Stitches in Stone: Pattern Reveal
Hello Friends and Welcome!
Now that August has finally arrived, I'm excited to share my new quilt along pattern, Stitches in Stone!
I've shared a few glimpses at the design as I've been developing it, and talked a little about where I was drawing inspiration from along the way, but I'm looking forward to elaborating on that a little more today with a first look at the completed design!
I can't wait to share what I've been working on!
Finding Inspiration
While working on my Sitches in Stone design, I drew inspiration from a new fibre interest of mine; crochet!
Specifically, I was inspired by granny squares, which are a type of crochet unit worked in the round and built from the centre out, similarly to the way a Log Cabin quilt block is made!
I wanted to capture the feeling of the concentric chains that make up those crochet squares, as well as the stitches that run between them, holding the chains together and unifying them as a completed square!
With this in mind, I started sketching!
For this quilt, I was drawn to the traditional Rocky Mountain Chain block, perhaps because I was relating the 'chain' in it's name to the chains of yarn used in crochet?
Whatever the reason, this traditional block was a really great starting point for the design I wanted to create!
After breaking the block roughly in half, I used it to create a series of concentric rings—the base of the pattern!
Since early in the design process, I've been making these chains in white as a reference to crochet lace!
White also happens to be a great accent colour, as it stands out beautifully against a variety of bold background colours! And with this particular design, there are a lot of interesting negative spaces offering lots of potential for colour play!
Initially, I had thought about different ways to create gradients across the background of the quilt, using different shapes and layouts to fill the background with colour!
And though I can imagine how much fun it would be to lay out all the units—experimenting with different placements, using a variety of scraps and remnant in an improvisational way—it didn't feel coherent enough to be a written pattern.
After spending some time sitting with the design, as well as some time away from it, I began seeing a landscape emerge from within the chains and stitches!
I don't know if this was influenced by the name of the Rocky Mountain Chain block, but I started seeing the triangular clusters of stitches as mountains, reaching towards a distant sky!
The atmospheric nature of a distant landscape creates a natural gradient that I welcomed into the design of my quilt, and after several weeks of adjusting the placement of colours and shapes, I reached my final design!
Stitches in Stone
Inspired by crochet granny squares, traditional quilt blocks, and mountain landscapes, I decided to call this pattern Stitches in Stone!
This design is for a large quilt, appropriate for a queen sized bed, and features several common quilt units, including Square in a Square, Half Square Triangles, and Quarter Square Triangles!
It's a big quilt with a lot of piecing and some fun opportunity for colour play! Exactly the type of quilt I love making!
But I know there are a lot of folks who prefer a smaller, less time consuming project. So for them, I've made a smaller version of Stitches in Stone!
This version of the quilt is throw sized, appropriate for cuddling on the couch or to give to a friend who sometimes needs a hug from afar!
Quilt Along
Now that you've had a chance to see the completed design, I hope you'll choose to join me for the Stitches in Stone quilt along!
A new set of pattern instructions will be released on the first Tuesday of each month, and will be available here on the Fibre Arts blog for free for the duration of the quilt along!
We'll be getting started next week with the release of the fabric requirements, then making a different unit each month from September through May! In June, the quilt along will end with the assembly of our Stitches in Stone quilt tops!
Challenge yourself to make the quilt along with me, or save the instructions to make at your own pace later, the choice is yours!
Friends, I am so excited to start my next quilt along journey with all of you! I'm looking forward to seeing how each of you takes the pattern and makes it your own!
If you have any questions along the way, or want to show off your progress, I hope you'll reach out in the comments below, by sending me an email or by visiting me on Instagram!
I can't wait to get started on Stitches in Stone next week!
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