Tips for Choosing Fabric + More Fall-Inspired Patchwork

Greetings friends!

Happy Fall! I hope October is treating you well. Honestly, it doesn't really feel like October here, but I'm hoping that "sweatah weathah" and soup season are just around the corner.

One of my favorite quilts to pull out this time of year is this Fast Churn Dash quilt that I made a few years ago. I'm a sucker for traditional quilt blocks and I love how a fresh color palette can give a traditional quilt a modern feel.

Choosing fabrics is one of my favorite parts of making a quilt, but that's partly because I've had a lot of practice. I know that choosing fabric for a quilt can feel overwhelming to a lot of people. Using this Fast Churn Dash quilt as an example, I’m sharing a few simple tips for choosing fabrics to create a “controlled scrappy” look, including how to pair light and dark fabrics and create contrast with both color and print scale. These ideas will help you confidently pull from your stash or finally put one of those favorite fat quarter bundles to good use!

This pattern is a great stashbuster, too. It uses a no-waste method designed for Fat Quarters or Fat Eighths, and because you make two blocks at a time, the quilt comes together surprisingly quickly. And it's 20% off this week (both PDF and Paper versions) as the pattern of the week!

Cozy Fall Sewing Ideas

As you all know by now, Fall is my favorite season, and it’s an especially fun time to pull out some favorite warm, autumn-colored fabrics! This week I’m sharing the cutest collection of easy fall sewing projects from guest contributor Stacey Lee Creative.

These quick, beginner-friendly ideas include pumpkins, hot pads, coasters, a table runner, and more - perfect for using up scraps, decorating your home, or making a thoughtful handmade gift.

Fall Inspired Patchwork

Another idea if you're in the mood sew something fall-ish, but don't have time to tackle a big project - pull out those fall-vibe scraps and prints and put together a quick pillow or table runner. Get the joy of pulling colors and prints without having to commit to a big finish.

Here's an example of how to make a fun Broken Dishes patchwork pillow, or Hourglass Table runner. This project is perfect for 5" precuts as well. I just pulled out the pillow and matching table runner again last night.

Fun Finds on the Web - More Fall Patchwork Inspiration

Love this minimalist modern quilt block turned into a darling pillow from Joz Makes Quilts.

This Halloween bunting is SO Cute - and can be made with a Charm Pack!

And here's a different take on fall leaves with this Autumn Leaf Hot Pad tutorial from Crafty Staci.

It's been a busy week since you last heard from me. My husband and I were able to visit our family in New Hampshire - our main purpose being to take care of a busy 4-year-old niece so that her parents could get away for a week. Bonus that her family (her dad is my husband's younger brother) lives in the same complex as my husband's parents and 2 other brothers with Downs Syndrome. (The 4-year-old's parents are also doing a large part of caregiving for and supporting the 2 brothers and we were happy to take over that too.)

We feel lucky that we're at a stage of life where we can visit more often and do more to give these other wonderful caregivers a little break from everyday routines. It's also pretty awesome to get to visit New England and enjoy the emerging of fall there - not peak fall foliage yet, but still some pretty spectacular scenery showing off. On the other hand, we were also there for the Nor'easter storm last weekend. Fortunately for us, no major damage or destruction - but 3 days of rain is not prime weather for a busy 4-year-old. (But the sunset before a big storm is pretty stunning.)

And also: I am clearly not the spring-chicken I used to be. Hat's off to all of you who keep up with 4-year-olds or similarly busy children. I am officially pooped. 😅😆🫠

Finally, I got my Coastal Walk quilt back from the quilter in time to take with me to photograph at an actual coast! I'll be sharing more of that next week.

As always, thank you so much for stopping by. Wishing you the best for the week ahead!

Amy

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