3 Reasons You'll Love the Grand Traditions quilt

The "Grand Traditions" quilt, featured in the August 2017 issue of American Patchwork & Quilting, has it all: 

A quilt a guy would snuggle under (no frou frou flowers!)

Oversized blocks (goes together quickly!)

Fat quarter friendly (easy yardage requirements!)

We love this quilt and think you will too. Designer Roseann Meehan Kermes of Rosebud's Cottage used the Waddington Road collection by Barbara J. Eikmeier  to piece this quilt, destined for a couch, a bowl of popcorn, and a movie. (Bonus: Start it now, and it'll be ready by the time those cool fall days roll around!)

 Designed by Roseann Meehan Kermes of Rosebud’s Cottage.
Used with permission from American Patchwork & Quilting® magazine.
©2017 Meredith Corporation. All Rights Reserved. 

We asked Roseann to tell us about her design and sewing process. As a bonus, she included some links to her Instagram account from while she was sewing. 

Q. What attracted you to the Waddington Road prints?

RK: I loved the rich colors and the style of the prints ... especially the red and black ones. And the gold ones. And the blues, too!

Q. How did you choose what block to use?

RK: I've made this block in a 6" version. I came across a large version of it in my sketchbook and felt it would show off the prints in Waddington Road. Plus it's easy to sew ... any skill level should be able to make it.

Q. Tell us about the layout you came up with.

RK: The layout is actually a quilt block called Patience Corner. The blocks are placed a certain way within the layout to form the zigzag style sashing. Using this layout gave me the chance to show off the deep red fabric in the line. I love red, so it was a great choice! I've used the Patience Corner block to lay out many quilt tops ... it's a fun way to show off the blocks.

Q. Can you talk about how you combined prints for each block?

RK: I went through the fat quarter bundle and matched up color combinations, putting them in order of the background, contrast, and focus fabric. The first block was the hardest so I played it safe. It's in the second row on the right side. I laid the blocks on my floor as I completed them and then readjusted my combinations so that I didn't have too much of one color appearing stronger than the others. That's why some of the blocks appear to have less contrast than others.

Two things that helped ... after I chose the fabric combos, I labeled them A, B, and C. The other thing I did was create cutting charts. They're included in the article and are also labeled by letter. When you're using fat quarters, you want to make sure that you'll have enough fabric, especially if you miss-cut. Before I began, I decided which ways I needed to cut the fat quarters and did it the same way each time.  I always make the largest cut first because I can always subcut it into smaller segments. Also, I only made one block at a time so the cutting chart was helpful in remembering which way to cut each fabric.

Q. What do you like best about this quilt?

RK: I had a very short time frame when I made this quilt plus I had to get it quilted. I loved that it went together quickly.

The other reason I loved making this quilt is because I got to use my favorite tool ... the Folded Corner Clipper! I'm horrible at the technique of half-square triangles where you draw a line and sew next to it, creating a corner flip. My units never come out correctly. With this tool, you trim off the corner before you sew ... the seam allowance is included. I sewed those cut off triangle units together, too as I sewed the block units and have enough to make a couch pillow. It's fun to use up every last piece!

Q. Can you tell us about the quilting decisions?

RK: Haha ... here's my quilting decision ... I hand it off to Randi Helling at Jubilee Quilting and do what she suggests! I had sent her a photo before I got there so she had some ideas for me when I arrived. We discussed thread colors and I gave her a few choices. The rest was all her! Randi has quilted my professional and personal quilts for years. I trust her judgment.

Q. What do you envision this quilt being used for?

RK: I thought American Patchwork and Quilting read my mind about how this quilt would be used! I have a family full of 'boys' and imagined any one of them snuggling under this quilt. It's the perfect size for that.

Q. How else could this pattern be used?

RK: My daughter-in-law wanted to make a baby quilt so I sent her the directions to try out. She made four blocks and skipped the sashing so it wouldn't be too big. It was so cute! I'd do four blocks with the sashing to make a table topper or a picnic quilt.

Find the entire Waddington Road collection here and ask for it at your local quilt shop. 

Learn more Waddington Road designer Barbara J. Eikmeier here.

Learn more about quilt designer Roseann Meehan Kermes here. 

Find American Patchwork & Quilting magazine here.