Shadow Boxes Patchwork – with tutorial and giveaway

Hi all!  What’s up?  I’m back after a FANTASTIC honeymoon, a super-fun time at Camp Stitchalot, and a week or so of trying to get my feet back on the ground and get to work.  Thank goodness for deadlines or I may never have come back down to earth…I’d be floating off into the atmosphere…desperate for a snack!

rjr SHADOW BOXES-2

Today’s post is part of the blog hop for RJR solids and it had to happen on time, so it has pulled me back to lovely quilty reality.

As a part of the blog hop, I got to make my own fabric bundle. At first I was a bit overwhelmed by all the choices, but then I realized I just needed to think of a project first and then pick my fabrics!

The image that was my initial spark for my project was a picture of Squares and Triangles’s Scrap Box ii quilt (photo no longer available).

Her quilt block is basically a sort of scrappy micro-log cabin.  Each one has a single ring of logs around a white center and then the white background.  I really liked the simplicity of it…so pretty and calming.  I wanted to play with my own micro-cabins!

I picked three medium-valued colors I really liked out of the color card (overcast, haviland blue, and driftwood) and then three light colors to go with each one.

rjr SHADOW BOXES-6
You might be able to read my note in the photo above, but the fabrics here are (from top to bottom):
  • 283 On the Rock (light gray)
  • 319 Overcast (medium gray)
  • 179 Hyacinth (lilac)
  • 297 Driftwood (medium purpley brown)
  • 169 Haviland Blue (medium blue)
  • 102 Celeste (light blue)
  • 033 Optical White (bright white)
In order to piece the blocks, I simply cut a small square of the dark fabric (no measuring, just cut!) and then used strips of the lighter color to go around it (I cut the strips freehand, at approximately 2″ wide).  I tend to prefer the courthouse steps variation of log cabins, so if you look closely at my blocks, you’ll see that they were pieced that way, rather than as straight log cabins.
Finally, a border of white is added to the blocks and then the blocks are cut to the same size for ease in combining them; I just add more white if the block isn’t big enough yet.
rjr SHADOW BOXES-3

You’ll see in the block above that I also included some plain patches and I have some log cabins that are missing some walls.  The plain patches were added to give the piece some breathing room and the incomplete cabins happened because I decided to use up all my fabric and I ran out of the lighter fabrics before the darker ones.    I love how this quilt is coming together!  I can’t wait to make more blocks and join everything up!

As to the RJR Cotton Supreme Solids…I love them!  They have a really nice feel and lovely drape…a nice middle ground between Art Gallery (super drapey) and Kona Cottons (somewhat stiff.)  I tend to chose my solids based solely on color, not feel, and I was impressed by the colors RJR has available, I found a few new favorites on their color card!

Would you like to play with some RJR Cotton Couture solids?
I’ve got two bundles you can win!  (Update: The winners have been chosen)

I’ve got a bundle of my choices from RJR for one winner.  Let’s call this Subtle Shadows.

And another winner will a Daisy Field bundle from Pink Castle Fabrics.  This is also RJR Cotton Supreme Solids, Pink Castle Fabrics has a monthly club where they send you a bouquet of RJR solids each month–Color Inspirations (sign up any time!) All of the combinations were hand-picked by shop owner Brenda Ratliff, who is also the designer picking new colors for RJR’s line-up (best job ever?)  Daisy Field was March’s choice and it’s sooooo pretty!

In order to win, simply leave a comment below.
If you are outside of the US and Canada, please let me know–you’ll only be eligible to win the Daisy Field bundle from Pink Castle.

For more stops on the blog hop, check out RJR on facebook!
I’ll pick the winners on Monday and email them, please be sure I can reach you via email!
Thanks and good luck!
rjr SHADOW BOXES-1
Full disclosure:  RJR sent me my fabrics at no cost.  All opinions are my own and are genuine. 

Rossie

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This Post Has 73 Comments

  12. I like the simplicity of your quilt as well as the neutral palate. I would love to see this in brights, too. Thank you for the tut and the giveaway.

  19. Congrats on all the good things going on in your life. I love solids and would love to add a few more to the stash for when I sit down to play. Thanks for sharing the giveaways.

  28. Welcome back to the blogosphere! I love the dustiness of the courthouse steps quilt that you made and would love to add those fabrics to my stash. But I would be equally happy with the Daisy Field bundle! Thanks for the tutorial and the chance to win in your giveaway!

  34. Thank you for the giveaway and for creating and showing another version of the awesome log cabin-courthouse steps blocks.

  48. I really really love the openness of this quilt I do not know if that is the word for it, and honestly my hubby would love these colors, he is a minimalist.

  53. Interesting twist on log cabin blocks. I haven't seen quite this interpretation before and look forward to seeing the finished quilt.

  54. I like these blocks. I love the effect of the partial blocks especially. I love serendipity in design. Sometimes I wonder if I'm being lazy when i let logistics/fabric shortage etc guide my design but I really like the effect here and often when I see other quilters do it.

  55. Love the idea, I don't think I could bring myself to be that imprecise though, If I did one it would have to be beautifully mathematically precise. I'm in Scotland, so a bit too far away for a chance at the subtle shadows!

  56. I love your choices. I live in the desert and seem to be making a lot of quilts with gray undertones recently – I think I'm trying to get out of the heat! Lovely quilt – what are you going to do with it?

  61. when i began quilting in the 80s amish quilts were popular – my daughters quilts were pieced by machine but quilted by hand in grays, yellow, off whites and one with a splash of burgundy. i love you quilt – reminds me of the baby quilts i made long ago!

  65. Love the micro log cabins. I did an improv log cabin-ish boxes out of every shades of blue and green withsome white and green paisle vertical sashing for my youngest sister. She loved it. I really love March bundle palette!

  68. Love that daisy field! Great colors. I like how you added blank squares to your block. Lots of room for fun quilting! 🙂

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