Do you subscribe to the Hawthorne Threads newsletter?   I do.  They include beautiful photographs of new fabric collections that make me feel

almost

like I'm getting to see the pretties in person.  Sometimes a photo collage sticks with me and I find myself thinking of the fabrics again and again, weeks later.  Then I begin to plot how I could get my sticky hands on it!  And that's exactly what happened with Vignette by Laura Gunn.

photo collage from

Hawthorne Threads

I couldn't get these happy, vibrant colors and flowers out of my head, so last week I contacted

Michael Miller

to request a selection of my favorites.  They sent some yardage with the promise that I'd make and share a Vignette quilt.

Don't mind if I do!

These fabrics are a garden in full bloom.  The colors are radiantly saturated, with a full spectrum of flowery shades.  But I have to admit that the fabrics threw me off a bit when they arrived.  In the past I have avoided Laura Gunn fabrics because they have such a strong painterly quality.  I'm drawn to them in isolation but find I don't feel comfortable mixing them with the rest of my stash.  I think they would mix well with batiks and solids, but not so much with the prints I tend to collect. 

I had originally planned to make a modern improv style quilt with these fabrics, but in person that idea didn't fit.  After brainstorming with my Patchwork Pinterest board,

this pin

inspired a Kansas Dugout-style quilt constructed without any y-seams. 

Here we are so far.  The

Kona Aqua

background was inspired by my favorite photo in the original Vignette fabrics photo collage.  I'm trying to capture what I love about those photos in my quilt.  I see cream, aqua and clusters of color.  Hopefully, I'm on the right track...