A Quilt with Appeal!

Pardon our pun...we couldn't resist! 
The "Orange Peel Two Step" quilt has so much appeal! 
Barb Eikmeier made this quilt, featured in Fons & Porter's Love of Quilting, using her Kick Off Your Boots fabrics. Below, Barb talks about how she created these orange peel blocks.

"Orange Peel Two Step" designed by Barbara J. Eikmeier
and quilted by Theresa Ward;
featured in Love of Quilting March/April 2018

Q. Why did you decide to use orange peel templates?

BE: I knew this quilt was going to be featured on the tv show, and I thought I could offer some valuable teaching points using the templates.

Q. What makes this orange peel quilt different?

BE: It uses a pieced background and a pieced peel. That’s where the two-step idea in the quilt name comes from. When I sewed the pieces, I did them in two steps. Basically I strip pieced the two fabrics and then used the template to cut. As an added bonus, if you press the seams correctly, the seams will match in the middle, and that’s easier for piecing the curve. It makes the curved piecing less intimidating.

Q. How did you choose the fabrics?

BE: I used two different blues in the orange peels. There’s a subtle difference between them, but it’s enough to show up. I like the contrast between the cream background and the red print. The red creates a churn dash look, and it’s really interesting.

Q. Tell us about the hidden sashing strips.

BE: If you look at the quilt, you might not see the second set of sashing strips. The have light blue cornerstone squares and are surrounded by blocks with the same cream print background.

The two different blue cornerstones make little centers for the orange peel flowers. Even with the sashing, you still get the curved feel of the orange peel design.

Q. How did you select the outer border?

BE: My original design had a different, darker border. After I pieced the quilt center, I changed my mind. The border carries out the lightness out from the center of the quilt.

Q. What else should we know about cutting and piecing these pieces?

BE: The magazine has a paper template, but Fons & Porter also sells an acrylic template. With these templates, I could cut the shapes entirely by rotary cutter, which was great.

This quilt was also featured on the Love of Quilting Series 3100 tv series. Check with your local public television station for viewing times, or find the DVD here. 


See the entire Kick Off Your Boots collection here.
Find the quilt kit here.
Find the Love of Quilting March/April 2018 issue here.

Looking for another Kick Off Your Boots quilt? Download Barb's FREE pattern, "Cowboy Quilt," here.

Windsor Park

We love what Terry Albers made for Love of Quilting magazine using the Windsor Woods collection! It's a perfect combination of showcasing the blocks from the panel alternating with pieced blocks that create a chain design. Read more about Terry's quilt, as well as her tip for accurately fussy cutting panel blocks, below.

"Windsor Park" designed by Terry Albers; made by Dick Albers; machine quilted by Mary Klein
Featured in Love of Quilting July/August 2015

Q. What about the Windsor Woods fabric line appeals to you?

Terry: Ro Greg's fabrics always appeal to me! I find the depth of color in her designs to be irresistible. They seem to shimmer without metallic accents.

Q. Talk about how you used the blocks in the panel.

Terry: Her panel blocks grabbed my attention right away. I love the intricate designs of the blocks and love how they all work together. They were the starting point and inspiration for my design.

Q. Favorite print you used?

Terry: After the panel blocks, I’d have to say that my favorite print is the tiny floral, followed by the leaf print. Both are delicate and intricate at the same time. The coloration is soft without being pastel.

Q. Why did you pick the block you did to alternate with the panel blocks?

Terry: This is one of my favorite chain-type blocks for tying special squares or focus blocks together.

 

Q. Tips for fussy cutting panel pieces?

Terry: I like to work with panels and some of them can be challenging to trim evenly. It wasn’t the case here but I always use the same technique. I draw a horizontal line and then a vertical line, intersecting them at the center point.  I then use my 12½” square-up ruler to trim the blocks evenly.

Q. Why did you choose the color coordinates you did?

Terry: I chose the blue for the chain to complement the background of some of the blocks and tie the whole quilt top together. I was able to incorporate the tiny floral and leaf prints into the frames while keeping the chain effect of the blue squares. I chose the green as the complement to the blue. When I first used the green as the larger square in the pieced block, it was okay but something was missing. The bright fuchsia was just the pop I needed to frame the center green square.

Q. Why did you use a small print for the outer border? Is the border treatment meant to mimic the center of the pieced blocks?  

Terry: While I often use a strong print for the outer borders, I wanted to keep the focus on the center of the quilt. The border combination was meant to mirror the center of the pieced blocks, framing the main design.

Q. What is your favorite thing about this quilt?

Terry: Definitely the colors! I love the depth of color Ro uses…it’s so rich.

Q. What do you envision using this quilt for?

Terry: I plan to keep this quilt by my favorite reading chair. The combination of the rich panel squares and the tiny prints of the frames is somehow peaceful and relaxing for me. The color combinations of the borders keep the look lively in my room.

Q. It looks like this quilt was a family affair, made by your husband, Dick?

Terry: My husband is a retired firefighter and paramedic. He is also a graphic artist and does all my pattern graphics. When I found myself incapacitated by shoulder surgery, he stepped in and made the quilt for me. He has lots of piecing experience and learned the techniques to successfully assemble a quilt top with sashing. He ended up testing my pattern at the same time. This was the first time his name appeared in print and he planned to show off his skills to his golfing buddies. He is a man of many talents and definitely has my back!

See the entire Windsor Woods fabric collection here.

Learn more about Terry and her designs here.

Find the kit for this quilt here.

Find Fons & Porter's Love of Quilting magazine here.

Glorious Fall Colors

If the vibrant colors of changing fall leaves have inspired you to start a new project, look no further than Terry Albers' Autumn Glow quilt, a bonus feature from the November/December 2012 issue of Fons & Porter's Love of Quilting.

Gorgeous, isn't it? It really does seem to glow!

Q. How did you come up with the design idea?

Terry: I had a very traditional, hand-pieced, vintage two-color quilt that I wanted to reproduce for my bed.  I built the blocks into my computer program and experimented with different fabric combinations.

Q. How did you choose what color palette to use?

Terry: I started playing with colors against black, which gave the quilt a much more contemporary feel. I love the illusion of light that you can create by careful placement of a color progression.  Thinking of the Morning Glory pool at Yellowstone National Park, I used a 7-color progression from light blue into teal for my first version of this quilt. The "Focus" line of blenders by Paintbrush Studio are tone on tone, making the colors sparkle and blend better than a flat color broadcloth would.

Terry's first version, done in cool colors

Q. How did you decide to gradate the colors from yellow out to orange, to red, etc.?

Terry: I chose the colors for this quilt while thinking of autumn in the Wisconsin

North woods. I used the pale yellow at the center and progressed out to the darker colors, making me feel as though I'm looking into (and going toward) the light.

Q. Why did you choose to paper piece this design?

Terry: I paper-pieced this quilt for two main reasons; to control the bias edges and

clearly mark where each color belonged.  Paper (or foundation) piecing also helps keep the blocks consistent from sewing session to sewing session. This makes the top easier to assemble.

Q. Tell us about the machine quilting.

Terry: Diana Napier is a long-arm quilting genius. She completes my designs. We decided to do circles in the center to keep the flowing feel and she did her magic in the outer borders. The thread has a very slight sheen to it, adding to the glow.

Q. What are you planning to use this quilt for?

Terry: My husband worked on this quilt with me and he loves the color combination. I'll most likely be hanging it as a seasonal quilt, somewhere where he can see it every day."

Thanks Terry!


This pattern is available for FREE on the Fons & Porter website (you simply have to register for access).
Click here to get the pattern.
Click here to find the magazine.

Click here to buy a kit for this project.

Click here to learn more about Terry and her work.