Live a Colorful Life Quilt Diary: 146. Harvest Spice

The inspiration for Harvest Spice came from two separate sources, which then blended together beautifully.

I had this gorgeous piece of fabric for years. I loved the rich combination of colors. But then my style kind of changed and I donated it to my church quilting group. Then regretted it, and asked for it back.

I do know that it was called Harvest Spice, and hence the name for the quilt.

Mark and I had gone to a home show where I took a photograph of this chair upholstery to add to my inspiration file.

A few weeks later I had the opportunity work with Cotton Supreme Solids by RJR. Given free reign, I knew exactly the color palette to choose--Harvest Spice. I chose two different colors of red (222 Redwork and 356 Moulin Rouge), orange (276 Tangerine Dream and 367 Bandana), gold (92 Goldenrod and 305 Butternut), green (359 Pea in a Pod and 343 Martini Olive), and purple (361 Aubergine and 279 Purple Haze), and added a soft white (364 Kerchief) and deep, dark brown (201 Espresso).

I spent a few days of relaxing and sewing at a cabin and made the first few blocks.

At first I was sure I would be making more of the half stripes/half espresso blocks but the more blocks that were completed, the less I thought they worked. Turns out, what looks good in upholstery where each square is about one inch just didn't translate to a block that is 10 inches.

I had several color combination "recipes" and when I needed five more blocks for the five by five setting, I made monochromatic blocks (one in green and one in purple) and three variations of courthouse steps, randomly choosing scraps from my cutting table.

I had originally planned on using Espresso for the binding. That would have been a "safe" choice for me. But in what now seems like a stroke of luck, I didn't have enough, and went with Moulin Rouge instead. I love it!!