Ruby's Star Flower

We're happy to report another Vintage 30's Ruby's Treasures sighting! This beauty below, "Ruby's Star Flower," was designed by Jane Vaughan and is featured in the January/February issue of Quilting Quickly. We asked Jane to talk about her quilt. 

"Ruby's Star Flower" designed by Jane Vaughan and quilted by Annie Alessi;
featured in Quilting Quickly January/February 2017

Q. What attracted you to the Ruby’s Treasures collection?

Jane: I like 30’s prints and frequently use them in my quilts. The colors in this collection were so sweet and delicate.  They just fit the name Starflower.

Q. Do you have any particular favorite prints from the collection?

Jane: My favorite was the fabric I used for the border—the blue and yellow flower. I chose it first and designed the quilt from there.

Q. What prompted you to use yellow as the accent color throughout? 

Jane: Yellow is just bright and cheery.  I also wanted it to be neutral if I chose to use this as a baby quilt in the future.

Q. Can you tell us about the block that you used in your quilt? 

Jane: I've been designing blocks that look like flowers to me and this one just came about. The four-patches were serendipity! I had moved them around on the block design and when I put the blocks together, there they were! I had a few segments left over after making the blocks, so I used them in the corners of the outer border as well...it was simple as that.

Q. What do you like best about the quilt? 

Jane: The airy effect the flowers have; they just spin across the quilt.

Q. Can you tell us about the machine quilting?

Jane: Annie Alessi did the quilting for me on her long arm machine.  I told her to do something that looked like flowers.

See the entire Vintage 30's Ruby's Treasures collection by Barbara J. Eikmeier here. 

Find Quilting Quickly here.

Feeling the Blues with Vera Cruz

This spring, we've had two quilts made with the lovely florals of Vera Cruz featured in magazines. These quilt patterns have more in common than just the Vera Cruz prints they use--both are perfect for blue lovers! 

In the January/February issue of Love of Quilting, Diane Tomlinson used just four blues and the traditional apple core shape to make a cool curvy quilt. Doesn't it create a fantastic illusion of colors weaving over and under each other?

"Core Connection" by Diane Tomlinson;
featured in Love of Quilting Jan/Feb 2016

Find the Vera Cruz collection here.
Find the kit for this project here. 
Find Fons & Porter's Love of Quilting here.

Then in the March/April issue of Quilting Quickly, Lisa Swenson Ruble used a snack pack of 2-1/2" wide strips plus plenty of blue floral to sew a variation of the barn raising design. The pieced strips add so much movement to this design! 

"Modern Barn Raising" by Lisa Swenson Ruble and machine quilted by Diane Oakes;
featured in Quilting Quickly March/April 2016

Find the Vera Cruz collection here.
Find the kit for this project here. 
Find the video tutorial for this project here. 
Find Fons & Porter's Quilting Quickly here.

Snack Packs in Action!

We all love a quilt made with precuts, right? Some of the work is done for you, and you can get into the meat of the project that much faster. The Around the Rail Fence quilt by Lisa Swenson Ruble is a perfect example. The quilt, featured in the January-February 2016 issue of Fons & Porter's Quilting Quickly, uses a Marblehead Gemstones, Jewels & Quartz snack pack for quick and easy piecing. 

"Around the Rail Fence" by Lisa Swenson Ruble; quilted by Diane Oakes
Featured in Fons & Porter's Quilting Quickly January-February 2016 issue

Q. What attracted you to Ro Gregg's Gemstones, Jewels & Quartz fabrics?

Lisa: I loved the richness of the colors. Each style of print (gemstones, jewels, and quartz) has so much depth and texture, all created by the bold colors. From far away, the prints look like more typical tonals, but when you see them up close, there's so much detail.

Q. Why did you choose to pair them with a white solid?

Lisa: These prints are truly saturated, and the white helps to create a little resting space for your eye. I think it helps the colors to pop ever more. I also think it gives the quilt a more modern feel.

Q. Tell us about your rail fence design variation.

Lisa: The rail fence is a fantastic block--so easy to make, especially with precut strips and strip piecing. Knowing that I wanted to use a white solid to break up the color, I played around with designs that used rail fence blocks with some space. I liked the idea of pieced and solid "borders" growing out from the center section. 

Q. What did you like about using a snack pack?

Lisa: Being able to dive right into the sewing! Cutting so many 2-1/2" wide strips is not my idea of fun. Using precut strips from the snack pack allowed me to skip ahead. I think I pieced this quilt in an afternoon, thanks in large part to the ready-to-go strips.

Q. How was Around the Rail Fence quilted?

Lisa: My friend and fellow guild member Diane Oakes quilted it for me. I knew I wanted something geometric and modern in the white borders, so that was easy. We talked for a while about a motif to use in the pieced sections and finally decided on a more organic design that blended rather than stood out. I love what she did and really like the juxtaposition of the two different motifs. 

Find Ro Gregg's Marblehead Gemstones, Jewels & Quartz here.

Find out more about Lisa and her work here. 

Find Quilting Quickly here. (There's also a free video tutorial to make this quilt!)

Feeling Patriotic? Our Top 10

With the 4th of July right around the corner, it's the perfect time to share our favorite red, white and blue fabrics, ready for your next patriotic-themed project! Check out our top ten (shhh...it's actually 11!) and visit your local quilt shop to get started! 

1. "Old Glory" by Pine Tree Country Quilts featuring the Tone on Tone snack pack

Find the free quilt pattern here

2. Cool nature-inspired reds and blues from Marblehead Gemstones, Jewels & Quartz by Ro Gregg

3. A touch of Americana with Vintage Shirting and Dress Prints collection by Barb J. Eikmeier

4. "Freedom Squares" quilt by Jean Nolte; featured in Quilting Quickly Winter 2014 using the Tone on Tone snack pack

Find the Quilting Quickly issue or purchase the individual digital pattern here

5. Waving flags all ready to use in the Headgear collection!

6. Go geometric with the reds and blues from Graphix 3

7. Keep it classic with textured tonals in reds and blues from Marblehead by Ro Gregg

8. Another free snack pack quilt pattern: "Vintage Stars" by Barb J. Eikmeier featuring her Vintage Shirting and Dress Prints collection

Watch for this free pattern soon here on our blog!

9. Small-print coordinates take center stage in the reds and blues from Classique

10. Feeling leafy? Darks and lights play well together in the reds and blues from Shadows

11. And a bonus, because we couldn't narrow it down to 10! A third free quilt pattern featuring a snack pack--this time the Bella Casa snack pack in the "Flags Forever" quilt by Airborne Heirlooms

Download the free quilt pattern here

As Easy as A, B, C

Inspired by alphabet quilts made by Marianne Fons and Liz Porter, Jean Nolte adapted her design for using pre-cut strips for Quilting Quickly magazine. The result? Twenty-six brightly colored letter blocks, in all your favorite Marblehead Global Brights colors. Perfect for a young child learning and practicing his or her alphabet, this quilt will be well loved for years.

"Alphabet" by Jean Nolte;
featured in Quilting Quickly winter 2014

See the entire Marblehead Global Brights collection by Ro Gregg here.
Download the free pdfs for the letters here.
Watch a free video tutorial for making this quilt here.
Purchase the kit for this quilt here.
Find the winter 2014 issue of Quilting Quickly here.

Sew Quick with Pre-Cuts!

Combine the ever-popular red, white and blue with pre-cut 2-1/2" wide strips and what do you get? 

A quilt everyone will love to make and love to use!

Jean Nolte used our Old Glory Snack Pack to stitch an easy quilt with graphic impact--simply sew strips together and then cut triangles to create this cool design. The quilt is featured in the Winter 2014 issue of Quilting Quickly.

"Freedom Square" by Jean Nolte;
featured in Quilting Quickly Winter 2014

Q. What makes pre-cut strips so great for this quilt? 

Jean: This pattern uses the strips very efficiently – there's very little waste.

Q. What do you like about the Old Glory Snack Pack prints? 

Jean: The patriotic theme is popular with our readers, and if you made this quilt a little larger, it would be perfect for a Quilt of Valor.

Q. Any tips for making this block? 

Jean: Cut carefully so that you get both kinds of triangles (some with blue at the bottom and some with red). 

Q. What do you like best about this quilt? 

Jean: It's quick and easy to make!

Find the Tone on Tone collection which includes the Old Glory Snack Pack here.
Find the kit for Freedom Square here.
Find Quilting Quickly here.