Hello!! Welcome to the Playground Showcase, featuring Amy Sinibaldi’s latest line for Art Gallery Fabrics. The colours in this collection are so completely perfect; pink, coral, mustard, plum and blue. All my favourites! We were still in the thick of winter when I was planning the quilt design, the days were mostly grey and dreary. Creating a quilt of spring bulbs was the perfect way to bring my favourite season forward a little.

I started out with the nine-patch tulip block from ‘1000 Great Quilt Blocks’ by Maggi McCormick Gordon. I made a few changes, removing the nine-patch at the centre, changing some of the proportions and shrinking it to a 6″ block. I drafted the pattern in EQ7, then cut plastic templates for most of the pieces. Templates might be a slower way to go but I think they’re worth it for accuracy, especially with tricky shapes like these. The plastic templates also made it easy to fussy cut the fabrics.

Tulip block by Wooden Spoon Quilts
Tulip Quilt by Wooden Spoon Quilts
Tulip quilt by Wooden Spoon Quilts
Tulip Quilt by Wooden Spoon Quilts
Tulip Quilt by Wooden Spoon Quilts
Tulip Quilt by Wooden Spoon Quilts
Tulip Quilt by Wooden Spoon Quilts
Tulip Quilt by Wooden Spoon Quilts
Tulip Quilt showcasing Playground Fabrics by Wooden Spoon Quilts
Spring is officially here now but the quilt is still brightening my day up, it’s hanging on the wall where I pinned it to take photos, I don’t really want to take it down. Can you tell how wet and grey it was when I took the photos? I’ve had to do a lot of editing to brighten them up!
The tulip blocks are scattered across the quilt in my first attempt at an improv style, off-grid layout. I was feeling brave! I laid the blocks out randomly then filled in the gaps with the background fabric. To keep track of the quilt size, I used my Irish Chain quilt as a guide, laying the blocks out on top of the quilt. I liked the way the Irish Chain looked peeking through so I added a few on-point squares to the quilt. I like the quirkiness of that little addition. My cat was (as usual) drawn to the quilt, I wasn’t too happy the day she ran all over it with muddy paws! But she does look cute sitting on it!
The quilting was done by Donna Ward on her long arm machine. I was keen on figure eight quilting but Donna wasn’t sure about doing it without any horizontal reference points in the piecing, so she came up with the idea of adding wavy lines and using those as the reference points. Brilliant! I love the softness that all those curves bring to the pointy corners of the tulip block.

With the quilt finished, I shrunk the 6″ block down to a 3″ on-point paper pieced block, the perfect size to feature on the cover of a needle book. Of course I used Amy’s needle book tutorial. These fabrics work so well in teeny tiny piecing too! I will be popping the free 3″ spring bulb pattern in my Craftsy store very soon.

Playground Fabrics by Amy Sinibaldi for Art Gallery - needle books

And finally, one more make to share…

Gathering Flowers Quilt Block in Art Gallery Playground Fabrics by Amy Sinibaldi

Anna Maria Horner’s Gathering Flowers quilt block is a perfect match for Playground fabrics don’t you think? This is going to be a pillow for my daughter. I just need to decide whether to keep it square or trim it for a round pillow. Hmmm….

Amy has written a blog post about her inspiration for the fabric line, and you can see swatches of all the fabrics, and the look book by clicking here. Visit the links below to check out what everyone else is making in the Playground Showcase. There are so many beautiful makes already and we’re only half way through. Seriously, you’ll need a little time to check out these blog posts! Oh and if you’re on Instagram, the hashtag is #playgroundshowcase.

September

              15: Michelle Curtis ~ chellesquilts.com
              16: Peta Peace ~ shequiltsalot.com
              17: Minki Kim ~ minkikim.com
              19: Jemima Flendt ~ tiedwitharibbon.com
              20: Tara J Curtis ~ tjaye.com
              21: Alexis Wright ~ mysweetsunshinestudio.com
              22: Melissa LeRay ~ ohhowsweet.com
              23: Ali Brorsen ~ becauseofbrennaclothing.com
              24: Angie Wilson ~ gnomeangel.com
              26: Rachel McCormack ~ woodenspoonquilts.blogspot.com
              27: Stacy Olson ~ stacyolsondesign.com
              28: Shannon Fraser ~ shannonfraserdesigns.ca
              29: Cristi Cooper ~ whimsyquilts.blogspot.com
              30: Guiseppe Ribaudo ~ instagram.com/Giucy_Giuce

October

1: Kristyne Czepuryk ~ prettybyhand.com
             3: Amy Sinibaldi ~ nanaCompany.typepad.com

Quilt Stats;

Quilt name: I’ve just now realised I haven’t thought of a name, maybe ‘Early Spring’!?
Size: 56″x63″

Batting: 100% cotton from Hobbs
Background and binding fabric: Essex linen in Ivory by Robert Kaufman and a little Blueberry Park on Snow
Long Arm Quilted by: Donna Ward

18 thoughts to “Playground Showcase

  • Julie

    You have been busy – so many lovely creations with Amy's fabric. I may need to try that Spring bulb pattern soon.

    Reply
  • Debbie

    boy, that quilt is very pretty!!

    Reply
  • Gemini Jen NZ

    What a great time of year to reveal your spring bulbs quilt – I've noticed a lot of tulips popping up around here this week. It is a gorgeous quilt, well done! And I love the pillow block too.

    Reply
  • Svetlana

    Oh wow!!! Rachel, this is such an absolutely stunning quilt. Love the needle books, too. And that AMH block is amazing.

    Reply
  • Serena @ Sewgiving

    I love it … It's like the buds of childhood… growing through play ? Thank you for offering the free 3" pattern ?

    Reply
  • DeborahGun

    What an absolutely beautiful quilt. Just stunning 🙂

    Reply
  • Linda

    Hello, such beautiful projects!Loving this collection! Thanks for sharing!
    msstitcher1214@gmail.com

    Reply
  • Jenny - the lilac cat

    What a beautiful quilt. Love every aspect but especially the delicacy of the block and the 'sprinkling' /non standard grid layout works so well

    Reply
  • Mara

    Beautiful quilt, love it!

    Reply
  • legato1958

    What a beautiful quilt! I love your modern pattern and those tulips! The needle books are truly pretty , too!
    Susie

    Reply
  • Merran

    Gorgeous as ever , thank you for reminding me I do love Spring

    Reply
  • Gina

    Wow! Rachel, you have created a beautiful quilt. Stunning. Spring tulips are divine. Love the quilting. Also love the little needle books . Looking forward to the free pattern, so that I can make one too.

    Reply
  • cottonpaperflowers

    I love this! Such a beautiful quilt! I also loved the squares and the details in the binding. Very well done! (oh and the Irish chain quilt is such a beauty too!)
    cottonpaperflowers at gmail dot com

    Reply
  • Susan

    Beautiful! Love all your projects and it's fun to see what all of you very talented people are doing! Thanks for all the inspiration!

    Reply
  • Susan

    This comment has been removed by the author.

    Reply
  • Sarah @ mila+cuatro

    These all look very beautiful, Rachel. Love the gathering flowers block in particular xx

    Reply
  • Sue

    Love this quilt, great setting!

    Reply
  • David King

    Loved it! what a comfortable quilt, really loved the work done by you guys. keep it up!

    16:39pm Timber Floor Sanding & Polishing Wollongong

    Reply

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