pattern suggestion, please

My second quilt is in the dryer, and I'm ready to start my third (why didn't anyone warn me this was addictive?). I have three yards of some fabric I love -- the store doesn't have it on its website any more, but it's this in blue, brown, and green, with a white background:

I'd like to make it into a small quilt for my three-year-old, or a lap quilt. Any suggestions for a quilt design for it? It's a very 70's, Marimekko-type, mod design, and I don't want to do anything too fussy with it. I've thought about using it as the back, and making the top just stripes that match the colors in it -- but I'd rather it be the star of the show.

Thanks!

Reply to
Sara Lorimer
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Sara's Second Quilt is in the dryer! Yipeeyuuuuuu for Sara. Happy Dancing in the Swamp. Yea! Sara. Polly

"Sara Lorimer" wrote > My second quilt is in the dryer, and I'm ready to start my third (why

Reply to
Polly Esther

A fun way to use a great fabric like that is to take one other contrasting fabric and make an uneven 9 Patch. See the examples

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from a class I took a couple of years ago. If you like this, I can send you the measurements we used in class -- or just draft up your own. The idea is to make the center big enough that the print doesn't get all chopped up. Another way to use it would be as the center of a star block -- maybe a

6" square of the pink zoo inside a 12" star. Alex Anderson does a lot of these in one of her books; she calls them "Star Bellies". I *think* the book is called "Keep Quilting" but I've loaned it to a friend so can't check right now.

Anne in CA annerudolph AT comcast DOT net "It's not having what you want; it's wanting what you've got." -- Sheryl Crow

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Sara Lorimer wrote:

Reply to
Anne in CA

Maybe something like this?

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the nextpicture in the album is a close up of the zoo print.

Reply to
maryd

I would love to have the cutting measurements, Ann.

Reply to
maryd

There's a free pattern called Warm Wishes on the Quiltmaker website.

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3 yards, you would have enough to use it for the large squares and the backing (Quiltmaker calls it lining). The pattern is very easy to make, simpler than what it first appears by looking at the quilt. Here's one I made:
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Julia in MN

Reply to
Julia in MN

Love the print. I took a current fabric with animals, fussy cut them, and made them the center of my blocks. See

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Reply to
Betsy Ross

For 12" finished blocks:Cut from main fabric and contrast fabric 3 strips at 3.5" wide and 3 strips at 6.5" wide by width of fabric. Sew two strip sets that are narrow focus, wide contrast, narrow focus (set A) and one strip set that is narrow contrast, wide focus, narrow contrast set B). Cross cut your set A's at 3.5" and your set B's at 6.5".

For 8" finished blocks: cut strips and cross cut strip sets at 2.5" and 4.5" instead.

Sew one A at top and bottom of a B. It makes a 9 patch where the center is much larger than the corners. Sew blocks together in an uneven number of columns and an uneven number of rows, alternating with a 12" or 8" plain square of the focus fabric. Make sure to have a 9 patch in each corner; start and end the first and last rows with the 9 patch.

This ends up looking sort of like a Single Irish Chain pattern. I made a couple where I reversed the cutting and they came out looking sort of funky.

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and
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But the DGSs liked them anyway ;-)

Anne in CA annerudolph AT comcast DOT net "It's not having what you want; it's wanting what you've got." -- Sheryl Crow

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maryd wrote:

Reply to
Anne in CA

oops. I think I made the same mistake I made with the boy's quilts: reversed main and contrast in my directions. Anyway, look at the pictures to figure out which way you want to make it look. The *numbers* are correct. :-S Anne in CA annerudolph AT comcast DOT net "It's not having what you want; it's wanting what you've got." -- Sheryl Crow

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Anne > For 12" finished blocks:Cut from main fabric and contrast fabric 3

Reply to
Anne in CA

Thank you! And now it's wrapped up, ready to be mailed off as a Christmas present. I was wearing it around the house (it's a lap quilt) saying to myself "keep or give away? Keep or give away?" when my husband interrupted me -- "give it away and make another," he said. Wise man.

Reply to
Sara Lorimer

Thanks. I can see where I can use that pattern on a lot of the novelty prints I have.

Reply to
maryd

Oh, interesting -- that would work well. Thanks!

Reply to
Sara Lorimer

Ooh. I think the animals in the fabric I have are too small for this, but I'm going to keep it in mind for future quilts.

Reply to
Sara Lorimer

I like the stripes idea, Sara. How about using the zoo fabric as the *centre/largest part/almost all of the top *and* the back - perhaps half and half? And then doing a striped border with the colours as you suggest, both on the back and the front. OK, the back and the front would be the same - but there's no harm in that >g< I think it would look very special for her. Actually, it is good to have a lap quilt made with a back that is as 'good' as the front, because they are always being seen with both, a lot of the time. . In message , Sara Lorimer writes

Reply to
Patti

Cute fabric! Buy 2 jungly-leafy green prints, one medium and one dark, and use to make Attic Windows. You can make the zoo squares as big as you want, or even make them rectangles. The "window sashes" probably shouldn't be wider than a third the width of the squares. Roberta in D

"Sara Lorimer" schrieb im Newsbeitrag news:1h71zg4.18t3mhurtocr4N% snipped-for-privacy@gmail.com...

Reply to
Roberta Zollner

Sara, what great fabric! I'd use it for the quilt top as much as possible -- sashing, borders -- and select something that coordinates (a green stripe comes to mind) for the back and binding.

Yes, quilting is addictive! It's a grand malady to have.

Nann

Reply to
Nann Hilyard

Reply to
Susan Laity Price

Great suggestion! I vote for this one. I wil print out the directions for my files.

Susan

Reply to
Susan Laity Price

Reply to
Susan Torrens

Sara, I want you to do something. Save this email. Because in a year or two you will not believe the words you wrote.

My dear, you don't wait to start a new quilt until you have finished the previous one! You must start at least 5 - 10 quilts before you even consider finishing one.

At least that is how I was taught.

Cindy > seriously - congratulations!

Reply to
teleflora

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