My Favorite Harken Quilt Might Be This Scrappy One

It's actually not all that crazy to say that this Harken quilt practically made itself!  From choosing the fabrics, to piecing, to quilting and binding, it was all just so effortless and super fun!

This scrappy Harken Quilt will definitely go down as one of my all time favorites! 

I started with a color inspiration that came to me while doing a random puzzle with my daughter.  This happy and comforting little scene just captured my heart and I wanted to re create the vibe through my next Harken quilt.  

I started gathering from my stash and went to me local fabric shop to immediately choose a few more fabrics to round out my color selection. I chose some of my most favorite Ruby Star and Art Gallery Fabrics, along with some Moda and random pieces from my stash. The background fabric is by go to, Kona Snow! 

 

Curating this stack was so fun.  I don't make that many really scrappy quilts like this or use this much color and pattern variety very often.  Once I started putting these together though, I realized how much I loved these fabrics and could really envision the beautiful, happy quilt they would turn into.  

 

I had enough leftovers to create some extra curated bundles to put in my shop.  These were snatched up really quickly and I'm sure put to good use!

I cut and pieced this Harken Quilt together during my 2 month long Harken QAL in early fall this year.  Just as my kiddos were returning to school and our rhythm was shifting out of summer mode, I got started on this project.  

I really enjoyed the process of methodically making this quilt along with all who followed along.  There is something comforting about knowing that others are  experiencing the same challenges or joys that you are during each step/week in the process.  

Like a puzzle, all the pieces came together so well and fit so perfectly.  It was such a joy to work on a quilt that offered such sweet and pretty surprises each week.  

When the top was finally finished, I was super excited but also a little bit sad.  Have you ever felt that?  It's like that feeling you get when you know the book that you're loving is almost over.  

After making the fun and colorful backing (I don't have any photos of the back prior to quilting) in pinks and yellows, some of the happiest colors I could think of, I sent this one off to Jenae at Vintage Stich.  She has quilted so many of my quilts and I can always count on her to put that gorgeous finishing touch on anything I send her.  

As soon as I received my quilt back from Jenae, I did a little happy dance and went immediately to attaching the scrappy binding that I had prepared earlier.  

I loved the idea of a scrappy binding for this scrappy quilt.  I just used all the leftovers from my fat eighth cuts and pieced them into a binding strip. 

It's a sweet little "frame" to go around the quilt.  

I even decided to add some fun little finishing stitches around the corners, because, well, why not?  

This Harken Quilt has gone on to it's new forever home and I was sad to see it go.  But I know that I will most definitely be making another just like it.  

 

The colors give it a bright and modern vibe but the design makes it feel sort of vintage and traditional.   

To me, is a combination of modern and traditional, what I call "Handmade Modern"!  After it's first wash, prior to sending it to it's new home, that lovely crinkle assures me it will be a true handmade treasure for years to come, only getting more and more soft and cozy. 

If you'd like to make a Harken Quilt of your own, you can find the quilt pattern HERE on my website or over HERE on Etsy.  You can check out my blog post on a Classic Version I made as well.  The pattern has lots of options and is very beginner friendly. 

Happy quilting!

~Karen