Waddington Road: 2 Ways

Do you lean toward scrappy quilts or more controlled palettes? 
Today we're sharing two Waddington Roadquilts designed by Barbara J. Eikmeier. Many of Barb's quilts we've seen have been scrappy--a cheery collection of reds, blues, greens, golds and tans. These two quilts showcase the Waddington Road fabric collection in a very different way and we asked Barb to talk to us about her designs. We think you'll love them both! 

The "Homeward Winds" quilt uses a warm palette of blues, greens, and golds, with a tan background. This two-block design is easy to sew and creates a secondary design. This lap-size quilt is featured in the March/April 2018 issue of McCall's Quilting magazine.

"Homeward Winds" by Barbara J. Eikemier and quilted by Theresa Ward;
featured in McCall's Quilting March/April 2018

Q. How did you come up with this design?

BE: The magazine editor had requested a two-block design. I had used the pinwheel star block (all blues) in a previous design and liked it, so I searched for a second block that would work well with it. When I found the framed pinwheel block (green), I realized that the corner triangles would match up and create a secondary shape. I didn’t realize both blocks started with center pinwheels until I recolored them!

Q. How do these blocks go together?

BE: Beautifully! If you press the corner units in opposite directions, they lock together when you pin the blocks and create such nice corners!

Q. What’s something we might not notice on a first look at this quilt?

BE: Do you see the spools on an angle? They’re where four blocks come together and they’re made up of blue thread centers with olive green tops and bottoms. I love that this little design element emerges!

Q. Tell us about your color choices for this quilt.

BE: Waddington Road has so many color variations, and it works well in scrappy quilt designs. As I’ve worked with these fabrics, I’ve often pulled smaller groupings that I thought looked pretty together. I really liked this blue, green and gold combination. Using the same yellow in both blocks creates continuity throughout the design.

The inner blue border is subtle, but creates space between the blocks and the outer border. It let’s the natural edges of the block stand out.

Q. Tell us about the quilting.

BE: I asked Theresa Ward to do custom quilting because the quilt has some areas that would really shine. She did swirls on the olive green sections that show up beautifully.

Q. What do you like best?
BE: I like the spool design that emerges when the blocks come together. This is a straight-set quilt, but you get diagonal components that make it look more interesting.

Find the Homeward Winds quilt pattern here.

See the entire Waddington Road collection here.

Find McCall's Quilting magazine here.

Contact the Quilt Corral to purchase a kit for Homeward Winds.

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Barb's "Grandma's Farm" quilt goes in a totally different color direction. Bright red and blue prints stand out from tan, olive green and chocolate brown coordinates. The quilt is made using simple four-patch units--an easy design that creates a visually interesting quilt. "Grandma's Farm" is featured in McCall's Quick Quilts February/March 2018 issue. 

"Grandma's Farm" by Barbara J. Eikmier and quilted by Theresa Ward;
featured in McCall's Quick Quilts February/March 2018

Q. What inspired this quilt design?

BE: It’s named after my Grandma who lived on Waddington Road. The design itself is the idea of a chain link fence going around a farm, and it’s made up primarily of small four-patches. The overall design is a nine-patch variation.

Q. Tell us about the color palette you used.

BE: I started with the background floral print, with small red and brown flowers. Then I added red and chocolate brown prints, plus the lighter tan, and they all coordinate beautifully. I wanted to add another color that would stand out. The blue really made the design come alive. The sashing is an olive green, which stands out as well. I changed up the sashing cornerstones, with adds a secondary design as well.

Q. What do you like best about the quilt?

BE: I like how the secondary blocks show up by the cornerstones—a phantom nine-patch design. When you look at this quilt, it’s a really simple pattern, but the more you look at it, the more interesting it becomes.

Find the Grandma's Farm pattern here.
See the entire Waddington Road collection here.
Find McCall's Quick Quilts February/March 2018 issue here.

Read more about all of Barbara Eikmeier's Waddington Road quilts:
Grandma's Spools
Floating Palette
Waddington Road Sampler
Town Square

Argyle: The Modern Plaid

Argyle's not just for sweaters! Transform your king-size bed into a haven of plaid in soothing purples, greens, and grays from our Chelsea line with Terry Albers' "Argyle" design, featured in McCall's Quilting magazine. Below, Terry talks about her design, the matching shams, and why she'll be designing another quilt from the Chelsea collection for herself.

"Argyle" designed by Terry Albers;
made by Lou Ann Eberhardt; machine quilted by Mary Klein;
featured in McCall's Quilting magazine, June/July 2015

Q. What attracted you to the Chelsea collection?

Terry: The soft colors, combining purple with gray, were the first thing that grabbed my attention in the Chelsea collection. And, of course, the paisley…I can’t resist a rich paisley.

Q. Can you talk about your manly plaid-look design? 

Terry: The whole group reminds me of a classy, understated gentleman's suit; from the dark tone-on-tone paisley with a crisp white shirt to the quietly elegant purple tie. Although argyle is for everyone now, it reminded me of a man's argyle sweater.

Q. Tell us about the coordinating pillow shams—they are just a smaller version of the quilt, correct?

Terry: I designed the pillow shams to repeat the woven aspect of the quilt without the extra borders so that they compliment instead of match the quilt. (Download the free pattern for the pillow shams here.)

Q. Can you talk about your border choices? 

Terry: My original plan was to feature the pale purple paisley patch print (how's that for alliteration?) in the quilt and build the design around it. But I had been playing with some woven ideas for a while and the argyle look took over. The center was dramatic but a bit stark and I wanted to soften the edges. The first three borders contain the center design and the wider patch print continues to soften the edges. The final borders keep the design lively and finish the neat, classy look.

Q. What do you like best about this quilt?

Terry: I love the quiet, understated look that has layers of design…you may not notice the two-color woven look of the stripes at first. The overall look is peaceful and elegant at the same time. Not only a “manly” design, the look crosses over from traditional toward contemporary.

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

Terry: My long arm quilter is a true artist. I give her free rein to choose the design and color to enhance the style of the quilt and she never fails. She did lots of custom, free-hand work on this quilt but it would be suited to an all-over, edge to edge design, as well.

Q. What's next for you?
Terry: Now that the quilt is residing on my son’s bed in another city, I think I’ll need to design something else using the pale purple paisley patch print, so I can keep it close and enjoy the colors on a daily basis.

See the entire Chelsea collection here.

Find the kit for this quilt here.

Find McCall's Quick Quilts here.

Lovely in Lavender

There's something soft and soothing about Tammy Silvers' "Lavender & Sage" quilt, featuring the Chelsea collection. The prints--both the main print that Tammy used as the "background" in the quilt--and the grays, greens and lavenders that almost read as solids--blend together beautifully in this easy design. You'll find the pattern featured in the May/June 2015 issue of McCall's Quilting.

"Lavender & Sage" by Tammy Silvers; machine quilted by Pat Yearwood;
featured in McCall's Quilting May/June 2015

Q. What attracted you to the Chelsea collection?  

Tammy: I don’t know about you, but I seem to go through phases of color preference - and right now I’m in my “gray” phase. Not as dreary as it sounds, and nope, not going through a depression (that I know of!).  But gray is such a wonderful neutral. It goes with practically every color, and really helps prints pop.

Q. Is there a particular fabric or fabrics that really catch your eye?  

Tammy: The main fabric, kind of the background fabric in this quilt, is wonderful. It reminds me of the Far East - full of movement, and soft, almost faded colors that practically scream “oriental rug.” It’s wonderful.

Q. What can you tell us about your fabric choices?

Tammy: Since the background/main fabric is such a busy print, and has so many curving lines, I thought some strong straight lines and fabrics that read as a solid would provide nice contrast, and create an illusion of depth.

Q. Can you talk about the on point look and how it's created in your design?

Tammy: It is actually much simpler than it looks!  Without giving it away (not that experienced quilters can’t tell just by looking), it is a simple two block quilt, and the blocks, while appearing to be set on point, are all actually straight set blocks.

Q. Can you talk about how you used the various prints in your design?

Tammy: Yes, the main fabric, the paisley look print, shows as a background fabric due to placement within all the blocks. Alternating the lime and the lavender prints gave some order to the quilt to keep it from getting too “busy.” And the border - well, while I would love to have another excuse to use the paisley print, the quilt really needing to be “grounded” or reigned in, and the mid-tone purple print does that well.

Q. What do you like best about the quilt?

Tammy: I love that, while all of the fabrics are lovely on their own, when combined they work wonderfully together.  And the overall effect, as I’ve mentioned before, is soft and subtle, like a wonderful old oriental rug that has mellowed over time.

Q. Did you do the machine quilting? 

Tammy: I wish!  I have my quilt fairy, Pat Yearwood, to thank (as always) for the wonderful machine quilting on the project.

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

Tammy: Well, providing I can keep my sister-in-law from tucking it in her purse when she comes to visit (she LOVES anything purple), I think it is the perfect spring accent quilt for snuggling under when the air gets a bit nippy!

See the entire Chelsea collection here.

Find the kit for this project here.

Download the free pattern for a queen-size version of this quilt here.

Find McCall's Quilting magazine here.