Blog / linen

Sometime last year, I connected with Erin Dollar, the designer behind Cotton & Flax, an LA-based home goods company. Erin creates awesome surface patterns from simple repeating shapes, which she silk-screens onto linen-cotton fabrics.  

In addition to creating the free Double Dash quilt pattern for her first fabric collection for Robert Kaufman Fabrics, I've also been working with her leftover screen-printed scraps to create new quilts (like this flying geese wall quilt). The two log cabin baby quilts pictured here are my latest work made from Erin's scraps; in this case, I worked solely with her designs printed on a flax-colored/natural linen-cotton blend.

This first quilt features her designs printed in black, paired with strips of cream and white, and squares of solid peach, to form four Courthouse Step blocks. Each block was pieced improvisationally using strips of various widths, so each block is unique and varies in size and shape.

This second quilt features Erin's patterns printed in white, and the fabric strips are arranged in a much more orderly and uniform fashion to form four log cabin blocks. The layout is the same as the one I used to create this neutral log cabin baby quilt earlier this year. Each of the blocks' centers feature a unique, warm-colored solid. 

I really enjoy the act of working from scraps---making design decisions on the fly since I'm limited to the fabric that's in front of me---so I really loved the process of making both of these quilts and am so happy with how they turned out. 

Both of these quilts are now available in the shop, if you'd like to take a look. And you can read more about this collaboration in Erin's write-up from last spring.

All photos by Jane Cuthbertson of Gray Green Goods. 

This quilt is the result of my two sewing worlds colliding. In addition to making the quilts here at Salty Oat, I’m also in charge of sewing production at The Everyday Co., where I sew napkins, tea towels, and more. Kathryn, the owner of The Everyday Co., and her husband are currently expecting their first child, so when her parents commissioned me to create a quilt for the new baby boy’s nursery, I was honored and excited to get started.

Knowing Kathryn’s love of neutrals, and getting a peek of the nursery in progress, I quickly settled on a gray and cream color palette for the quilt, with pops of blue.

I pulled lots of gray cotton and linen scraps to construct the four oversized log cabin blocks that make up the top. Amongst those scraps are pieces of gray linen, leftover from making napkins like these. The block centers are made from an upcycled men’s blue dress shirt (which has made appearances in other quilts, including this baby quilt and this throw quilt).

A quick glance at my stash reminded me that I had the perfect backing for the quilt——a linen-cotton blend I bought during a trip to Japan a few years ago.

Kathryn and her husband have spent time in Japan, so I thought it would be a fun tie-in to their travels, and the colors of the fruits/vegetables coordinated beautifully with the front. And just for fun, I added a pop of orange to the binding.

This quilt now resides in its new nursery, in anticipation of the baby boy that will be here in just a few weeks---and I can't wait to meet him!

UPDATE:

Kathryn sent me these gorgeous photos of the quilt in its new home. Isn't that wave wallpaper stunning? 

Photo by April K Photography

Photos by Elizabeth LaDuca

You can see even more photos of the room in this recent feature on Style Me Pretty Living. 

P.S. I'm currently accepting commissions for custom quilts. If you're interested in working together, just fill out this form to get started and I'll be in touch!