Ankara Quilt Start
2025 has not been a year of big quilts for me - I’ve been making lots of small pieces and really enjoying that. But there’s something so exhilarating about getting an idea for a new BIG quilt, and recently I got inspired to start one…
I’ve had this lovely little roll of Ankara fabric for months, which I pulled apart from a thrifted skirt
I love the fabric so much, but just didn’t have a clear idea of what I wanted to use it for. Then I bought a scrap bundle from Kianga Jinaki and somehow things just fell into place - I started to envision a scrappy and wonky log cabin-style quilt
I’ve been working a lot on preparing for workshops the last few months, and haven’t had as much time for sewing personal projects, and the feeling of the little spark of inspiration for how I wanted to sew these fabrics together felt so nice to move toward.
To start the first block, I pulled every single piece of fabric out onto my sewing table
I selected a scrap of print fabric for the center of the first block, and decided that I would alternate between prints and solid scraps for each log I added to my wonky log cabin block. The process felt very smooth and flowing, and when I reached for each new piece of fabric, I tried to pick something that drew on the colors of the previous piece of fabric. When I had something larger than 12.5” in each direction, I used my square ruler to cut out the block
For subsequent blocks, I’m planning to alternate between printed and solid centers so that as I piece the blocks together, the solids will provide visual resting places among the beauty and interest of the prints.
This is not a neat and orderly process for me, take a look at the chaos of my sewing table during assembly of the first block:
It’s chaotic, but I love it! I’m really enjoying putting these blocks together, especially the feeling of mystery and surprise about how each one will turn out. I’m looking forward to seeing them all together, putting a large quilt top together is SO satisfying!! I’m already envisioning a quilting plan and getting excited to quilt it (which is a little like thinking about dinner when I’m still eating breakfast…but that’s how my brain works sometimes :))