Make Home Decor Hues Work for You

Neutrals are always high on the list of home decor hues, but how do you make them sparkle?

The key is a fabulous quilt design, such as the Elements quilt designed by the ladies of The Quilting Hen and featured in Quilt Trends magazine. The rich coppers, silvers and chocolate browns play off a creamy background in this multi-block design.

"Elements" by Diane Arganbright and Patricia Sue Nelson; machine quilted by Shawna Crawford;
featured in Quilt Trends summer 2014

Q. What attracted you to the Elemental Lines fabrics? Why do you think it works so well for a bed quilt?

Patty Sue: The rich, earthy tones of this collection immediately made me think of my Mom, who loves browns, and my Grandma, who loved gray. It is truly a collection that captures both of their personalities and fabric preferences. The elegant yet rustic look of these fabrics definitely belong in a quilt on a bed in a cabin or on a wood four-corner poster bed.

Q. How many different blocks are in this quilt? How did you come up with the layout?

Patty Sue: There are two blocks in this quilt. One of them is pieced as a half block and added to the sides of another block. This adds a new twist to a standard quilt block pattern. The border blocks are a smaller version of the blocks in the quilt center.

Q. What do you like best about the design?

Patty Sue: I like the combination of the pieced blocks and the whole fabric squares. This is a very nice size twin/full quilt that can easily be converted to queen by adding the block border to the sides of the center, making this a very versatile pattern.

Q. What was the most challenging part of designing or making this quilt?

Patty Sue: Designing this quilt was fun. The most challenging part of this quilt was the 36 hour deadline to get it cut out and pieced for the magazine!

Q. Can you tell us about the coordinating pillows?

Patty Sue: The pillows are the large and medium size of the same block pattern from the center of the quilt. I just used scraps from the top to make them and followed the block cutting and piecing directions from the quilt top.

Q. How is it machine quilted?

Patty Sue: The quilting is very elegant and ornate, which adds a nice classy touch to the quilt. The large feathers in the center cream are an eyecatching and very pleasing touch. Our long arm quilter, Shawna Crawford, did and outstanding job, as usual.

See the entire Elemental Lines collection here.

Find the kit for this quilt project here.

Find this issue of Quilt Trends here.