A Quilt with Appeal!

Pardon our pun...we couldn't resist! 
The "Orange Peel Two Step" quilt has so much appeal! 
Barb Eikmeier made this quilt, featured in Fons & Porter's Love of Quilting, using her Kick Off Your Boots fabrics. Below, Barb talks about how she created these orange peel blocks.

"Orange Peel Two Step" designed by Barbara J. Eikmeier
and quilted by Theresa Ward;
featured in Love of Quilting March/April 2018

Q. Why did you decide to use orange peel templates?

BE: I knew this quilt was going to be featured on the tv show, and I thought I could offer some valuable teaching points using the templates.

Q. What makes this orange peel quilt different?

BE: It uses a pieced background and a pieced peel. That’s where the two-step idea in the quilt name comes from. When I sewed the pieces, I did them in two steps. Basically I strip pieced the two fabrics and then used the template to cut. As an added bonus, if you press the seams correctly, the seams will match in the middle, and that’s easier for piecing the curve. It makes the curved piecing less intimidating.

Q. How did you choose the fabrics?

BE: I used two different blues in the orange peels. There’s a subtle difference between them, but it’s enough to show up. I like the contrast between the cream background and the red print. The red creates a churn dash look, and it’s really interesting.

Q. Tell us about the hidden sashing strips.

BE: If you look at the quilt, you might not see the second set of sashing strips. The have light blue cornerstone squares and are surrounded by blocks with the same cream print background.

The two different blue cornerstones make little centers for the orange peel flowers. Even with the sashing, you still get the curved feel of the orange peel design.

Q. How did you select the outer border?

BE: My original design had a different, darker border. After I pieced the quilt center, I changed my mind. The border carries out the lightness out from the center of the quilt.

Q. What else should we know about cutting and piecing these pieces?

BE: The magazine has a paper template, but Fons & Porter also sells an acrylic template. With these templates, I could cut the shapes entirely by rotary cutter, which was great.

This quilt was also featured on the Love of Quilting Series 3100 tv series. Check with your local public television station for viewing times, or find the DVD here. 


See the entire Kick Off Your Boots collection here.
Find the quilt kit here.
Find the Love of Quilting March/April 2018 issue here.

Looking for another Kick Off Your Boots quilt? Download Barb's FREE pattern, "Cowboy Quilt," here.

Sweet & Breezy (and on the cover!)

Usually when we share magazine projects featuring our fabric, we show the project first and the magazine cover toward the bottom of the post. This time, we're flipping it around. Can you guess why? 

If you recognized prints from the Vintage 30's Ruby's Treasures collection in the cover quilt, you're right! Barbara Eikmeier designed the "Sweet & Breezy" quilt using the classic Weathervane block and her fabrics. The result? A bright and cheery quilt that brings a smile to your face. Below, Barb shares how she designed the quilt. 

Q. What block did you use?

BE: It’s a Weathervane block, and it was one of the blocks in Ruby’s 101 Patchwork Patterns. As I’ve designed quilts with the fabrics, I’ve been choosing patterns from her book to continue the celebration of Ruby McKim.

 

Q. How did you pair fabrics for each block? 

BE: This palette for the fabric line started with the solids and the prints were built to match, which is why they go together so well. I partnered each print with one of the solid colors that was in the print. I think the block showcases the Painter’s Palette Solids so nicely. 

Q. How did you decide which print to use for the outer border? 

BE: In the collection there are two prints that are more large-scale, and I tend to like those for borders. I picked the larger-scale yellow and blue print for the outer border, and then used the bright tonal yellow print for the sashing. It created such a bright and cheery quilt! 

Q. How does the quilt differ from your original design? 

BE: When I first designed the project, I had the solids and prints reversed in the block. But when you piece the corners, the prints get cut up. I thought it looked nice to have them be a bigger piece, so I flipped the position and was happier with it.

Q. Which is your favorite block color combination?

BE: The hot pink with the green. I’ve always liked pink and green together. 

Q. Tell us about the quilting.

BE: Denise Mariano quilted it. We were both really pleased with the quilting. I asked her to focus on the center of each block. She also added little feathered tree looking motifs in the print fabric “house” shapes. She was very creative with it.

Q. What do you like best about the quilt?

BE: Besides that it’s on the cover?! I just think it’s so cheerful, so bright. The colors in the collection, people have described them to me as being very clear. I also love the quilting on it. 

"Sweet & Breezy" designed by Barbara J. Eikmeier and quilted by Denise Mariano;
featured in the Winter 2016 issue of Fons & Porter's Easy Quilts

See the entire Vintage 30's Ruby's Treasures collection here. 
Read more about how Barb designed the fabric collection here.
Find the kit for the quilt here.
Find the Winter 2016 issue of Easy Quilts here.

Snack Packs in Action!

We all love a quilt made with precuts, right? Some of the work is done for you, and you can get into the meat of the project that much faster. The Around the Rail Fence quilt by Lisa Swenson Ruble is a perfect example. The quilt, featured in the January-February 2016 issue of Fons & Porter's Quilting Quickly, uses a Marblehead Gemstones, Jewels & Quartz snack pack for quick and easy piecing. 

"Around the Rail Fence" by Lisa Swenson Ruble; quilted by Diane Oakes
Featured in Fons & Porter's Quilting Quickly January-February 2016 issue

Q. What attracted you to Ro Gregg's Gemstones, Jewels & Quartz fabrics?

Lisa: I loved the richness of the colors. Each style of print (gemstones, jewels, and quartz) has so much depth and texture, all created by the bold colors. From far away, the prints look like more typical tonals, but when you see them up close, there's so much detail.

Q. Why did you choose to pair them with a white solid?

Lisa: These prints are truly saturated, and the white helps to create a little resting space for your eye. I think it helps the colors to pop ever more. I also think it gives the quilt a more modern feel.

Q. Tell us about your rail fence design variation.

Lisa: The rail fence is a fantastic block--so easy to make, especially with precut strips and strip piecing. Knowing that I wanted to use a white solid to break up the color, I played around with designs that used rail fence blocks with some space. I liked the idea of pieced and solid "borders" growing out from the center section. 

Q. What did you like about using a snack pack?

Lisa: Being able to dive right into the sewing! Cutting so many 2-1/2" wide strips is not my idea of fun. Using precut strips from the snack pack allowed me to skip ahead. I think I pieced this quilt in an afternoon, thanks in large part to the ready-to-go strips.

Q. How was Around the Rail Fence quilted?

Lisa: My friend and fellow guild member Diane Oakes quilted it for me. I knew I wanted something geometric and modern in the white borders, so that was easy. We talked for a while about a motif to use in the pieced sections and finally decided on a more organic design that blended rather than stood out. I love what she did and really like the juxtaposition of the two different motifs. 

Find Ro Gregg's Marblehead Gemstones, Jewels & Quartz here.

Find out more about Lisa and her work here. 

Find Quilting Quickly here. (There's also a free video tutorial to make this quilt!)

Glorious Fall Colors

If the vibrant colors of changing fall leaves have inspired you to start a new project, look no further than Terry Albers' Autumn Glow quilt, a bonus feature from the November/December 2012 issue of Fons & Porter's Love of Quilting.

Gorgeous, isn't it? It really does seem to glow!

Q. How did you come up with the design idea?

Terry: I had a very traditional, hand-pieced, vintage two-color quilt that I wanted to reproduce for my bed.  I built the blocks into my computer program and experimented with different fabric combinations.

Q. How did you choose what color palette to use?

Terry: I started playing with colors against black, which gave the quilt a much more contemporary feel. I love the illusion of light that you can create by careful placement of a color progression.  Thinking of the Morning Glory pool at Yellowstone National Park, I used a 7-color progression from light blue into teal for my first version of this quilt. The "Focus" line of blenders by Paintbrush Studio are tone on tone, making the colors sparkle and blend better than a flat color broadcloth would.

Terry's first version, done in cool colors

Q. How did you decide to gradate the colors from yellow out to orange, to red, etc.?

Terry: I chose the colors for this quilt while thinking of autumn in the Wisconsin

North woods. I used the pale yellow at the center and progressed out to the darker colors, making me feel as though I'm looking into (and going toward) the light.

Q. Why did you choose to paper piece this design?

Terry: I paper-pieced this quilt for two main reasons; to control the bias edges and

clearly mark where each color belonged.  Paper (or foundation) piecing also helps keep the blocks consistent from sewing session to sewing session. This makes the top easier to assemble.

Q. Tell us about the machine quilting.

Terry: Diana Napier is a long-arm quilting genius. She completes my designs. We decided to do circles in the center to keep the flowing feel and she did her magic in the outer borders. The thread has a very slight sheen to it, adding to the glow.

Q. What are you planning to use this quilt for?

Terry: My husband worked on this quilt with me and he loves the color combination. I'll most likely be hanging it as a seasonal quilt, somewhere where he can see it every day."

Thanks Terry!


This pattern is available for FREE on the Fons & Porter website (you simply have to register for access).
Click here to get the pattern.
Click here to find the magazine.

Click here to buy a kit for this project.

Click here to learn more about Terry and her work.