Easy, modern quilt patterns to build your quilting confidence.
Posted by Wendy Breakstone Ladd | Filed under Blocks & Patterns, Blogs to Watch, Fabric Obsessed, Quilting for Beginners
With this long weekend and my lovely, sunny Santa Barbara under a cloud of rain (we’re finally experiencing alittle winter weather), I’ve managed to squeeze in some quality sewing time.
First, let me define what I mean by “quality sewing time”:
1. Fel that I made progress in a limited amount of time
2. Felt my piecing was even and maintained the appropriate 1/4″ seam allowance
3. Didn’t have to use my seam ripper on the work I did
4. Had fun, stayed relaxed, wasn’t overly tired, and liked the outcome
5. Quilting confidence improved
Quilt top with Ginger Blossom by Sandi Henderson
This is the quilt top to my Ginger Blossom fat quarter quilt that I’ve been working on. I improvised a bit on the middle panel stripes because I didn’t have the yardage of any one pattern, and I was determined to only use fabric I currently own. The middle patterns are actually from Sandi Henderson’s new collection, Meadowsweet. She used the same color scheme for both collections so it working out good. For the back, I’m using four different yards pieced together (in big yard blocks) and then I’ll add an extra strip to the top and bottom because the back is alittle short.
The pattern: 5 & Dime – A Fat Quarter Pattern, by All Washed Up. I really like the patterns by this mother/daughter duo. They are quick, easy and colorful. Piecing them together is super fun and the layout of all the pieces is even “funner.” I did get alittle stuck the first time I tried to figure out how to separate and parse the cut pieces, but once I figured it out (when I wasn’t dead tired), it took 5 minutes.
Photo Courtesy: 5 and Dime by All Washed UP
You can just stitch in the ditch or a box design and not have to go overboard on free motion quilting this one. Or you could practice your stippling or a trace stencil on the long one pattern panels. If you use alot of patterns like I did, then even if you mess up on your free motion, no one will ever really see it!
The other pattern I own by All Washed Up is Just Can’t Cut It. Its another easy, beginner pattern – squares and rectangles, that makes a really fun, contemporary quilt. The owner of Quilt Ventura recommended that pattern to me.
Photo Courtesy: All Washed Up
Now I’m inspired to write a post all about the easy, modern day quilt patterns!
Gotta go sew! WendyB
Tags: All Washed up Patterns, block patterns, contemporary fabric, easy quilt patterns, Michael Miller Fabrics, Quilting for Beginners
