My quilt group was having a sew day and while I have 20 or so projects in various stages waiting to be finished, I wanted to work on something NEW! So I went digging in my workroom and found a Layer Cake stack. For those of you not in the know, a Layer Cake stack is a package of 10-inch square pieces of coordinating fabrics. I was thrilled! I love finding things in my room - I can't remember where the Layer Cake stack came from, maybe it was a gift or maybe I purchased it? Our group spent the better part of a beautiful sunny day up at Moulton's Lodge, just the other side of the Pass in Easton, WA. I was determined to get something done, using my Layer Cake, but what?!? I decided that my 10-inch pieces of fabrics needed to stay big, and I remembered seeing a large star block/quilt and luckily found a picture online where big pieces of fabric were used - and that was it! I was off and sewing...in between all the eating and chatting!
These are the two quilt centers - and wouldn't they make great baby quilts just like they are in this pic? They measure 36" square and they sew up super fast. Of course, I wasn't making them for newborns (but I will try to remember this pattern when I need a baby quilt in a jiffy!) but this was what I got done while we were at the cabin. I love the bright, happy fabrics!
My apologies to my quilting friends for chopping off your beautiful faces - but in the pictures I have of us holding up these little quilts, one of us had our eyes closed (me) and one of us looked like she was having a seizure (again, me)...vanity won out over your heads! But I did capture some of your shoes!
When I got home I added the borders and called it good. The quilts measure 70x70-inches, which makes them the perfect lap quilt.
For you locals, if you haven't been to Gossypium Quilt Shop in Issaquah lately, you're missing out! They have one room stocked floor to ceiling with Kaffe fabrics - and Free Spirit, just to name two. That's where I purchased my border fabrics, both Kaffe. When I was checking out and was deciding on how much fabric I needed to buy, the sales lady whipped out her phone and showed me a fabric calculator app - it's amazing and it's FREE! So go to the App Store today and get it - you won't believe how accurate it is and how easy it is to use - even I can do it! It's called: Quilting Calculator and it's by Robert Kaufman and it can figure out all of your fabric needs in an instant...binding, borders, backing, etc.
The quilts are not identical, but then, neither are the sisters who these quilts are for...which is a surprise so that's all I'm going to say about that! (And if my own sisters are reading this, or any of my other family members, sadly, they are not for you...let the wailing and gnashing or teeth begin, I can take it!)
If you need a quick and easy quilt, this is the one to make. I've seen this quilt done with Americana fabrics and it is wonderful - perfect for a Memorial Day picnic or 4th of July. I do love these fabrics and I hope the sisters who get them will, too! They are off to be quilted and I'm praying I don't love them even more when they are done, because I might have a really hard time parting with them!!!
