Hello, spring! Cabins of Carolina quilt

The Cabins of Carolina quilt by Sara Gallegos and Denise Schober is a breath of fresh spring air!

 This quilt, made using our Mayfair collection, was featured in the May/June 2018 issue of Fons & Porter's Love of Quilting magazine, as well as in episode 3102 of the Love of Quilting show.

"Cabins of Carolina" by Sara Gallegos & Denise Schober; quilted by Denise Scholber
Featured in Love of Quilting May/June 2018

Q. How did this quilt begin?

Denise Schober: It was originally created for a mystery quilting event. We wanted a design where students could make one block the first day and one the second day, and then have lots of variations to put the quilt together.

Sara Gallegos: I landed on a log cabin block (because it’s simple) and a Carolina Lily block. The original quilt was made in red, black, green and cream Christmas prints.

Q. What attracted you to the Mayfair collection?

DS: Love of Quilting asked us to remake the quilt in other fabrics (for the tv show and magazine). Sara chose the spring-like Mayfair collection and we worked together to pick specific fabrics.

SG: We liked that each color group had lights and darks, as well as different scale prints. I also loved that there was a large-scale floral to play with in the wings of the flying geese and in the outer border.

Q. How did you choose the soft yellow solid for the background?

SG: I wanted a solid to set off the blocks—something soft, but not stark. This buttery yellow was perfect! It created such a happy, springy quilt.

Q. You mentioned layout options. Tell us how you decided on the final layout.

SG: We played with several different layouts and ultimately decided that the medallion in the center created the most dynamic version. Also, Denise is an accomplished longarm quilter, and this design left a lot of negative space where she could play.

Q. What do you like best about the quilt?

DS: I like the simplicity of the two blocks. This quilt is so springy and bright—it just makes you feel good.

SG: My favorite part was constructing the no-waste flying geese. My favorite thing about the quilt is how two fairly simple blocks came together to create a very special quilt.

Q. Tell us about the machine quilting.

DS: When I teach, one of the things I ask my students is do you want to see the piecing, the stitching, or the depth of quilting? We chose to let the fabric and the piecing do the talking, so this quilt has an edge to edge quilting design.

Follow Sara at sewpositivelysara.com and Denise at www.deniseschober.com/

Find Out More: See the entire Mayfair fabric collection here. 
Find the kit here.
Find the 3100 series DVD which features Cabins of Carolina here. 
Find Love of Quilting magazine May/June 2018 issue here.

Cross Road to Grandma's House

Combine two classic blocks like Barbara Eikmeier did in this Waddington Road quilt and you get a cozy, heartwarming quilt that's easy to make! The "Cross Road to Grandma's House" quilt is featured in the March/April 2017 issue of Fons & Porter's Love of Quilting magazine.

 "Cross Road to Grandma's House" by Barbara J. Eikmeier; machine quilted by Denise Mariano;

featured in Fons & Porter's Love of Quilting March/April 2017

We asked Barb to tell us about the "Cross Road to Grandma's House" quilt. 

She said: "This is one of my favorite quilts from this collection, and I think it’s because it’s the first Waddington Road quilt I made. I get kind of sentimental about that. But it’s also a really super easy quilt to make."

Q. Tell us about the design.

BE: It features two blocks—the Album Cross block set on point with an alternate Snowball block. I carried the Snowball blocks out into the setting triangles. The Album Cross blocks use all the prints, and then I sorted all of the tan fabrics into a pile and used them for the Snowball block backgrounds. I like the subtle difference in background colors they create—it’s just a subtle change flowing across the quilt.

Q. How did you choose the blue for the Snowball block corners?

BE: I chose the darkest, most saturated fabric in the collection because I really wanted those star points to pop out. 

Q. How did you choose the outer border?

BE: I really love that blue plaid. I thought that I could showcase it in a wide outer border. It really pulls out the dark blue of the star points, and it ties everything together nicely.

Q. What do you like best about the quilt?

BE: Can I name more than one? I like that it showcases the whole fabric collection—so many different prints to see. I really like the mix of backgrounds in it—all the tans and creams. And finally, I like how the blue holds everything together—the blue in the snowball blocks act as star points and really create a secondary design—they fool your eye as to where the block itself is.

Q. How does the machine quilting enhance this quilt?

BE: It was quilted by Denise Mariano. She’s so creative in how she places designs! In the centers of the snowball blocks, she put a motif that fills that space evenly. There are little fleur de lis motifs in the corners of the snowball blocks. The outside border has a pretty interlocking cable that I think goes with the primitive look of the fabrics

Q. What do you plan to use this quilt for?

BE: I’ve just started offering a presentation for quilt guilds about designing fabric and how I use my fabrics in quilt designs. I’ll be sharing this quilt in my presentation!

Q. This quilt was featured in a Love of Quilting episode. What was that like?

BE: This was my second time on the show, so I had an idea what it would be like. The program is built around three teaching points for constructing this quilt. We used a Fons & Porter ruler to trim up the Album Cross blocks. Then I showed the folded corners method on the snowball blocks. Then the method I had figured out for adding corners of setting triangles. Talked a little about color contrast as well. 

We filmed straight through—no segments, no breaks. The crew at Iowa Public TV is phenomenal. Everything goes smoothly, and the crew is so efficient. It’s really a fun experience. It was especially fun for me to see Crossroads to Grandma’s pinned up on the design wall on the set.

See the entire Waddington Road collection here and learn more of the story behind it here.

Learn more about Barbara Eikmeier here.

Find the kit for this project here.

Find Fons & Porter's Love of Quilting here.

Goose Crossing

Do you love a great two-color quilt?
Make sure you catch Barbara J. Eikmeier's Goose Crossing quilt, featured in the March/April 2016 issue of Love of Quilting! Barb used her Vintage Shirting & Dress Prints collection to create this quilt, inspired by an antique. Keep reading; Barb shared more information about her design below. 

"Goose Crossing" by Barbara J. Eikmeier; machine quilted by Denise Mariano;
featured in Fons & Porter's Love of Quilting March/April 2016

Q. What inspired this quilt?
Barb: An antique quilt that belongs to my friend Lynn and was made by her grandmother. I've borrowed the quilt for my blues talk and wanted to try making it. On the antique version, the colors are reversed. When I drew it, I didn't love it, but then I switched the colors and it became this great quilt.

Barb's version

the antique version

antique version close-up

Q. Tell us why you like two-color quilts. 
Barb: I especially like blue and white, and also red and white. I think they’re striking and kind of timeless. I just don’t get tired of them; they speak to me. When you use fabrics that are really similar like in this quilt, I call it using fabrics that are the same but different. It’s like selecting from a menu—don’t have to really worry about placement. They can be all mixed up. This quilt uses all the blues from my Vintage Shirting collection. 

Q. What do you like best about this quilt?
Barb: I like that it's easy to make--I super sized the blocks--they're 18" square in my version--and the geese go every which way. I made the flying geese units using the Fons & Porter flying geese ruler. I like to cut my triangles to the right size and sew them together, rather than trimming larger pieces. I think it's time saving. It's just a fun quilt to make. 

Q. Tell us some fun facts about this quilt.
Barb: There are multiple ways to assemble this quilt. We featured one in the TV series, and a different method in the magazine. 
Also, I had my first celebrity encounter because of this quilt--my husband and I were out walking the dog and a lady stopped us to tell me how much she liked the quilt in the video. I didn't even know her! 

Q. How did you name this quilt?
Barb: I named it as a tribute to my old neighborhood. There were two ponds on either side of the road, and the geese would walk across the road. They put up a sign for the geese--like a deer crossing sign. 

See the entire Vintage Shirting & Dress Prints collection here and ask for it at your local quilt shop.
Learn more about Barbara and her work here.
Find the kit to make this quilt here.
Find Fons & Porter's Love of Quilting magazine here. (This quilt was also featured on the “Love of Quilting” 2700 TV series.)

Feeling the Blues with Vera Cruz

This spring, we've had two quilts made with the lovely florals of Vera Cruz featured in magazines. These quilt patterns have more in common than just the Vera Cruz prints they use--both are perfect for blue lovers! 

In the January/February issue of Love of Quilting, Diane Tomlinson used just four blues and the traditional apple core shape to make a cool curvy quilt. Doesn't it create a fantastic illusion of colors weaving over and under each other?

"Core Connection" by Diane Tomlinson;
featured in Love of Quilting Jan/Feb 2016

Find the Vera Cruz collection here.
Find the kit for this project here. 
Find Fons & Porter's Love of Quilting here.

Then in the March/April issue of Quilting Quickly, Lisa Swenson Ruble used a snack pack of 2-1/2" wide strips plus plenty of blue floral to sew a variation of the barn raising design. The pieced strips add so much movement to this design! 

"Modern Barn Raising" by Lisa Swenson Ruble and machine quilted by Diane Oakes;
featured in Quilting Quickly March/April 2016

Find the Vera Cruz collection here.
Find the kit for this project here. 
Find the video tutorial for this project here. 
Find Fons & Porter's Quilting Quickly here.