My County Fair quilt is a finish!! YAHOO. It feels so good to be getting these quilts done. I’ve been working on so many quilts all at once but it seemed none were getting done! Finally, I’m on a finishing roll.
This is County Fair.
The quilt comes from the book Scrap School: 12 All-New Designs from Amazing Quilters put together by Lissa Alexander.
I love the book and plan to make more quilts from the book.
It is full of scrappy goodness.
What porch doesn’t need a quilt hanging from it??
I love the quilt but do feel I could have done better. I started sewing this with no plan. I just started making the blocks and didn’t have a thing planned beyond that. Let me explain…
I didn’t follow my own rules. There are creamy whites mixed with white whites. I typically don’t do that. I think if the outer border would have been an off-white, it might have been better.
I often do this. I look at my finished quilts and even though I like them, I take the time to ask, “what could I have done better?”. I think that’s the only way to really do better.
So…when I asked that question this time, the answer is I should have picked the border fabric at the beginning and based my color selection for the middle on the border fabric that I selected.
….I’m at peace with it though…(as witnessed in the photo below that says “Peace”). It’s still a pretty quilt. I just had a lesson learned moment and that is good.
Here you can see what I mean about white/whites and creamy whites.
Do my choices make it a bad quilt…Nope. Not at all. I just feel like I could have done better. Sometimes this happens when I don’t plan enough.
I know I’ve talked to others that make scrap quilts and often they donate them all away and don’t like them. I think by more carefully selecting fabrics, we might love our scrap quilts more.
I think it’s important for all of us to constructively critic our quilts. There are things I love about it though…I love that I fussy a cut a few pieces like the horse in this block.
I couldn’t find a fabric that matched the inner border so I ended up using the same fabric to as I used for the outer border.
This is the fabric. I actually love it. Quilter’s Window in New Hampton Iowa has it if you are looking for it.
Overall, I do like the quilt and LOVE the pattern. I can see myself making this again.
Scrappy quilts truly make me happy.
I thought I’d take a close-up so you can see the wide variety of fabrics I used.
Here is the backing. I have leftover blocks so used them here.
The backing fabric was two sheets that were identical.
I think you can see the quilting motif in the backing.
I used the hook and bump. I made it smaller and denser. I like to do that for my own quilts.
Here is a link to how I do the Hook and bump.
Of course, we need a Rosie picture. I’ve forgotten with the last couple of quilts.
I hope the many of you who purchased this book might consider making this quilt. It was so fun!! I will be making more from this book. I love so many of them.
This quilt has plans to be gifted…I hope the recipient loves it.
Have you ever coffee or tea dyed a finished quilt? Since you don’t like a mix of white and cream in your quilts (I think they still look lovely), could this make all the fabrics blend better in your eyes? I’ve only tea dyed fabric, not entire quilts, so I don’t know if this would be possible or even desirable.
I love the quilt. Yes, that is a wonderful border fabric.
I love this quilt Jo! It’s so bright and cheerful :-)
Thank you for pointing out what you have learned, now we all have learned something by looking at your quilt. I’m going to make this quilt too and I’ll be really careful picking out my light squares. At first I didn’t see what you were talking about, then when you pointed it out,I could see a difference. It’s still a gorgeous quilt but like you, I try and learn something from every quilt make.
I love ❤️ your quilt . I made one also but it isn’t quilted yet . I’m so glad you showed the close up , I have a hard time deciding which fabrics to use for the lights . Looking at your close up , it seems like anything with white in the fabric works . It turned out great .
Love the quilt and the variety of fabrics. Maybe you should look at it with fresh eyes and not worry so much about white and cream based fabrics. Its absolutely fun and beautiful. Also, there is a lot of yellow in the quilt and cream has yellow in it so the yellow helps to tie all the fabrics together. We have to think outside the box sometimes. I just coffee died some dalmation fabric. I needed a piece I could use for turtle legs and head with spots and it came out perfect. Just what I wanted.
I see what you mean about the white-whites and the creamy whites but it is LOVELY. Great job! What a special gift for someone.
I love your quilt. I’m glad you shared your thoughts on the finished quilt. That will help all of us improve our fabric selections. I’m sur whoever you give this quilt to will love I and the variety. I have the book and I hope to start one soon.
I love your quilt! And I love that you mixed whites and creams. I think it looks great. Now is a great time to purchase that book on Amazon – the price is really low. I just bought it!
I love how you explain without complaining. I think the quilt is a winner as is. I’m working on an old ufo that has sat for over 14 years unfinished do to an ” expert quilter who said it wasn’t worth quilting as my seams all neebe redone. redone. A couple of weeks ago I finished a huge new quilt that I quilted on my sewing machine in sections. It came out so well I took aook at the old quilt pieces. Nothing was wrong with the Seams. So I sat down and got the squares put to gether. Now I’m piecing the back together using the leftover squares and turning them into the backing. Having fun doing using every bit of yellow and green scraps I have to do so. Such fun.
I love this quilt!
The quilt is beautiful! I know the quilters are their own worst critics but I don’t anybody else would have given the colors a second t thought. The borders pretty and so was the quilting.
I like the softness of this quilt with the mix of white and creamy white….I would have thought it intentional even though I’ve read your blog posts on separating the two. This is a wonderful finish!
Happy Saturday Jo :-)
I love it! I am also a scrappy quilt girl. I love how, in a scrappy quilt, you get to see reminders of other quilts and projects you have made. I think I learn something with every quilt I make, and like you, sometimes that lesson learned comes at the very end when I critique my finished work. I really enjoy your blog, Jo. Thanks.
The border fabric shown is from the Rainbow Sprinkles line, called Rainbow Buttons – info obtained from the Andover website.
Thank you, Deb. Exactly what I was wondering and appreciate your sharing this.
I love it. It is such a cheerful quilt.
Another beautiful quilt with wonderful craftmanship. I love it just way it is.
I love your quilt! I just purchased the book on a really good sale on Amazon.
Another great quilt Jo!
Rosie is so cute. She still has a puppy look, it may be her face markings but she looks like a sweetie.
And I always mix whites and creams together on purpose! This quilt is on my to-do list – just gotta grab my tub of squares and start!
I actually like a mix of white and cream lights in a scrappy quilt – I think it adds depth and keeps the eye moving. On the other hand, I’ve learned I like a limited palate with my colors. The ones I’ve made with “everything but the kitchen sink” are the ones that don’t work. That’s one thing I love about the quilting world – we can each do what suits us best and admire it when others work to their own voice. You’ve made a lovely quilt and I’m sure the recipient will agree!
Jo I love this quilt, the colors are so cheerful and Brite! Some lucky person will love it.
I love your quilt .I much prefer scrappy quilts . I don’t think the the cream and white/white look bad together at all. Rosie is so cute!
Scrappy quilts are my favorite kind to make and I agree with you that advance planning makes for a prettier finish. Since you used white whites in the center along with the creamy whites that makes the lovely border work just fine!
Thanks for all you do, I so enjoy your blog.
Congrats on this sweet quilt finish, Jo. You made quick work of this one! Regarding the mix of backgrounds, I don’t see any problem with it. Your quilt turned out great!
I think the white border makes the main body of the quilt sparkle–whereas the cream border would give it an all over look. Overall I think its a winner!! Just depends on the look you want.
I love everything about this quilt! The scrappy goodness, and the mixing of whites with creams. I think that’s what makes a scrappy quilt more interesting. I think your red inner border matches perfectly and I love the creative backing you made. Also, I bought some of the border fabric myself yesterday and am adding bits of it into my own scrappy quilt, with creams, black and whites, and everything together. Good job Jo!
Love the quilt even with the off white in it. Just ordered the book, it’s on sale at a great price.
I also love scrap quilts. Mixing creams and whites doesn’t bother me at all. We get so close – physically – when me make them we forget they are usually seen from a distance. I love it.
Beautiful quilt Jo. I love the border fabric too. Thanks to others’ comments, I decided to order the book today
It turned out gorgeous Jo! When I saw your post about this quilt book, I knew I had the book so I sewed along with you:) I just finished the top and have stalled in trimming it down- I hate doing that but picked up my border fabric and will hopefully get it done soon, yours has given me inspiration!
Another great finish and I own this book so I hope to make this quilt one day. I also own 5 yards of that fabric and its such a wonderful background print with all the bright fabrics available today. Sometimes when I get a quilt finished it doesn’t sing to me and I have to take a closer look and ask why since I loved the fabrics when I chose them. I see what you mean about the creams and whites not quite happy together in the same quilt, but there is still Joy that it is done and ready to be gifted. The receiver of the quilt will love it, for it is cheerful and made with love. Beautiful finish.
I really like this quilt – and I love that that you’ve used white with backgrounds instead of all white. I may pic up this book this fall! Thanks for the recommendation.
Love and prayers
just popped in to say: bravo! love the little surprises