july | Night Quilter

There’s nothing like beginning a month with a holiday to help it feel like it’s flying by like a firecracker. Pair that with a week long trip down to celebrate with family, and July has truly snuck up on me!

As I get back into the swing of things on the homestead, unpack, and hopefully dive productively into a few big sewing projects, I thought I’d host a giveaway to help get the second weekend of July (how did that happen!?) off to a fun start.

Thanks to the Fat Quarter Shop, one of my lucky readers can enter to win this newly released Raindrop fat quarter bundle by Rashida Coleman-Hale for Cotton + Steel Fabrics. The bundle includes 20 fat quarters and two (2) 24″ x 44″ canvas prints, and seems most fitting to kick off this rainy weekend here in Maine. There are so many great prints in this collection–from the geometric play stash builders to the fabulous cicadas, all inspired by the rainy season in Japan. True to my naturalist heart, I love cicadas. I used to love to collect their exoskeletons from trees when I was a kid, and hook them all over my clothes to surprise the less-bug-loving kids on the block. Ahh, memories!

To enter the giveaway today, tell me what you like to do on rainy days. Leave a comment and make sure I’m able to get ahold of you if you win. For an additional entry, click HERE and sign up for my new Night Quilter email list. You will get occasional emails with highlights, pattern announcements, and special offers. Leave a second comment to let me know you’re signed up! Tell me how you follow Fat Quarter Shop (facebook,twitter, Instagram, their blog Jolly Jabber, etc.) in a third comment for a third entry.

This giveaway is open to US and international participants. The giveaway will be open until Thursday July 14th at 8pm EST when I’ll select the winner randomly with random.org. Good luck, and enjoy your rainy (or sunny if you’re lucky) weekend! This giveaway is now closed! Congratulations, Kendra!

This is the time of year when colors pop up all over our gardens and the surrounding fields. We spend much of our days outside, either swimming at the lake or staying around home, where Finn and I relax in the shade while the big kids play in the kiddie pool and jump through the sprinkler, snuggle chickens, or just explore like curious kids do.

Earlier in the week, when I started thinking about my color inspiration post this week, I decided that I really would love to get some color sans green. Don’t get me wrong–I love green! But sometimes, the gorgeous colors of the flowers beg to be the star without the background sea of green. This thought led to a fun, family-involved activity: color scavenger hunts. So far we’ve completed two color scavenger hunts, where my big kids and I walk around the yard, finding and collecting colors from a specific color family. Then, we head to the shady porch to lay out our finds and arrange them in a fun way.

Corresponding solids from left to right:
Bella Lead, Bella Plum, Bella Berrylicious, Kona Violet, Kona Mulberry, Bella Baby Blue

Corresponding Aurifil thread from left to right:
1246 – Grey
2566 – Wisteria
2535 – Magenta
2479 – Med Orchid
4225 – Eggplant
2562 – Lilac

Here’s our fun collection of pink and purple flowers both cultivated and wild found in rural midcoast Maine in July. I’ll be sharing our results from different color scavenger hunts over the next few weeks, with the full palette and then some closer detail shots purely for the fun of seeing the tiny variations in floral anatomy and color.

Corresponding solids from left to right:
Kona Medium Grey, Kona Ash, Bella Peony, Bella Orchid, Bella Berrylicious, Kona Sunny

Corresponding Aurifil thread from left to right:
2625 – Arctic Ice
2600 – Dove
2479 – Med Orchid
1103 – Burgundy
2535 – Magenta
2214 – Golden Honey

Such gorgeous details jump out at you when you get really close. The sunny little flower bursts dancing around the center of a zinnia is my favorite part of the flower.

Corresponding solids from left to right:
Kona Pewter, Bella Lead, Bella Plum, Bella Magenta, Bella Petal Pink, Bella Barn Door

Corresponding Aurifil thread from left to right:
2606 – Mist
1246 – Grey
2566 – Wisteria
2455 – Med Carmine Red
2562 – Lilac
1103 – Burgundy

If you have young children and are looking for a fun activity to help them explore and notice details in the environment around them, I definitely would recommend going on a color scavenger hunt. Finds don’t need to include only flowers; yesterday at the lake, my daughter found a tiny blue jay feather and some berries from a Blue Bead Lily and the colors matched beautifully. Sadly, I didn’t get a photo, but at least the idea of finding colors in nature stuck with her. If you have older children, they can each conduct their own hunt and displays can get even more intricate–think mandalas and imaginary scenes! I’d love to see what colors you find!

Okay, back outside we go! Enjoy your day and enjoy the color!

All color palettes were created using Play Crafts Palette Builder 2.1 and my photographs.