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?)

Making a Heartfelt Holiday

With Valentine's Day just around the corner, we wanted to share a few heart-themed patterns that have caught our eye. Some are free downloads; some are available for purchase; we think you'll {heart} them all! 

Heart's Desire pillow by Jen Kingwell 

featured in American Patchwork & Quilting magazine, February 2014

Find it here

Puzzle Hearts

originally featured in Quilter's World magazine, February 2011

Now available at Annie's e-Patterns Central

Have a Heart quilt by Nina Lise;

Free download available here

Valentine Throw Pillow by Amy Smart from Diary of a Quilter

Tutorial can be found here

Valentine Hearts from Bunny Hill Designs

Free download available here

Scrappy Sweethearts by Susan Mayer

Available through Quiltwoman.com

Roses are Red by Sue Harvey and Sandy Boobar

Free download available here

Hope you're feeling inspired by more than just chocolate as February 14 approaches! 

And, if you're looking for some fun red, pink or white print fabrics for a valentine project, we can help with that too!

Batiks 

Roses Are Red

Marblehead Pleasing Pastels

Marblehead Venetian Glass

Black Tie Affair

Marblehead Global Brights

Romance for Two

With the Christmas season over, Valentine's Day is the next  holiday on the calendar. Get started now on this red and white table topper from the February/March issue of The Quilter, and when February 14th rolls around, you'll be ready! Let this quilt set the scene for a night of chocolate, wine and cupids, either for a romantic night with your special someone or chick flicks with your favorite girlfriends.

"Red Rose" designed by Diane Arganbright and Patricia Sue Nelson;
pieced by Patricia Meek and quilted by Shawna Crawford;
pattern featured in The Quilter magazine February/March 2014

Diane and Patty Sue of The Quilting Hen talked about their decadent red and white table topper design:

Q. What attracted you to the Roses are Red collection?

Patty Sue: Red and pink are my two favorite colors.  It is a rare find to have so many beautiful, complimentary shades of these two colors together in one collection.  And who doesn’t love roses?

Q. What’s the challenge/advantage of working with a single color collection like this?

Diane and Patty Sue: The challenge is placing the fabrics in the project so that they maintain their distinct values and do not mush together too much.

The advantage is that you can use all the pieces from the collection without the project becoming too busy or too overloaded with color.

Q. Looking at the first block—it's got such great detail with the pieced ''frame.'' What made you decide to do that as opposed to just using one fabric?

Diane and Patty Sue: We felt that the alternating light/dark strips made a simple block more interesting without adding too much difficulty.  It also gave us the opportunity to incorporate more of the fabrics into the project.

Q. Tell us about your border choices What prompted you to use four borders?

Diane and Patty Sue: We did not set out with four borders in mind. We simply kept working with different options until the quilt seemed complete.  We also liked the optical illusion that four borders give this quilt.  By designing it the way that we did, the finished quilt appears to be a rectangle, but is actually a square.

Q. Can you talk about the second block design?

Diane and Patty Sue: We wanted to choose a block design that would showcase the large floral rose piece without cutting it up too much and without simply using a large square or triangle in the quilt.  Since we were also thinking of Valentine’s Day when we were designing this project, the block design seemed to be perfect.  It reminded us of the shaft of an arrow, and by placing the blocks in the four strategic places, they appear to be pointing to the center, even without tips.

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

Diane and Patty Sue: This quilt was definitely designed for holiday use.  We see it on a table or at an angle on the back of a davenport or recliner to add festivity.  It is large enough to be used as a picnic or lap blanket by a couple wanting to spend some quality time together.

Q. Can you talk about the quilting that was done on it?

Diane and Patty Sue: Patricia Meek did a fabulous job of piecing this quilt for us.  Her perfectly matched seams keep even the most difficult points sharp.  Her strict attention to proper pressing kept any seam from being visible under the white or light fabric. 

With a flawlessly pieced top, it was easy for our long arm quilter, Shawna Crawford, to create a fabulous design on this project.  Her unique, original quilting design complemented the vision we had for this project.  The flowing swirls and feathers provide a feeling of carefree gaiety.  The unending string of circles in the pink border is reminiscent of the circle of love.

Find a post about the Roses are Red fabrics here and see the entire collection here.

Find the kit for the Red Rose table topper here.

Find The Quilter magazine here.

What's in a color?

We thought we'd have some fun with color today. What is your favorite, and why?

This article from freshome Design & Architecture explores room colors and how they affect your mood. Sure, paint is great, but fabric is more fun, so we've pulled some of our favorites in each hue to coordinate with the article's explanations!

Kitchen:

Yellow - increases metabolism, brightens rooms, gives you energy

1. Calypso Frogs 2. Marblehead 3. French Connection

Dining Room:

Red - encourages appetite

1. Roses Are Red 2. French Connection 3. Belle of the South

Living Room: 

Lavender - calms the nerves, allows relaxation

1. Nite Owls 2. Cherry Blossoms 3. Marblehead

Bedroom: 

Green - tranquility and health

1. Marblehead 2. Baltimore Album 3. Belle of the South

Girl's Bedroom:

Pink - calming, warm

1. Rio 2. Pretty in Pink 3. Calypso Frogs

Office:

Blue - most productive color

1. Indigo Blues 2. Marblehead 3. French Connection

Do any of the rooms (or quilts) in your house match up with these recommendations?

Do you Dresden?

Tammy Silvers used the monochromatic Roses are Red collection to create a Dresden beauty with a vintage feel. Gorgeous!  The pattern for this quilt is featured in the October-November issue of Quilt magazine.

"Roses are Red" by Tammy Silvers 

Q. Why did you decide to make a Dresden Plate design?  

Tammy: Even though the prints are obviously floral, reds and pinks remind me of little hard candies - so I decided to embrace that impression and combine it with a traditional dresden plate block. I think dresden plates are fun to work with, especially these with the pointed tips.  Once you get past cutting the templates (and using a great template ruler designed for them, such as Creative Grids' Dresden Plate ruler), it is smooth sailing.  And while it is a plate—a circle, you're actually stitching straight lines.  How cool is that?

Q. Can you talk about the on-point layout you used?

Tammy: The dark red narrow sashing frames each block and lets each one shine.  AND it has the added benefit of making the quilt easier to construct! Sashing and cornerstone blocks help quilts keep blocks straight.  Have you ever put a quilt together and when you get done, realize that it "tilts" to one side?  I certainly have - proof that every fraction of an inch off really does add up!

Q. What is your preferred appliqué method and why?

Tammy: While this quilt LOOKS very traditional, and it certainly can be made traditionally, I tend to favor methods that speed things up.  I fused the blocks on with narrow strips of fusible (set in a large "block" format, leaving the tips free); the edge stitching was a blanket stitch, which is definitely a favorite of mine, and done just around the center.  The blocks would be charming with blanket stitch around each blade.  I certainly hope that if someone does do blanket stitch around each block, they will share pictures with us.  I would love to see that!

Q. What attracted you to the Roses are Red fabric line?

Tammy: This is a terrific line, in that it has a great range of tints and shades of the red family AND it is a nice variety of print scale and type.  There are some nice geometric style prints, and the florals run from small tone on tone to large-scale prints.

Q. What are the advantages and challenges of working with fabrics that are all one color?

Tammy: A monochromatic quilt can be quite dynamic - or it can be very boring.  The challenge is achieving variety through contrast.  It's an excellent opportunity to work on contrast - you will definitely understand when you're through that between your light (white, for example) and your dark (black, for example), the tints and shades of grey in between draw their contrast and place in the color scale from their partner - the other fabric you pair it with.  If you're pulling together reds from your stash, or from a quilt shop's shelves (even better, right?), you do have to make sure they play nicely together.  When working with fabrics from a single collection (like these luscious Roses are Red prints), that issue has already been resolved for you. They are designed to play together!

Q. With a red and white quilt we have to ask: did you worry about color bleeding?

Tammy: Pre-wash!  Did I?  Ha - I'm too impatient for that!  So I'll have to treat this quilt with kid gloves.  But I should have.  And even after pre-washing, with a high contrast quilt such as this, I would still test my fabrics to make sure all excess dyes have been removed. Pre-washing is always a good idea.

See the entire Roses are Red fabric collection here.

Find the kit for this project here.

Learn more about Tammy here.

Find Quilt magazine here. 

Tutorial: Wonky Star Table Topper

Have you ever made wonky stars? If you like the idea but haven't tried it, we've got the tutorial for you! Dawn Stewart of Spring Water Designs is here today, sharing her tutorial for a summery red, white and blue table topper for your picnic table featuring fun, wonky stars. 

They're simple to make, and addicting, too!

After you've read through Dawn's tutorial, be sure to visit her blog to see how you can enter to win a giveaway of these red and blue fabrics to make your own runner!

Hi!  I'm Dawn Stewart visiting from Spring Water Designs and I've been having a good time playing with these beautiful reds and blues from the Roses are Red and Indigo Blues fabric collections from Fabri-Quilt! Plus a little white thrown in :)

I've been feeling really patriotic this summer because I've been taking part in the Stitching History project where a group of stitchers sponsored by the Maryland Historical Society have set out this summer to recreate the original  30 foot by 42 foot (hand stitched) Star Spangled Banner to mark the 200th anniversary of it's making.  (You can get some information and progress updates on my blog.)

So I decided to take these somewhat traditional prints and use them to make a Summer Celebration Table Topper with happy little modern wonky stars! It measures approximately 21" x 36".

Here are the fabrics that you'll need:
1/4 yard each from assorted Reds & Blues (I used 7 reds & 7 blues)
      From these cut: (24) 3-1/2" red squares, and (24) 3-1/2" blue squares
                                (12) 3-1/2" red squares cut in half diagonally = (24) red triangles
                                (16) 3-1/2" blue squares cut in half diagonally = (32) blue triangles
1/2 yard white
      From the white cut: (63) 2-1/2" squares
                                      (2) 2" x 18-1/2" strips
                                      (2) 3-1/2" x 9-1/2" rectangles
1/2 yard red for binding
1 yard large print red for backing

Now, let's make some happy little stars!  These will each measure 6-1/2" before sewing them into our table topper.  First, make one star with all red print star points.

Position a red print triangle right sides together with a 2-1/2" white background square, so that when stitched and pressed out the red will cover one corner of the white background square.  Change the angle slightly on each one to create the wonky effect.  Sew using a 1/4" seam allowance.

 Then press them out over the corner that they will cover...

Turn them over to expose the entire white background square and cut away the excess red fabric that extends beyond the white background square.

 See how from the front side all the star points are different and wonky ~ this random look is what we're going for. (Optional: You can choose to trim away the white background fabric that lays behind the red star points to eliminate bulk.)

Sew four more red triangles in the same manner as before to a neighboring corner on each unit.  Overlap each one differently for the wonky look.  Again press and trim just like before.

 Arrange the pieces and sew together in rows much like a nine patch block to complete the star.

 Next make two stars that have all blue star points...

Then make four that have red and blue alternating star points.

To create the center of the table topper, sew the two blue stars to either side of the red star.  Then sew a 2" white strip to the top and bottom.

Next lay two red and two blue 3-1/2" squares right sides together over the 3-1/2" x 9-1/2" white rectangles.  Draw a diagonal line from corner to corner on the back of the colored squares as shown above.

 Sew on the drawn lines and then trim away leaving approx. a 1/4" seam allowance.

 Press the colored corners out.

 Sew the red cornered unit to the left side of the star center and the blue unit to the right side.

Next you'll create the pieced borders by arranging the remaining red and blue 3-1/2" squares alternating red and blue as shown above.  (When piecing the blocks, I pressed all toward the blue blocks to help the seam allowances to nest nicely.)

Make two long borders that are 8 squares wide by 2 high, and two end borders that are 2 squares wide by 3 high.  Sew the pieced long borders to the top and bottom of the center, pressing toward the borders.  Then sew the four red/blue star units to each end of the two pieced shorter end border units, again pressing toward the borders.  Then sew these to the ends of your table runner.

Layer with a thin batting and the backing fabric and quilt together.  Bind with red.

I hope you enjoy your Summer Celebration Table Runner!
Enjoy the day!
~ Dawn

Be sure to head over to Dawn's blog to see how you can enter to win a fat quarter bundle of red and blue fabrics like she used!