Preview 53

The first of our 4  2 1/2" strip patterns this season is this fun little rail spinners.  To stretch a pack of strips, we make half of the blocks with a common background fabric.  By putting the light blocks in the middle, and the darker blocks on the outside, we get an artier, built-in border look. 

You can add a border if you want.  And there are some fun little pieces left over from the strip sets that could go into a special back or could make a little 4-Patch quilt.

The basic quilt takes 1 yard of background and finishes 48" x 64".

Preview 52

Simply quick from 10 Fat Quarters.  Pick 5 for the upright slices, 5 for the crosswise rails.  Squares for the border are cut from the leftovers.  All used up and done for this 45"x 54" quilt.

This pattern is a great way to quickly make up a pretty new collection or a bundle you have and really should use.  It has also been a real workhorse for Community Service quilting.  A friend cut up tons of my old scraps into the two sizes needed and made up kits for this pattern.  Most of the time for these scrappy quilts, we just did a quick plain border.  With precut pieces, we are talking maybe an hour to piece this top.

Preview 51

With nearly all of the Fall patterns at press and a week before hitting the road to Market in Houston, it is time for previews.  This season is heavy on 2 1/2" strip patterns, as I get more of those designs ready for the a shop hop in Michigan.

This first pattern is a charmer.  It uses the 40 5" squares from your Charm pack.  Plus an additional 1/2 yard each for the 4-Patches.  In the cover model, the 4-Patches are intentionally a little blendy so they act like a background to the Charm squares.  If you make a higher contrast 4-Patch, the darks will probably connect with the charm squares, creating a little different shape. 

This little baby finishes 36"x 45" and can always be bordered for something bigger.