Preview 54

IVORY PALACE has an urban flavor.  Using 3 1 yard pieces, the patchwork area finishes 43"x 52".  With 5 1 yard pieces you can add a border or two and it will finish about 52"x 61".  For our contemporary look, we used a cityscape print.  The 5"x 9 1/2" pieces in the center of the blocks could also be scrappy.

CLOUD NINE Times Two

News from Country Threads on Dec. 20 featured our CLOUD NINE pattern done in the Simple Marks fabric line.  Mary and Connie have a great newsletter featuring news from the farm and new projects, patterns, and merchandise.  Visit the shop in person or online at countrythreads.com--always a delight!

CLOUD NINE also made an appearance at The Pin Cushion in Mitchell, South Dakota.  This time in Salt Air by Cosmo Cricket for Moda--love the aqua background.
I had the opportunity to stop at this wonderful shop on our trip to Minnesota.  They had three models and counting of our patterns.  It was so nice to visit!

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.

Another GOLD MEDAL

Dear Stella's IT'S A SHORE THING was perfect for our little GOLD MEDAL.  There were 6 crisp blues and 3 navy blues.  I love how Dorothy chose to use the navy squares--one print across each row.

PERFECT MOMENT Ooh La La

Jessica pulls a great combo from the Ooh La La collection by Pillow Maxfield for Michael Miller fabrics.  The clean graphics of the prints simply shine.  The horizontal sashing strips are fussy cut to march along in a clean line.  We have a few kits left--at a great sale price, too.