Quick+Easy Quilts February/March 2021

Weekend WONDERS As I write this letter, we are beginning to go back on covid restrictions. It is hard, really hard. How are you? I mean how are you really doing? I want you to know that if all you have the energy to do is open this magazine and look at the pictures, that is okay. If you are sewing and sewing just to cope, that is okay too. If all you have the energy to do is watch Netflix, that’s fine. Whatever you need to do to get through this difficult time is just fine, I promise you. I read a post today that said our brains are locked in survival mode so we don’t have the mental space to be creative. That hits home for me. Does it resonate with…

Patti Carey pattispatchwork.com Patti is VP of Public Relations at Northcott and the creative force behind Patti’s Patchwork. When she is not designing fabric or making quilts, she snowboards, cycles, and drinks wine. Abigail Dolinger abyquilts.wordpress.com Abigail is the Children’s Ministry Director at her church and enjoys sharing her love of sewing with the children. A lifelong quilter, Abigail is from Lillington, North Carolina. Kim Hanson kimhanson.ca Kim is a quilt designer and freelance writer who works daily from her home studio in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Jacob and Harlow, her two grandchildren are the apple of her eye. Diane Harris stashbandit.net Diane is a designer and scrap quilt enthusiast who says she never met a fabric she didn't like. Between quilt projects, she shuttles her farmer-husband between fields of corn and soybeans in rural Nebraska. Charisma Horton charismascorner.com Charisma is a wife, mother of…

finished size: 78" × 91" finished blocks: 42 (13") BLOCKS My grandson wanted a new quilt for his bed and wanted it to fit into his new age—TWEEN. I wanted to do something that would be masculine and yet have a variety of colors that he could design his new tween room around. One of his favorite colors is orange, so this color was the punch for the quilt. It’s simple, fast, and very fun. Plan Big blocks and simple piecing makes this quilt a snap to assemble. Grab some fat quarters in a colorful assortment of fun colors and play! Use an accurate ¼" seam allowance throughout to ensure all elements of the quilt fit together well. Shop Fabric yardage assumes 40" usable width of fabric (WOF) unless otherwise noted. • Medium gray tonal 5/8 yd. for blocks •…

Strips are frequently sewn together to create a band, which you can cut into smaller segments. 1. To make a band, pair two strips with right sides facing and raw edges aligned. Stitch with ¼" seam. Press flat to set stitches. 2. Fold top strip back and gently press seam open to one side. Band should be straight, without any distortion along outside edges. 3. Add third strip to complete band and press as described in previous steps. 4. Measure height of band to ensure it matches the required measurements.Aligning horizontal lines on ruler with long edge and seam lines of strip set,trim uneven end of strip set. 5. Keeping horizontal lines on ruler aligned with band, cut required width segments. 6. If making bands with more than three strips, join strips in pairs and then…

finished size: 55" × 64" finished blocks: 30 (9") BLOCKS In 2019, I made a bed runner called Lattice be Lovely for Fons & Porter’s Easy Quilts. The blocks in the bed runner were made using rectangle units similar to the ones in this quilt. As things happen sometimes, I didn’t count correctly and I made too many units. Rather than discard the extra units, I used them as inspiration for this quilt block design. Although the fabrics in the bed runner were a planned color scheme, I wanted this quilt design to be scrappy and colorful. I love scrappy quilts where every block is constructed of different fabrics. There’s something about using lots of different fabrics that makes my heart sing. More is better, but I used a white-on-white print for the…

Some traditional blocks use this method to join patches and units around a central square. 1. With right sides together, align corner edges of square and first unit as shown. Sew from center of square to left edge, creating a partial seam. 2. Working clockwise, join second unit, sewing entire length of seam. Press away from square. 3. In same manner, join third unit. 4. To join fourth unit, fold block over to align edges of fourth unit with square and first unit, pinning in place. 5. Finish by sewing from partial seam to outside edge of block. 6. Press seam allowance away from center square to complete block. Products used: Havel’s Self-Healing Cutting Mat. Fabrics from Garden Glory collection by Maja Ronnback and Abstract Collage collection by Ampersand, both for Paintbrush Studio Fabrics. Watch this Sew EasyTM…