Argyle: The Modern Plaid

Argyle's not just for sweaters! Transform your king-size bed into a haven of plaid in soothing purples, greens, and grays from our Chelsea line with Terry Albers' "Argyle" design, featured in McCall's Quilting magazine. Below, Terry talks about her design, the matching shams, and why she'll be designing another quilt from the Chelsea collection for herself.

"Argyle" designed by Terry Albers;
made by Lou Ann Eberhardt; machine quilted by Mary Klein;
featured in McCall's Quilting magazine, June/July 2015

Q. What attracted you to the Chelsea collection?

Terry: The soft colors, combining purple with gray, were the first thing that grabbed my attention in the Chelsea collection. And, of course, the paisley…I can’t resist a rich paisley.

Q. Can you talk about your manly plaid-look design? 

Terry: The whole group reminds me of a classy, understated gentleman's suit; from the dark tone-on-tone paisley with a crisp white shirt to the quietly elegant purple tie. Although argyle is for everyone now, it reminded me of a man's argyle sweater.

Q. Tell us about the coordinating pillow shams—they are just a smaller version of the quilt, correct?

Terry: I designed the pillow shams to repeat the woven aspect of the quilt without the extra borders so that they compliment instead of match the quilt. (Download the free pattern for the pillow shams here.)

Q. Can you talk about your border choices? 

Terry: My original plan was to feature the pale purple paisley patch print (how's that for alliteration?) in the quilt and build the design around it. But I had been playing with some woven ideas for a while and the argyle look took over. The center was dramatic but a bit stark and I wanted to soften the edges. The first three borders contain the center design and the wider patch print continues to soften the edges. The final borders keep the design lively and finish the neat, classy look.

Q. What do you like best about this quilt?

Terry: I love the quiet, understated look that has layers of design…you may not notice the two-color woven look of the stripes at first. The overall look is peaceful and elegant at the same time. Not only a “manly” design, the look crosses over from traditional toward contemporary.

Q. What can you tell us about the machine quilting?

Terry: My long arm quilter is a true artist. I give her free rein to choose the design and color to enhance the style of the quilt and she never fails. She did lots of custom, free-hand work on this quilt but it would be suited to an all-over, edge to edge design, as well.

Q. What's next for you?
Terry: Now that the quilt is residing on my son’s bed in another city, I think I’ll need to design something else using the pale purple paisley patch print, so I can keep it close and enjoy the colors on a daily basis.

See the entire Chelsea collection here.

Find the kit for this quilt here.

Find McCall's Quick Quilts here.