July making - Nature is Nurture quilt

My special project for July was to make a quilt from some of the fabric I dyed using natural dyes in my kitchen. As I prepared to start I ended to do something fairly improv but then decided to use a pattern I had purchased last year called A Different Stripe by Denyse Schmidt. It seemed pretty straight forward and would work well with the colors I had. I just realized it would have been great to have a picture of the whole stack of fabric--and do not have such a thing. Maybe next time. Anyway, the colors in this quilt came from irises ( a light yellow) , coreopsis (buttery yellow), yellow onion skins (dark gold), avocado pits and skins (pale pink), blackberries (purplish-gray), sycamore bark (butterscotch color), and various wildflowers (another yellow). I had hope for a green maybe, or even a more vibrant red or purple--I had such high hopes for the beets! 

I added a light gray, as well as the white for the horizontal sashes in the pattern.

For the backing I dug through all of my fabric. I almost used a natural colored canvas sort of fabric, but decided to keep digging. I finally settled on an Ikea fabric I have had for quite a while. We don't have one nearby, so I usually can date my trips to different events/vacations. I think I may have bought this one in Kansas City in 2017, but not sure. The label says the design is by Kajsa Aronsson from 2015.

I liked this option because 1) the gray and yellow coordinated with the top, and 2) the farmers market/community/making vibe of the graphics matched the process of dyeing all of that fabric from plants, fruits and veggies. 

I have washed the quilt since I took these pictures. I was a little unsure how the dyes would react and wanted a good "before" picture just in case. The main difference I see is that the pale lavender from the red cabbage did not set. It is now a bluish gray. That dyeing day I remember have several issues, so may not have used enough alum mordant, or needed to let it sit in the dye longer (outside). Something to try again!