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?)

It's time to vote!

American Patchwork & Quilting's One Million Pillowcase Challenge has passed the halfway mark! 

Stop and think about that for a second--more than 500,000 pillowcases have been stitched and donated to charity through this initiative. That's impressive. 

During the month of July, AP&Q is holding a contest on Pinterest. They've picked 20 of their favorite pillowcases and pinned them. The pillowcase with the most repins at the end of the month will be declared the winner and featured in a special hop. We are proud to be a sponsor of the Pillowcase Challenge, and we'll be participating in the hop in August.

How can you be part of this? Head over to their Pinterest page and repin your favorite pillowcase. 

(And keep reading below to be part of our contest here!)

By the way, did we mention that TWO of our pillowcases made it into the top 20? That's right! We wouldn't want to sway your vote or anything, but we did want to show them off:

Calypso by Ro Gregg

Lady in Red by Ro Gregg

We'd also encourage you to make a pillowcase (or more!) to donate. It's a quick and easy project, and you can make a difference for someone in your own community. You can find a huge variety of pillowcase patterns (including for all the pillowcases you see on this blog page) here.

In the meantime, we're holding our own contest right here, just for fun. Below you'll see all of our pillowcase samples from the Pillowcase Challenge from 2012 and 2013 (photos courtesy of American Patchwork & Quilting). Which one do you like best? And why? Leave us a comment letting us know!

Log cabin pattern using Marblehead 

Uneven hourglass pattern using Fall Tapestry

Churn dash pattern using Garden Whimsy

Cottage in the forest applique pattern using Garden Whimsy

Crazy rail fence pattern using Pretty in Pink

Snowball pattern using Marblehead Pleasing Pastels

Precut strips pattern using Focus

Train pattern using Calypso Frogs

Chevron band pattern using Tribal Council

Spools pattern using Lady in Red

X block band pattern using Flutter

Bubbles applique pattern featuring Calypso

Rick rack pattern using Cambridge Flannel

Rouge Royale

What's fun about a red, black and white fabric collection? Seeing all the different ways people use this classic color combination. We've seen Ro Gregg's Lady in Red collection showcased in our free pattern, the two-color blogging design ring tutorial, and School Girls in Red, among others.

Today, we have "Rouge Royale," a nine-patch star block set on point that merges traditional with shabby chic. Designed by Tammy Silvers and Julia LaBauve of Outside the Lines Design and machine quilted by Pat Yearwood of Stitch 'n Quilt, this beauty is featured in the current issue of Quilt magazine.

"Rouge Royale" by Tammy Silvers & Julia LaBauve;
featured in Quilt magazine June-July 2013

Q. What attracted you to the Lady in Red fabric collection?

Tammy: I love bright color, and strong contrasts, and this line offers both, combined with a wonderful vintage-feeling floral, which immediately attracted the "shabby chic" side in me.

Q. How did you come up with the design for this quilt?

Tammy: I wanted the wonderful soft florals to take center stage, so I looked for blocks that echoed the traditional feel of the motifs, in a scale that would allow for the fabric patterns to shine. I also like to contrast organic shapes (the florals) with strong linear designs (the blocks). I think this creates a tension that is interesting.

Q. Tell us about the pieced setting and corner triangles. They really enhance the design.

Tammy: Aw, shucks - thanks so much! The blocks for this quilt are quite large (20" square). Without a pieced setting and corner triangle, even the large blocks would have been lost in plain fabric setting and corner triangles. But.....the piecing in those setting squares didn't need to compete with the center blocks. I think that the simple piecing, which echoes the basic lines in the center blocks, sets a nice stage for the main blocks.

Q. How did you decide on the border treatments?

Tammy: I approach borders much like framing a picture - what will enhance the quilt center—the true star of the show—without detracting or dulling the quilt. Traditionally, the outermost border is the largest, but I think providing two narrow black borders (inner and outermost) allow me to use the terrific bright red overall rose print in a wide border, yet tone it down enough to keep it from overwhelming the quilt center.

Q. What is your favorite part of the quilt? 

Tammy: Ummm....difficult to say. Some quilts I create I honestly don't "love" until all the parts come together, and then it's like a terrific song - you can't image the lyrics without the melody. On this one - well, I really like the nine patch star block. But what I think is absolutely the best part is the linear "weave" of the white floral that is created between the blocks. There is something about setting a block on point that can elevate even the most "mundane" (if a quilt block can be called mundane - let's face it, even the humble four patch creates some fabulous quilts!) block to a new level. It's that change in perspective. I definitely love that!

Q. What can you tell us about the machine quilting choices?

Much as I would LOVE to take credit for all aspects of the quilt, I cannot take ANY credit for the quilting. Pat Yearwood does all my quilting and she does an outstanding job of choosing complimentary threads and quilting motifs to compliment my quilts. The only quilting I've mastered is the loopy loop - so thank goodness for Pat and her fabulous portfolio of quilt designs.

Learn more about Tammy here.

See the full Lady in Red collection here.

Find the kit for this quilt here.

Find Quilt magazine here.

School Girls in Red

Last month, we shared a tutorial from Rebecca using the Lady in Red collection by Ro Gregg. Today we're back with another quilt made from these stunning fabrics, called "School Girls in Red."

"School Girls in Red" by Cathy Miles;
featured in Easy Quilts Summer 2013

You can find the pattern for this dramatic lap quilt in the summer issue of Fons & Porter's Easy Quilts magazine. Below, Cathy Miles shed some light on her block choice, fabric picks and machine quilting. 

Q. Tell us about the School Girl's Puzzle block you used.

Cathy: I was playing with blocks in EQ7 and changing the values of the various pieces, as it often is a surprise when the darks & lights are shifted to different positions. I liked the effect of the 'x' & 'o' that is created when the block direction shifts rather than having them all point one way. The block is one I haven't used much and I was trying to use something traditional in a non-traditional way.

Q. What does this quilt make you think of?

Cathy: While I was making it my name for this quilt was ''Bonnie Jean." The school girl theme and roses had me humming the song from ''The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie,'' which starts with ''Jean, Jean, roses are red..."

Q. What attracted you to the Lady in Red collection?

Cathy: The combination of black, white and red have a lot of appeal, and I have wanted to design a quilt in this color group for a while. I liked the variety of florals in the group: big roses, little roses, roses on black, roses on white, plus a few geometrics for contrast.

Q. Do you have a favorite print from Lady in Red?

Cathy: The big red on red roses used for the border.

Q. What do you like best about the quilt?

Cathy: A few things: I like the balance of this quilt, how the blocks make 'x' & 'o' designs, and how the contrasting sashing frames the blocks without interrupting the flow of the design.

Q. What prompted you to design the quilt?

Cathy: I wanted a cozy throw for the couch. The colors in my living room are very low key and after the Christmas decorations are packed away, it can look pretty blah. This made a nice transition for those gloomy winter days when a little drama and color seems like a welcome change.

Q. Tell us about the machine quilting.

Cathy: I have great fun with the long arm machine, creating designs and generally doing what I call 'driving the big guy.' This one is quilted in a free hand spiral, it fills the space evenly and I used red thread.

p.s. Do you see the "X"s and "O"s that Cathy talks about in her design? Leave a comment telling us where you see them!  

To see the entire Lady in Red collection, click here.
To order a kit for this quilt, click here.
To find the summer 2013 issue of Easy Quilts, click here.

Tutorial: Two-Color Quilt

Today, Rebecca who blogs over at Our Busy Little Bunch is sharing a tutorial for a quilt made from large quarter-square triangles--simple, yet beautiful! After you check out her tutorial, head over to her blog for a chance to win a fat quarter bundle of Lady in Red. 

After seeing the beautiful Lady In Red fabric line from Ro Gregg, my first thought was to make a quilt showing off the stunning contrast of black and red.  I wanted to make this a quick quilt project, and I think the following tutorial would be a perfect beginner project for a quilter - it helps to practice all the necessary and precise quilting rules, but gets you a quick finish to help you fall in love with the world of quilting.

Supplies Needed:

1/2 yard cuts of four assorted red fabrics

1/2 yard cuts of three assorted black fabrics

1 yard cut of a black fabric (for blocks and binding)

3 yards of backing fabric (will be cut in half and pieced together)

Batting measuring 60" x 70"

First, cut out three 14" squares from your four red and four black fabrics.  Then pair them up in red/black color combinations, placing each pair right sides together.  With a pen and ruler, draw a line on the diagonal between two of the corners. Pin in each corner and center to hold in place.

Sew 1/4" on either side of the drawn line.  Do this for each pair.  Then with your ruler and rotary cutter, cut along the drawn line.  

Press each new square. You now have half-square triangle units.

Pair up the half-square triangle units, and place right sides together - making sure to place black half of fabric on top of red, and red half on top of black.  Draw a new line from one corner to opposite corner, your new seams will flow over the seam you just made.  Pin the block in each corner and on center, making sure that the seam is centered.

Just like above, sew 1/4" on either side of the drawn line.  Do this for each pair.  Then with your ruler and rotary cutter, cut along the drawn line.  Press each new square.  You now have quarter-square triangle units.

Lay out your quarter-square triangle units in a random fashion, making a diamond pattern of red and black throughout the design.  Keep playing with the layout until you are pleased with it.  Then sew the blocks together in rows, press, and sew the rows together to give you a finished quilt top.  (You will have four blocks leftover - these are perfect for a couple throw-pillows or a table runner - a small project is a great way to practice your quilting before you tackle this quilt).

Now cut your backing fabric in half so you will have two one and a half yard pieces, and sew those pieces together to form a large 80" x 54" piece.  Press and then cut it down to 70" wide if desired (the quilt top should be approx 50" x 62").  Then use your favorite method of basting to baste the backing, batting and quilt top layers together.  Then you're ready to quilt - I chose to do straight-line quilting on either side of the ditch on the diagonal seams.  And last, bind it with your leftover black fabric.  

And there you have it - a quick and striking two color quilt.  I think this quilt would look stunning in other two-color fabric combinations as well.  Check out the selection of Fabri-Quilt prints to get you inspired!

What's old is new again

Ro Gregg is back, with a nod to classic style. Her latest collection, Lady in Red, features a trendy red, black and white color palette, showcased in timeless designs.

Q. What inspired you to create Lady in Red?

Ro: This line is a classic example of a very important trend: what is old is new again. I was inspired by authentic vintage swatches and updated them with architectural and botanical motifs. I  was also inspired by trips to London and beautiful English bone China, including family China that has been handed from my great aunt to my mother to me. 

Q. What are your favorite prints in the collection?

Ro: My favorite is the botanical rose and scroll. Roses are part of my signature style, and red roses symbolize love and passion.

I also love the dotted scroll in both black and red. It is much more than just a scroll texture; it holds color and adds surface texture in quilted projects. 

Q. What do you like best about these designs?

Ro: This line makes me feel romantic and a bit nostalgic, because it is a glimpse back to the past when things were much simpler, yet it has a freshness and a color palette that will always be in style. 

Q. What do you envision quilters making from the Lady in Red fabrics?

Ro: It would be perfect for an heirloom quilt, Roman shades, skirted tables layered with several prints, really any type of home dec project. 

Love this line? Head over to our website to download the free pattern for this English Gardens quilt, designed by Dawn Conery Designs. Then head to your local quilt shop to find our lovely Lady in Red waiting for you!