We’ve had beautiful Fall days in Utah with chillier weather, though this week the temperatures are back up into the 60s (F). This is the perfect opportunity to show you 5 creative fall quilts with applique’, for those days when you decide to stay in and do some leaf-peeping of the ‘let’s-find-fall-leaves-in-my-fabric-stash’ kind.
[Edited: June 14, 2020]
Lest you think I am consumed by Christmas projects, above is a mini quilt I finished last week. “Itty Bitty Roses” measures 12″, the blocks that are 2-1/2″, and it shows off one of my favorite Fall fabrics! Vibrant hues, gorgeous flowers, and allover goodness in one print…
I machine appliqued the tiny roses with matching thread and quilted it using monofilament and hearts. Hearts? Yeah, just to register the fact that I absolutely love this border fabric and this time of the year.
Although the leaves on these photos are green, the ones on the tips of the branches have fantastic red, orange, and yellow hues just as on the fabrics I chose. You know quilted wall hangings are my favorite home decor accessories, regardless of the season. This mini quilt looks pretty cool anywhere with the clothespins and little hanger.
For the backing, I found this paisley fabric I’ve had for over 13 years and did not want to cut. Oh, well, I am courageous! When choosing backing fabric, I try to match the colors of the quilt top, as well as its feel. If the quilt top is traditional, I avoid modern fabrics for the background and vice-versa.
I found the pattern for “Itty Bitty Roses” in the book Autumn Bouquet – Patchwork and Applique’ Quilts from Reproduction Fabrics by Sharon Keightley, published by Martingale. The quilt designs are beautiful, most with floral applique’ motifs which can be done with the needle-turn method or as I did: machine applique’.
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| All photographs by Brent Kane and Adam Albright for Martingale. Used with permission. |
The section on the Applique’ methods at the end of the book has detailed instructions for using freezer paper and wash-away paper. The photos explain step-by-step how to prepare the shapes before stitching them.
Since I love machine applique’, I usually skip this section but appreciate it is very detailed for those of us who are not fusible-web nut cases like I am. To be sure, hand applique’ is fantastic as a ‘take-me-wherever-you-go’ project. I have a Hawaiian project in the works for years and that is just it: I like to finish most of my quilts right after I cut all the fabrics for it, with very few exceptions. Thus, I do not have many unfinished projects lying around.
The reproduction fabrics against the lighter background on the quilt above look great, don’t you think? I also love her creative placement of the roses and stems on the border. Sharon’s quilts remind me of wooden stoves, rows of vegetables, and flower gardens as I imagine she must have in her New Zealand farm.
The reverse applique’ on the borders of this wall hanging created a unique design, unifying medallion and borders with a cheerful choice of colors. Sharon’s special affection for antique quilts informs her creative process. As for us, we can take her patterns and make quilts with all the charm, richness, and scrappy look of the antique quilts we all so admire.
Reverse applique’ is a wonderful technique. It adds so much depth and texture to patchwork. Look at this quilted wool wall hanging I made using this technique. L O V E!
From the mini quilt like the one I made to lap-sized projects, Autumn Bouquet offers a variety of ideas for gifts or home decor items for every season – we can just change the colorway if we’d like. These 5 creative fall quilts with applique’ I’ve shown you should inspire you to make fun projects to keep or give away.
Speaking of gifting, the prime time of the year for gift-making is soon approaching. Just saying… Her book has many more projects than the ones I am displaying here and, as for me, I am glad I have it.
My quilt turned out just a bit bigger than hers and less scrappy because the border features only one fabric as opposed to four as Sharon’s.
I received a hard copy of the Autumn Bouquet from Martingale, yet you can choose to have its eVersion and download it right away. Either way, you will be happy to have it in your quilting library.
I am off to write patterns. See ya!
