. She is also large! She finishes at 72" x 90" which is Twin Size or could totally be used as a generous couch quilt.
The Simple Joys design is very angular and full of straight lines so I knew I wanted the pantograph I chose for quilting to be the opposite. I wanted something with movement and curves while still being bold just like the color palette. That's when I found the Flower Power pantograph!
I absolutely love the retro floral vibes this pantograph lends to this quilt and we chose neon pink thread!
I decided to not use a solid for the binding, I wanted a tiny break for the eyes and chose my favorite black and white stripe! And then because the front was so bold, I decided to have a muted solid backing so that the neon pink thread would stand out on it's own. I chose Bella Bunny Hill Pink.
We have Simple Joys Carnival Kits available in our shop right now!
And here are a few silly outtakes from our photoshoot.
After we hang the quilt on the wall for flat lays, we also leave one side attached and take these dangling photos which usually turn out some of my favorite photos. You get a better sense of the movement of the quilt. Love it!
The Simple Joys pattern is in the shop now and is such a fun make. It is quick and FQ friendly, the perfect pattern for any occasion!
