New Fall 2015 Pattern Preview – Part 2

If you missed Part 1 of the preview, click here.  For Part 2 of my new pattren preview, I have two quilt patterns to share.   Both share my love of 60-degree angles and use one of my favorite rulers on the market, the Creative Grids 60-degree triangle ruler.

The first design is called Garden Party.  It was inspired by my love of English Paper Piecing (EPP) – or should I say my love of “the look” of EPP.  The problem is, I don’t actually like doing it.  I know it’s very popular, by my left arm just doesn’t hold up to the pinching motion that is required of the left hand.  So – to get this look, I have come up with a design that looks like it’s EPP, but is actually machine pieced.

 

The flowers are strip pieced, cut with the ruler and then have folded corners added to create the petals.  The leaf units are cut with the ruler and sewn together in sections.

 

You can see the sections a little better in the photo below.  If you look very closely, you can see seam lines in the background that wouldn’t be there if it was done with EPP, but this method is much faster and gives a similar look.  You end up sewing triangle shaped flower blocks to trapezoid shaped leave units to create rows, then sew the rows together to create the look.  No Y-seams involved.

 

 

I enjoyed making this quilt and I really had fun quilting it!  Lots of feathers and stippling, but the solid grey background is the perfect place to show off some quilting.

 

 

I added some size options to the pattern.  The math on this pattern was challenging for me, along with figuring out a way to piece the pattern, while achieving the look that I wanted – so why not complicate the math some more by adding size options!  Haha.  It is all worth it in the end.  Otherwise I get lots of emails from quilters asking me to figure it out for them.  I also experimented with different background colors, from grey, to aqua, to white.   I like how adding a colored background adds interest, without busy-ness that takes away from the design.

 

Lastly, this photo shows the scale of the runner on a table.

 

If you are interested in these beautiful fabric lines, the cover quilt is made with Tucker Prairie, the wall quilt with Hello Darling and the runner with Prairie – all by Moda fabrics.

 

 

My next pattern is called Seville.  Joel and I were in Seville 5 years ago.  I loved the colors and all the geometric patterns on the floors there.  This star design reminds me of that, though not quite as complicated as the mosaic floors there.

 

Once again, the design starts with strip units, and depending on your color placement, you get two different looking stars.

 

Notice that the star in the runner is a little different from the one in the quilt?  Both are constructed with simple diamond 4-patch blocks.  I couldn’t decide which one I liked better, so I wrote both options into the pattern (Which required a whole second set of instructions, by the way.)  It also complicated the math, because now the cutting for the stars was different for both options.  And while I am in the business of complicating things for myself, lets add size options to both color options.  Are you still with me?  My brain still hurts from all the calculations – and so does my mother’s (she is my wonderful pattern tester!!!)  Again, all worth it in the end to be able to include all the size options.

 

I also had a lot of fun quilting this one.  All that white is the perfect place to show off some stitching.

 

 

(By the way, my binding isn’t actually this wavy.  Our grass was a little long, so it wouldn’t lay flat!)

 

 

As I mentioned, I included quite a few size options.  The other sizes are larger and can be used for beds, but I also included the option below.  It can be used as a wall quilt, large topper/tablecloth or tree skirt.  Can’t you just picture it done up in Christmas fabrics?  I also love it in the Gooseberry fabric line shown below.

PS:  No Y-seams in this pattern either.

 

So there you have it.  Leave a comment to be entered into a giveaway of the new patterns (all 4).  If you are interested in purchasing the patterns, they are available as paper patterns here and here.  For PDF patterns, click here.  Or, better yet, ask your local quilt shop for them!