This is a quilt-top I've been designing recently, based on a classic shape which has been around for hundreds of years - dating way back to 1775. I decided to enlarge it, to make a super-quick machine-pieced quilt suitable for someone with limited time. The rectangular block measures 10.5 inches by 24.5 inches (a finished size of 10x24) - so 4 blocks makes about a cot-quilt size.
This section shows 4 rectangular blocks. The print is a piece of firm cotton fabric bought in Noumea, during our South Pacific Cruise last year. It's in multi-colours of vibrant mid-blue, light-blue, cool aqua, navy and tracery of pale gold. The solid navy is a fine cotton corduroy from my stash, which works surprisingly well.
To simplify the cutting, I created these Acrylic Templates. They have etched seam allowances & pencil holes at the seam intersections. The proportions are perfect for using with standard 43 inch wide fabric (110cm), with little or no wastage. Fold the fabric lengthwise selvedge to selvedge, and then fold lengthwise again, folded edge to selvedge (4 layers).
The templates fit neatly in the fabric space, and cutting it this way gives you the right number of "positives" and "negatives", without worrying about turning the templates over. When the plain and print pieces are joined, and the blocks are sewn together, they make the hills and valleys of the chevron shape.
Here is the navy corduroy laid out, with enough pieces for 4 blocks.
And below, is one of the earlier finished blocks. As I progressed, my pinning became more accurate (after I changed to glass-head fine pins), and consequently the side edges became neater. In the end, the pieces are so large that there's enough "wriggle room" in case you want to trim the blocks, without it being noticeable. No Quilt Police here! :)
Although I love working on my current (on-going) multi-piece quilt projects (hexagons, octagons, 30's style four-patch & Autumn Quilt which is ready for hand-quilting), I found it quite exciting to see this Chevron Shore quilt grow so quickly! I believe it will be a winner for quilters at all levels, as well as those who enjoy working with strong, multi-coloured prints. Plus... you only need to choose two fabrics! How easy is that?
To purchase a set of the templates, head on over to my on-line store at www.SunsetSeams.com Only $25 (including Postage Australia-wide, and my Pattern with fabric requirements for all size quilts).
(The name "Chevron Shore" came to me this weekend as I was contemplating this colour-scheme - though I'm not a huge fan of stripes in general, these reminded me of waves on the shore). I'm hoping it will grow up to be a Queen-Sized Quilt..... and I'll post photos soon.
It's been a very productive Easter! Hope you and your family & friends enjoyed your break.
Cheers, Lisa.
