With so many gorgeous large-scale prints available, designs that show off these fabrics are a hot commodity. That's why we think you'll love Terry Albers' Cosmos quilt, featured in the spring 2014 issue of Quilt Trends magazine. Terry used our Cosmopolitan collection, highlighting the large leaf print in the border and in a few of the snowball blocks, all of which pop off the white background. Below, Terry talks about how she used EQ7 to design the quilt, and then shares the same quilt with a black background--talk about drama!
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"Cosmos" by Terry Albers; machine quilted by Sandy Schilawski
featured in Quilt Trends magazine spring 2014 |
Q. What appealed to you about the
Cosmopolitan fabric collection?
Terry: It was definitely the big leaf print
that grabbed me right away! The greens, white and black on gray make the look
both contemporary and soothing. The rest of the pieces complimented that main
print beautifully both in color and scale.
Q. Why did
you decide to use/showcase such large pieces of fabric?
Terry: I felt that the pieces would lose some
of the drama if I cut them up too much. Each one is pretty enough to stand on
its own but then the large print pulls them all together.
Q. This is such a neat variation on the traditional
snowball block. How did you come up with the idea of setting on point and
having the "floating" lime squares?
Terry: I have to thank the editors of EQ7 for
giving me the simple tools to test out my blocks on a straight or on-point
setting very quickly. I admit that I often test my designs in both, never
knowing what might take my fancy. In this case, by having the snowball corners,
the sashing and the setting triangles in a single color, the blocks appear to
float. When I added the green cornerstones, they seemed to twinkle…all very
Zen.
Q. Do you
have a favorite print in the collection?
Terry: Oh, yes…definitely the big print but I
love how the bright green brings everything alive.
Q. Can you
tell us about the sashing squares?
Terry: Once again, thanks to EQ7, I can quickly
add sashing, change the sizes and switch out the colors. I usually have a
pretty good idea about what I want to do with a fabric line before I go to the
computer. It just speeds up my ability to test other combinations.
Q. Can you
talk about your border choices?
Terry: I began the design around using the big
print as a wide border. Once I had the layout including all the other pieces
that I wanted to use, the first green border was an easy choice to match the
cornerstones. But then I wanted one last separation between the outer border
and the rest of the quilt. My friends jokingly call me the “flange lady”
because I use them so often…to pull out a specific color, to separate colors
and as an extra layer of texture. Also called a “flat piping”, the flange is an
easy way to add extra detail and easy enough for a beginner to do.
Q. Can you
tell us about how it was machine quilted?
Terry: Sandy kept it simple with a loose, loopy
leaf design. I like how it echoes the leaves in the border without distraction.
Q. How fun
to see this quilt with two different colored backgrounds! How did the black
background come to be?
Terry: I actually started with the black
background. But the editor of Quilt Trends Magazine wanted to see it in white,
too. And we both liked it even
better. I’m so glad she found a way to use both in the magazine. It shows how
one simple change from white to black can be so dramatic.
See the entire Cosmopolitan collection here.
Find out more about Terry Albers here.
Find the kit for the Cosmos project here.
Find Quilt Trends magazine here.
