Saturday, May 1, 2021

Quilty May Day flowers and a pattern sale

 Happy May Day!  I don't have May Day flower baskets to share, but I have flower quilt pictures.

Prairie Mix by Canuck Quilter Designs

Don't mind my May Day dandelions. We're feeding the bees!

I shared a little about this project last September but never shared the finished quilt.  By the time I sewed the binding in November, the yard was grey and brown and muddy, not ideal for a quilt photo shoot. Then we were into the snowy season, but snow just didn't seem like an appropriate background for this quilt.  I can't seem to take decent quilt photos indoors, so Prairie Mix had to be patient until spring.


All the angles in these blocks and in the borders are made with the stitch-and-flip (AKA lost corners) technique, so there are no triangles to cut or bias edges to worry about.

I sent this quilt to Liz Meimann to longarm.  The pantograph she used to quilt it is Vanilla Cream by Anne Bright.  I choose this one on many of the quilts I send to Liz.  I like its hooked swirls, it adds texture without competing with the piecing, and it's pretty in the background.


Don't you love the polka dots?  They make me happy.  The yellow gingham as the accent fabric seemed a good choice to continue that informal, happy look.  I chose to make all the flower centers the same to give a more cohesive look to the quilt.  Bringing the yellow into the binding made a good frame to pull everything together.



I used to hesitate to work with pieced borders, because small piecing variations can result in borders that don't fit quite the way the pattern math claims they should.  However, piece borders can really dress up a quilt, taking the whole design up a notch.  It was worth it to me to work through the logic of it all and figure out how to make them fit every time.  I've written a tip sheet explaining simple adjustments you can make to make the pieced border fit perfectly.  

Get your free pieced border tip sheet by signing up here.




My quilt is the large throw, which measures about 60" x 72".  The pattern also includes:
  • baby (6 blocks, 36" x 48")
  • small throw (12 blocks, 48"x 60")
  • twin (24 blocks, 64" x 88")
  • queen (42 blocks, 88" x 100").  

Many thanks to Lynn Adolph, Tammy Howell, Tina Fugate and Kathy Pretorius for testing the various sizes.  I really, really appreciate my pattern testers!


PATTERN SALE 

If you'd like to make your own version, you can get the Prairie Mix pattern in my shop

From now through May 8th, enjoy 10% off your purchase of any pattern in the shop when you use the coupon code SPRING2021.  If you use this link, the discount will be applied automatically at checkout.



Happy spring and  happy quilting,
Joanne

9 comments:

  1. Oh wow - that's a lovely quilt! The pieced border and polka dot fabrics make it special. Thank you for the free pieced border tip sheet.

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  2. Cute quilt! Interesting border - I really like how it looks.

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  3. A very pretty spring quilt, Joanne! I think the consistent centers with the same fabric out in the border is a great unifying effect. And I really like your pieced border!

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  4. A beautiful quilt! Love the border!

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  5. You know I love me some dots! This quilt is so bright and cheery and definitely deserved a photo shoot in the spring. As for the pieced borders? If you want it bad enough, you'll learn the accuracy needed!

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  6. A very nice, happy spring quilt! I love the colors and that pieced border! I think it was worth the effort it took to make it as it certainly dresses up the quilt and adds interest without overpowering the quilt.

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  7. I love the flowers,and also the border. You always come up with the neatest ideas for your quilts. You are right; a pieced border does add a lot to an already pretty quilt. The dots really do add interest too! ---"Love"

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  8. Love how this came out with the consistent yellow. The border is awesome.

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  9. I adore this quilt, and I think your fabric choices are spot on - along with the pieced border, beautiful!!

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