ARTICLES Articles 3 min read

Color Play! with Gigi Levsen: Echo by Joanie Holton

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I hope you’ve been enjoying the new McCall’s Quilting special double issue and all the amazing Art Deco-inspired quilts contained within! Our contributors were inspired by the theme and created an array of such original, striking designs. And I, in turn, was inspired by their designs and enjoyed exploring the patterns. seeing how they could be used and adapted in different ways, and just generally playing with color in quilting. If you’re interested in seeing more Color Play! articles, click here!

playing with color in quilting
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Starting with Joanie Holton’s Echo

Echo by Joanie Holton is not a complicated quilt, but it is so impressive and lovely to look at all the same. Its large blocks are multiple log cabin variations, simple and relatively quick to sew, and Joanie’s asymmetrical composition, with corners of negative space and a layered appearance, shows them off beautifully.

Detail of Echo; look at that custom quilting!

I love large quilt blocks, and I love ombre fabrics, and I especially love combining them for dramatic effect. It’s always a surprise to see how the color and value changes across the fabric affect the look of the block. So, to test the blocks and explore creative possibilities, I chose some Gelato ombre fabrics from Maywood Studio and got to work.

playing with color in quilting
My version of Joanie’s block; the ombre fabrics make the block glow!

Making the Blocks

For block Z, a basic log cabin block with its center square and rounds of strips, I decided to modify Joanie’s design to better utilize the ombre effect of the fabric, by making every strip in each round equal in length and joining them to the center with partial seams. It also gives the block a bit of movement by suggesting rotation. If you’d like to do the same, keep all the strip widths as listed but cut all the inner round strips at 7¼”-long, the middle round of strips at 11¾”, and the outer round of strips at 16¼” long. Click here to check out our partial seams tutorial.

It’s not as smooth a value transition as it could be.

For block Y, which is a quarter log cabin variation, I made an important discovery about how best to use ombre fabrics in this and similar blocks. On the first round, with light aqua strips, I cut both the side and top strip from the same place on the ombre. When joined, it looks OK, but there is a slight step where the values don’t quite match, and it looks a bit misaligned or jagged, as you can see above.

playing with color in quilting
Look at the smooth, satisfying strip intersection value transitions!

Lesson Learned

But I found that if you cut one of the strips, specifically the strip that’s added first (in this case, the left side strip), about a half-width of a strip further in to the ombre, the strip intersection will create a gorgeous, uninterrupted ombre glow in the corner. Do you see the difference in the subsequent rounds of strips above?

Cut about half-width of the strip off one end of the first strip.

For example, if the finished strip width is 2” (as shown above), cut about 1” to 1½” off the lightest end of the second strip, then cut the required length. For a 3” finished strip, cut 1½” to 2” off the end, and so on. It’s tricky to explain but easy to show. You can see in the photo how the strip on top has a small piece cut off at the lightest end. This will be the strip that’s joined first (once it’s cut to the appropriate length). There is a tiny bit of fabric waste but the finished effect will be worth it.

playing with color in quilting
I’d love to make more blocks and get this bigger! We’ll see….

How Will You Play with Color?

Wow, the ombre fabrics really transformed Joanie’s pattern into a totally new piece! If you like ombre fabrics, or if you’ve been wanting to try using some in large log cabin blocks, remember this tip as I found it made a subtle but powerful difference in my finished piece. I loved having this opportunity to try playing with color in quilting — it was sew much fun! Have you created a pattern color way you love? We want to see it! Share with us on Instagram, Facebook, or in the comments section below.

Happy quilting!
Gigi

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