Want to make a pillowcase?

We really enjoy following along with American Patchwork & Quilting's 1 Million Pillowcase Challenge! Each quarter, their team creates two new designs and makes up sample pillowcases featuring new fabrics. Here are the two most recent designs:

Tumbler Band Pillowcase

featuring Ro Gregg's Calypso Goldfish collection

Photo: AllPeopleQuilt.com

Find the free pattern for the tumbler band pillowcase here.

Honeycomb Band Pillowcase

featuring the Coral Sea collection and Ro Gregg's Marblehead fabrics

Photo: AllPeopleQuilt.com

Find the free pattern for the honeycomb band pillowcase here.

You can find these two pillowcase patterns, as well as 39 others, here.
Find more details about the 1 Million Pillowcase Challenge (they're up to 541,184 cases donated!) here.

Top 10 Two-Color Designs

Two-color quilt designs face an extra challenge--with a monochromatic palette, the design really has to pop. But when it works, it works well. Here are 10 of our favorites (many of them free patterns!), including links for where to find them yourself. Enjoy!

#1: Junctures quilt by Tony Jacobson; featured as a Web Bonus project for Easy Quilts magazine, made using the Black & White collection

#2: Roses Are Red by Tammy Silvers; featured in the October-November 2013 issue of Quilt magazine, made using the Roses are Red collection

#3: Winter Blues free quilt pattern by Sue Harvey and Sandy Boobar; featuring the Winter Blues collection

#4: Seaquarium free quilt pattern by Terry Albers; featuring the Coral Sea collection

#5: Cool Blue by Dawn Stewart; featured in Fons & Porter's Love of Quilting July/August 2013 issue, made using the Indigo Blues collection

 #6: Red Rose designed by Diane Arganbright and Patricia Sue Nelson; featured in February/March 2014 issue of The Quilter magazine, made using the Roses are Red collection

 #7: Indigo Blues free quilt pattern designed by Sue Harvey and Sandy Boobar; featuring the Indigo Blues collection

#8: Black Tie Affair by Cathy Miles; featured in Simple Quilts & Sewing Spring 2013, made using the Black Tie Affair collection

#9: Two-Color Quilt tutorial by Rebecca of Our Busy Little Bunch; featuring Lady in Red

#10: ...a sneak peek at a brand-new quilt, which we'll be featuring here on the blog soon: Pane by Pane by Tony Jacobson; featured in the March/April 2014 issue of Fons & Porter's Love of Quilting, made using the Marblehead Northern Woods collection

(Okay, you might have noticed a tiny hint of blue in this quilt...technically it's not quite a two-color quilt...but we loved it and had to include it in the list, perhaps with an asterisk?)

Thinking Tropical?

With so much of the country plunged into chilly arctic temperatures, we thought we'd warm things up a bit by sharing Coral Sea, an underwater collection.

The prints come in black and white for a unique take on sea life, as well as jewel-tone colors. Seaweed, realistic-looking fish, seashells...this line has everything ocean lovers would want!

Terry Albers designed this free pattern, Seaquarium, using a variation of the classic Attic Window design. It's your very own quilted aquarium--great for highlighting these ocean-themed focal prints!
Terry designed the quilt using the black and white prints, but it would look great in color, too!

Find the free pattern here and ask for Coral Sea at your local quilt shop!