I’ve been thinking really hard about what I wanted to do for a colour palette for my Farmer’s Wife Sampler Quilt. With so many blocks to make and such a big time commitment, I wanted to settle on a range of colour to create a framework for all the blocks.

I had quite a few ideas. The front runner was a rainbow palette with each block being tonal in just one colour. For instance, three shades of pink, red, purple or yellow. Then I could arrange the blocks in a rainbow gradation in the end. My other idea was solids only. This was completely inspired by how amazing these blocks look. I also considered doing the City Rain palette that was inspired by this photo. My last idea was to do white + one colour. This was inspired by this red and white vintage quilt and this quilt exhibit that I really wish I could have seen in NYC.  See some great photos of the exhibit here.

Here’s how I finally decided. I got out all my boxes of fabric and started to pick out fabric for each of those palettes. I knew right away the City Rain palette would be impossible for me for 100+ blocks. It felt too limiting and difficult. The rainbow palette seemed fun and would give me so many options, but I realized that I had more than two boxes full of blue fabric. I really like blue. I also really like the idea of creating a quilt that will have a bit of a traditional feel with the colour but will hopefully also look modern with my fabric choices. I’ll be doing all shades of blue + white.

I feel so good now that I’ve got my colour choice sorted out. Have you decided what colours you’re going to use? Please feel free to post a comment here to tell us what fabrics you’ve chosen, or even a link to a photo or blog post you’ve written about the topic. I can’t wait to see!

Happy Long Weekend!

I’ve been meaning to cut some Hydrangea flowers from the garden and put them in my room. I finally cut a tiny bloom off this morning. I did a bit of research to find out the best way to make them last longer. I used the hot water method. I’m curious to see how long I can make the bloom last by repeating this on a daily basis. I’ll let you know.

This particular Hydrangea blooms either pink or blue depending on the pH of your soil. My soil is obviously alkaline. I’m thinking about adding some coffee grounds or peat moss to try to get some blue blooms next year.

I do have a real soft spot for pink though. Did you know that a specific shade of pink, Baker Miller Pink, has been found to lower your heart rate and is used in prison holding cells to calm down prisoners?

I’m in love with this planter posted on You Grow Girl. {via whip up}