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!)