Splendid Sampler Quilt

 

I started this project in 2016, making the pieced blocks as part of the free online Splendid Sampler quiltalong hosted by Pat Sloan and Jane Davidson. The blocks came from a variety of designers on a daily or weekly basis -- I don't remember exactly, but there were a lot of them! I started making blocks from a stack of fabrics that I thought worked well together, and I continued printing off the pattern instructions even after I made 24 blocks and then wandered away from the project. The blocks were a little small for my liking (6.5" unfinished), my fabrics didn't always translate well to the piecing, and I lost interest.

Years later, I decided to empty the storage box that the project was in. I cut the remaining print fabrics into large squares, alternated them with the pieced blocks, and sashed it all in a coral-colored solid from my stash. Then the top sat for a while in my sewing room closet until I found the right backing and quilted it up in a simple crosshatch design.

I'm happy to have it done after all these years. I'm donating it to my local chapter of Project Linus so that a child might see it, love it, claim it, and enjoy it for many years to come.

Picket Fence Block Tutorial

I select quilt blocks and color palettes for the charity quilts that the Knoxville Modern Quilt Guild makes as a group, and I recently found a tutorial for this Picket Fence block. Unfortunately, when I tested the instructions, I found some errors, so rather than just share a link, I'm creating a new tutorial here.

Cutting List

White fabric

• Two 3 1/2" x 6 1/2" strips
• Two 3 1/2" x 3 1/2" squares
• Two 6 7/8" x 6 7/8" squares

Color A

• One 6 7/8" x 6 7/8" square
• One 3 7/8" x 3 7/8" square

Color B

• One 6 7/8" x 6 7/8" square
• One 3 7/8" x 3 7/8" square

Piecing (use a scant 1/4" seam allowance throughout)

1. Draw a diagonal line on one of the colored 3 7/8" squares. Put it with the other small colored square, and sew 1/4" away from each side of the line. Cut on the line, and press to the darker side. You should have two 2-color half-square triangles. Square them up to 3 1/2".
2. Draw a diagonal line on each of the colored 6 7/8" squares. Put each one with a 6 7/8" white square, and sew 1/4" away from the each side of the line. Cut on the line, and press to the colored side. Square them up to 6 1/2". You should have four white/color half-square triangles. You will only use one of each in the final block.
3. Arrange your block components to make sure the color placement is correct. Take care that the two small HSTs are positioned the same way, with the same color in the upper right.

Block Assembly

1. Sew a small white square to a small HST, and press toward the white. Sew the white rectangle to the side of that unit, and press toward the rectangle. This is the small HST quadrant.
2. Sew the small HST quadrant to the large HST next to it. Press toward the large HST.
3. Sew the two halves of the block together. Press the seam open.
4. The block should measure 12 1/2" x 12 1/2".

Two Quick Stash-Buster Quilts

While I'm in between big projects, I've been working on some relatively quick and small quilts that use up stash fabric.

The first quilt is simple pastel patchwork that came about because the box that contains my random charm squares (5x5 inches) was too full to close. I usually cut charms and add them to the box when I have odd pieces of fabric left over from a project or if I know the prints will work for a Project Linus donation quilt at some point. So for this quilt, I pulled out all the pastels I had and cut a few more to get it to this size. The more interesting thing about this quilt is the assembly -- I used the quilt-as-you-go method of basting backing and batting together and then adding each horizontal row of already pieced squares to the top, quilting across it a few times before adding the next row of pieced squares.

The second quilt is my version of Ruby Star Society's free Moon Cake Quilt pattern. I saw this quilt when a quiltalong was announced, and the piecing stood out to me because it's graphic and has some order to it. Honestly, I saved the photo but didn't really look at the pattern -- it uses a layer cake, which I didn't realize at the time, so I may make another one eventually and actually follow the pattern! Instead, I used 5" charm squares again, pairing prints with solids. The 2x4 piecing requires 4 charms of each fabric in the pair. It was another great one for digging into my stash and finally using up some fabrics that I've had for a very long time. I'm in the process of free motion quilting it right now, with a stashed twin-size bedsheet that was perfect for the back.

Moon Cake quilt pattern

Works in Progress

This month I decided to put together a snapshot of my current quilting and sewing projects that are all in various stages of completion. Quilters usually call them WIPs (works in progress) or UFOs (unfinished objects). The projects below aren't all of them, but they're at the top of my To Do list and I'm hoping to finish them within the next couple of months. After these are complete, maybe I'll do another post with a second batch of WIPs!

Lucy Boston Quilt

This isn't my oldest WIP, but it's definitely my favorite. It's English paper pieced and all sewn by hand. I started it in 2017 with a little kit I threw together to take with me to Dallas to visit my friend Eryn, her family and her twin newborns. Those kiddos are in school now! And my quilt is pretty close to being finished! I just need to choose a backing and quilting plan. I can't decide if I should hand quilt it -- given that it's hand pieced, do it matter to me to be able to say it's 100% hand sewn? -- or if I'd be happier with an allover longarm quilting design (and a faster finish). If I hand quilt it, I have no idea what design to use...

Fishing Net Quilt

I made this one with the intention of submitting it to my guild's quilt show in March of next year. The large scale and graphic use of color fit the modern quilt aesthetic. Bonus - it was really quick to make. The pattern is from Suzy Quilts, and I made the baby size using fabric from my stash. It's basted and just needs quilted and bound. I'll be hand quilting it using big stitches and color-matched perle cotton thread.

Solstice Roses Mini Quilt

Last year I bought a couple clearance kits from Quilty Box (RIP), and I decided to make this EPP design from Paper Pieces and Sally Kelly first. The kit came with EPP papers, an acrylic diamond template, a pack of charm squares in Sally's Soltice prints plus some solids and thread (although using my standard EPP thread for the project). I only had one issue with the fabric and had to purchase one more print to finish the piecing -- the caramel brown one by Kathy Doughty. After I get all the large hexagons in place, I'll decide what to use as the background, as the pieced element gets appliqued onto a background for finishing. (The kit minus fabric is still available here.)

Neitherlands Quilt

In 2019, my mom and I attended QuiltCon in Nashville and took the Mystery Quilt Workshop with Jen Carlton Bailly (aka @bettycrockerass). We got copies of two of Jen's new patterns at the time, Find Your Fade and Neitherlands, a big set of curvy templates in various sizes, and the choice of patterns to work on in the workshop. We both decided to make a Neitherlands block, and I finished one during our time with Jen. I made one more block when I returned home, but then I packed the project away and put it on a shelf ... until last month. I pulled the project box out again, grabbed some fabric, miscut that fabric as I knew I would (the templates and pattern are a little tricky to sort out when you haven't worked on it in a while) and then found my groove. I made 4 blocks and plan to make 3 more for a 60 x 60" quilt. Needless to say, I'm feeling pretty confident about sewing curves these days.

Layer Bars Quilt

Recently I was in between bigger, more complicated projects and sort of at loose ends, and I was feeling the itch to cut and sew something -- anything -- without thinking about it too much. Just mindless making. So I went to my stash and pulled out a 10" layer cake of Carolyn Friedlander's Gleaned fabric in the blue/gray/black/white colorway and quickly came up with a plan. 

I cut some of the blocks in half and started alternating them on my design wall. But keeping some blocks at 10" square didn't look right, so I just cut everything in half and this Layer Bars quilt was born. I added a couple of other Carolyn Friedlander pieces I had in my stash to fill in a few of the gaps, but otherwise this came from one stack.

I pieced the top quickly and put it in the closet to be finished later for donation to Project Linus. Then I was contacted by an event planner looking for a quilter to set up at a United Way donor event. I agreed to attend as a representative of the Knoxville Modern Quilt Guild, displaying both guild quilts and some of my own.

She said there would be a silent auction with items from the other artists attending -- a painter, a potter and a stained glass maker -- and asked if I'd consider adding something. After I joked that, well, quilts don't come together overnight or even over a couple of days (at least they don't for me), I remembered that I had Layer Bars in the closet.

I used part of a new black and white gingham bedsheet (also from my stash) for the backing to keep the lap quilt neutral and hopefully more appealing to more event attendees. I quilted it with straight lines to match the clean, linear piecing.

The quilt got a lot of compliments at the event, and one attendee even put in his bid and then came back later to add another one -- I hope he went home with it. I left the event before the silent auction was officially closed, but the bidding was at $300 when last I checked. I haven't received word of the final amount, but I'm glad I was able to contribute to the local United Way's efforts. If I hadn't already had the quilt top waiting in the wings, I'm not sure I could have pulled a quilt together in time.

Chit Chat Bonus Baby Quilt

 

A few months ago, I shared the Chit Chat quilt that I made for a family friend's newest granddaughter. The pattern is from Block Modern. Here's a reminder of that quilt:

After I was done making it, I had a few blocks leftover and decided to turn them into a smaller baby quilt. Of course I didn't have the right number of leftover blocks to do that, so I had to make more. The whole process was more work than I was initially planning to put into it, making the most of my fabric scraps and trying to make single blocks when the pattern instructions produce more than one at a time, but I persevered.

I decided to position all the blocks together in the center as a sort of medallion, adding wide pale peach borders on all sides. The peach is also a leftover -- a bedsheet that I used as the backing on a quilt last year. It pays to save the leftovers!

The backing and binding is a pale peach Rifle Paper Co. print with navy horses and peach flowers and hints of bronze -- it couldn't have been more perfect. The quilt turned out pretty small -- less than 42" wide -- but perfect for a baby. I donated it to my local chapter of Project Linus, so I hope it's chosen for a little one who needs it.

Hyphenated Quilt

 

Every quilt has a story, and this one is a doozy. After a successful quilt-along in Spring/Summer 2020, my guild (Knoxville Modern Quilt Guild) decided to do another one this year. We chose a free pattern from Art Gallery Fabrics with high hopes. I guess we could have looked more closely at the pattern, but that's a lesson learned.

The pattern image that we all loved

My fabric pull

Unfortunately, the pattern -- which AGF has since revised -- was full of errors. I forged ahead, following the pattern as best as I could and sending regular emails to the guild with helpful tips and corrections. Some members started using the pattern and then abandoned it and went their own ways -- creating the same or similar blocks using different methods, putting blocks in different layouts, and really just finding any way to salvage some enjoyment out of the process and produce a quilt top or finished quilt.

In spite of all the frustration, I really do like how this quilt turned out. My inspiration fabrics - a few Amy Butler prints - led me to a color palette that's rich but still fun. I plan to donate it to Project Linus, and I think an older child or teenager will be happy to see this one in the array of available quilts.

I found the perfect orchid backing fabric on clearance at one of my local quilt shops, and I quilted it on my domestic machine using my go-to allover pattern of loose meander with little loops. The binding is one of the prints used in the blocks -- use that stash!

After finishing the quilt, I contacted Art Gallery Fabrics to let them know that the free pattern on their website was really terrible and needed to be corrected. They responded with a revised version of the pattern (not that I'll ever make this one again!) and sent me a collection of fat quarters for my trouble. Free fabric? Oh sure, why not.

The guild plans to organize another quilt-along for 2022, but we'll be taking a much closer look at the pattern we choose first!

Jelly Rainbow Quilt

I don't think I'm the only quilter who would say that staying home more this year hasn't been an absolute hardship. More time for quilting? I'm in. One of my quarantine quilt finishes is this Jelly Rainbow Quilt featuring Amy Butler fabrics. The pattern is free from Ruby Star Society and Moda Fabrics, and back in April, Devon (@missmake on Instagram) started a quiltalong. I talked my mom into doing it with me, and I was able to use two mini jelly rolls that I'd gotten from a friend in my guild who was destashing.

I really enjoyed making this quilt -- it's extremely easy but doesn't look overly simplistic. And I was able to make it completely using fabric from my stash, which almost never happens. I pieced the backing with leftovers from fat quarters, a jelly roll and a yard of Amy Butler fabric that I found at Tuesday Morning a while ago. It's crazy, but I think it works. The binding was already made and leftover from another project. It was just a few inches short, so I had to add the little green bit to finish. Viva la quarantine!

I donated this quilt to my local chapter of Project Linus for a child in need. I'm putting the pattern back on my to-do list, maybe for 2021, and I'd like to cut my own jelly roll strips from stash. If you're looking for a quick, satisfying and not overly large quilt, this one is a winner.

Two Quick Baby Quilts

I recently finished two baby quilts in record time (for me, a notoriously slow quilter). I have a number of quilts in progress that I've been working on for a year or more, so it's satisfying to be able to start and finish something on a smaller scale in about a month.

The first one was a request from a friend who lives in Ireland. She asked for a gender-neutral baby quilt in soft colors that she could give to a friend, and she wanted it to include fabric with teddy bears or rocking horses if possible. I pulled out a couple of charm packs from my stash that I wasn't particularly attached to (I think I received them as a gift) and removed the most-feminine prints. After coming up empty at all my usual online quilt shops, I turned to Spoonflower to look for teddy bears or rocking horses that would work with the charm squares. Luckily, there was one print by French artist Helene of Le Vent & La Discorde that fit pretty well with my color scheme, and I was able to order a fat quarter of it during a sale.

The pattern is called Jane's Ladder by Allison Jensen of Woodberry Way -- it's available for free from Moda Bake Shop here. It's a twist on the traditional Jacob's Ladder design and is very easy to put together. I'm not sure what manufacturer or color the pale green background fabric is -- I bought a bag of scraps at Crimson Tate Modern Quilter the last time I was in Indianapolis, and there was a surprising number of these green charms tucked into the stack. Turns out there were enough to use as the background of this baby quilt. The backing and binding is Michael Miller Cotton Couture in Glass. I did the free motion quilting (my favorite go-to quilting design because it's very forgiving) on my Juki TL2200QVP Mini.

My second fast baby quilt is bolder but again uses a colored background fabric instead of the usual white/ivory/gray. It's one of my goals this year to use more colored backgrounds, and baby quilts are a low-pressure way to try it out. This one will be donated to my local chapter of Project Linus to be chosen by a child in need of some comfort.

This pattern is Sparkle from Allison Harris' book Growing Up Modern. The print fabrics were all collected from a destash by one of my local quilt guild friends. I grabbed them because they all coordinated well and I knew they'd make a good donation quilt for a child. The background fabric is Michael Miller Cotton Couture in Marine.

I quilted this one in straight lines with varied spacing, eyeing my lines and trying to keep them pretty straight without using a guide. It's not perfect, but it crinkled up nicely after washing and drying, and that hides a lot. All in all, I'm happy with how it turned out and with the fact that I was able to use fabric on hand.

Wonky Pound Sign/Hashtag Block

Whether you call it a pound sign, hashtag, nine-patch, tic-tac-toe or something else, this grid block is an easy one to make. The following instructions are for members of the Knoxville Modern Quilt Guild, as this block is being collected for our next charity quilt, but anyone is free to make it!

KMQG:
Please use this color palette -- solid fabrics and white. You can make the strips white, as I've done here, or reverse the color placement so that the background is white and the strips are one color.

Blocks are due by the meeting on February 15, 2020. Email modknoxville@gmail.com with questions!

The unfinished block should be 13.5 to 14 inches. Do not trim the block to size. Just turn it in as it is, and the volunteer who pieces the top can trim all blocks to a consistent size.

STEPS:

1. Start with a square at least 12.5" and four strips 1.5 x 15."

2. Use a ruler to cut the square into thirds. The cuts can be slightly slanted, but if you're more comfortable with precise, straight lines, feel free to do that instead. (Tip: I tried this block without using a ruler, and it made the strips harder to piece. So grab that ruler and rotary cutter.)

3. Insert two strips into the cuts, and piece the square back together. Press the seams open. With wonky lines, it's a little tricky to get the outside edges of the square aligned again, so take care and do your best. Remember that the block will be oversized, so it's okay if the edges are a little bit off (like mine are!).

4. Use a ruler to cut the square into thirds again, perpendicular to the first two strips. (Again, if you're more comfortable with precise lines, you don't have to make them wonky.)

5. Insert the remaining two strips into the two cuts. Pin and sew them to two sections. Press the seams open.

6. Now you need to sew the three sections back together. If your strips are precise, line up the strip seams on both sections, pin and sew. Press the seams open.

If your strips are wonky, this is the trickiest part of the block because the seams don't line up exactly across the break. Lay the two sections together and eyeball the alignment of the vertical strip so that it doesn't appear to shift to the right or left as it's intersected by the horizontal strip.
Then carefully flip them right sides together (I flip the lower section up so that it's on top). Try to do this flip without shifting the piece to the right or left. Pin to avoid shifting while sewing.

In the photo below, you can see that the vertical seams look pretty well-aligned on either side of the horizontal strip. Check your piece to see if they look aligned before you start sewing. You can also experiment with putting a pin in one seam and trying to line it up with the other seam. Or if you have a trick for getting this part right, let me know!

Sew two sections together, and press the seam open. Then repeat the alignment with the third section. Flip, pin, sew and press the seam open.

7. And there you go! Your block is ready to be trimmed to size (or not, if this is for the KMQG charity quilt).