Quilting by the Book with A Splash of Color

[Alice F.]

The book is: Rainbow Quilts for Scrap Lovers by Judy Gauthier, and is available for purchase as a PDF from The Quilt Show.

[Alice F.]

Here is my progress on making a green ring from Judy Gauther's Aromatic Rings quilt pattern.

I found that the Lori Holt Gentler Times fabrics from the bundle combine nicely with her Hometown Holiday fabrics and some other Christmas theme fabrics I have. So I'm making a single "Aromatic Ring" of greens to be a holiday wall hanging suggesting a wreath.

I selected lighter value fabrics for the background and compared them to the greens for the ring by stacking them to each side of the column of greens and then used the B&W filter in my camera app to help evaluate the values as Dee suggested.

My green ring is now assembled. Next I need to work on the arrangement/layout for the background. I'm thinking to alternate the 5" background squares with 5 inch four patch blocks to add more detail and color movement throughout the background.

[Terri S.]

Alice - I absolutely LOVE your color choices! Thank you for sharing photos. I hope you also share the finished block.

[Alice F.]

Thanks Terri!

Here is my progress. I finished sewing the background together. - photo 1

I haven't yet sewn the green ring down - it's only pinned to the background for now. - photo 2

I'm thinking to add some applique poinsettias, so I'm trying out my idea with cut paper pieces first. - photo 3

[Alice F.]

Here's the Owl I'm working on. I wanted the owl to be smaller than the pattern specified, so I reduced the size to 75%. That meant that the 5" finished size squares are reduced to 3.75" and the finished block will be 15" wide.

As I was assembling the owl, I felt the body looked too short in proportion to the beak and feet I made. So I looked at some photos of great horned owls and decided to add another row to the body making it longer and more vertical in aspect ratio.

I've pinned applique shapes over the "flower center" eyes to try them out. I wanted the owl's expression to be perceived as more relaxed, sleepy, or looking down rather than straight at us. I think I like the addition of the applique eyes better than without them.

[Jennifer C.]

What fabric line is Dee working from in her Splash of Color book?

[Alice F.]

Hi Jennifer, Here is an excerpt from the Quilt Show Newsletter October 8, 2025:
"The Lower the Volume Bundle from Blank Quilting gives you whimsical low-volume backgrounds, while the Gentler Times Bundle from Riley Blake adds a rainbow of vintage-inspired blenders—perfect for the colorful quilts you’ll learn to make in class." There are no longer links to the fabrics on theQuiltShow.com site, so I'm thinking they have sold out of the bundles in their shop.

[Alice F.]

I've stitched 4 of the colored equilateral triangle blocks so far for "The Circus Comes To Town" - 2 in teal colors and 2 in purple colors. I'm really enjoying making them!

I've realized that these blocks have the same 60 degree relationships as I love working with in EPP where the triangles can be combined to form diamonds and hexagons. So I'm playing with the arrangement of the blocks and thinking of using diamond shapes instead of circles to cover the openings.