Today its my turn on the Rhapsody Project Tour and I am so excited to share my make, which incidentally is my latest pattern – The Piccolo Pinwheel Quilt. Sometimes I wonder how I got so lucky playing with such beautiful fabrics especially when they are in all my favourite colours.
Rhapsody is a riot of colour. Sedef has, once again, outdone herself. Pinks, aquas, reds and yellows play together in glorious harmony across a stunning mix of different style florals and prints. Look out for the sweet daisy drawn into the bouquets – I think that is hands down my favourite detail of all. She is such a wonderful addition to the Riley Blake family.
I knew immediately that I wanted to make a quilt in the range and set about choosing a few of my favourite fat quarters (side note: I totally regretted not getting all of them in the end so don’t make the same mistake I did). I wanted to stick with my direction of simple beginner friendly designs that are quick to sew and create interest and movement using negative space. And so the Piccolo Pinwheel quilt was born.
The double pinwheel is such a simple yet effective block and by rearranging it in a circle and adding some spiral quilting I achieved the movement I was after. Initially I was going to work with a white background but charcoal was calling and I am a girl who always follows her vision even if I am full of doubts along the way. I love the modern feel it gives the quilt though and it allowed my quilting to really stand out so the spiral was its own feature. That said though dont underestimate how much fluff charcoal shows especially when you have a golden retriever (insert rolling eyes here).
To add another layer of interest I decided to quilt part of the spiral in colour so every so often there are rings of red, aqua, pink and yellow through the silvery grey thread. It certainly added a cool touch to the design.
The spiral quilting took ages but it is one of my favourite ways to quilt. I used this great tutorial by The Seasoned Homemaker and it breaks it down so well you want to spiral quilt all the things trust me.
How beautiful are those colors against grey and the designs were the perfect size for my large pinwheels too.
For my photos I popped into the beautiful grounds of Hardys Wines in the Mclaren Vale. It is school holidays here so with kids in tow I spent a lovely hour laying the quilt against some of the amazing stone work and textures. It was quite a bright day which made photographing the charcoal challenging but I loved the backdrops so much and will definitely return when the light is softer for another shoot. The amazing Fleurieu Arthouse sits in the grounds too and I already have the perfect quilt picked out to photograph there – there is so much talent in our area!
Now lets talk about the pattern itself. The piccolo pinwheel quilt is beginner friendly, fat quarter friendly, a quick sew and a dynamic make. Once you have made the half square triangles (and there really arent that many!) it comes together so quickly and finishes at 60″x 60″ (150cm x 150cm) which is, of course, my favourite quilt size.
As always I put out a call for testers in my testing group (you can join here) and had some lovely hands go up. The ladies all worked tirelessly offering feedback, creating their own versions and editing the pattern itself (thanks Karyn!). Their makes are lovely and show just how versatile the pattern is. I am looking forward to seeing everything quilted and finished – I will be sure to share on my socials as soon as I am tagged. Lauren, Jo, Vanessa, Tracey and Babs I am so grateful for your hard work and beautiful makes.
The Piccolo Pinwheel Quilt Pattern {PDF} is now live in store and can be purchased here. If you are an International shopper outside of the United States or New Zealand then please head to my Etsy store to buy.
One last look at those sweet florals because I just cant resist!
I am the lucky last on the Rhapsody Project tour but if you would like to see what else has been created with Sedef’s amazing line then make sure you follow these links and visit all the talented makers who have taken part.
May 28 – Natasha Baxter – www.ellieshandmade.com
June 4 – Damjana Jakos – www.applegreencottage.com
June 11 – Lindsey Weight – www.primrosecottagequilts.com
June 18 – Gail Dicks – www.booandlu.com
June 25 – Kristina Brinkerhoff – www.centerstreetquilts.com
July 2 – Peta Peace – www.shequiltsalot.com
July 9 – Sarah Scott – www.piccolostudio.com.au
Rhapsody should now be found in all your favourite quilting stores and if they don’t have it then make sure you ask!
A last little set of pics before I go of our gorgeous new rescue pup Charlie who was quick to make himself at home and who is far too cute to be pushed off much to Daisy’s disgust.
Sarah xx
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