Easy Quilts from Simple Blocks
Quilts made with straight seams and not too many pieces sew up easily and quickly. This little roundup of some quilts that were (finally!) finished this winter fit into that favored category of Easy Quilts. And also my favorite: Ones that go together quickly! The two red and cream-colored quilts were started many, many years ago. I was determined to finish some UFO's this past year and these two landed at the top of the list. And once they were done, I wondered why I hadn't finished them before? It only took a few hours to sew them up and a few more hours to quilt them.
Rail Fence and Disappearing 9-Patch Blocks
Most of the blocks were Rail Fence blocks. Some were Disappearing 9-Patches. The pictures below show a variation of a Disappearing 9-Patch. There are a lot of different ways to cut and reshuffle the cut pieces to make a new block. This is just one way.
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| Sew a 9-Patch Block and cut it apart |
The 9-patch block shown above is sewn with two squares made up of three rectangles. The other blocks are all the same size. The 9-Patch is then cut in half horizontally and vertically. Flip the squares around to achieve a new design. There are many variations. After choosing a variation, sew the squares back together to make a Disappearing 9-Patch block.
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| Disappearing 9-Patch Block |
How to make a quilt larger if you run out of blocks
I added some borders to make the centers a little bigger and voila! They were done. It was a stroke of luck that I had some of the older fabric to mix in with a bit of newish fabric to complete the tops. One quilt went to my toddler granddaughter for her daycare cot and the other was thrown on the back of the couch for the dog to lay on.
Tips for Designing Quick Quilts
- Use a large block size
- Use one primary main or background color that contrasts with the alternate color(s)
- Make wide borders
- Limit the number of block styles, having all of the blocks be the same means fewer decisions along the way
- Choose easy to sew blocks with few seams
- Simple cutting
- Fill in with blocks of fabric that are not pieced
Easier Quilts from Half-Square Triangles
The quilt below was designed in EQ8 for my nephew. I wanted to use my Accuquilt cutter to cut things very quickly. I chose an HST that finishes at 6" for this quilt. There is one die for the GO! and two dies for the Studio cutter. The Studio 2 can cut more layers and has a number of dies that cut multiple shapes at a time. This is the best time-saver of all!
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| EQ8 Designed Quilt |
After drawing the twin-sized quilt in EQ8, I pulled fabrics and cut them with my Accuquilt dies. I used strip cutters for the borders and also for the 6" (finished) squares. It really was fast!
Using a design board made from a foam insulation sheet covered in fabric, I arranged the sewn HSTs and the square blocks. My design wall is in a hallway in the basement. It is not very well lit and it is difficult to stand very far back. However, it works well enough to get a pretty good idea as to how the fabrics will work when placed prior to sewing.
Never underestimate the impact of the quilting
After completing the top, I quilted a geometric maze-like design on the quilt. I love how it makes the quilt crinkly when washed and dried. The pictures below were taken outside and the blue color isn't true. The blue is somewhere between the bright blue below and the drab blue above.
Finally, I made an embroidered quilt label with laundering instructions. He was given the quilt when he visited for the Holidays to take back home and it seemed like a good idea to let him know how to care for it.
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| Quilt Label With Laundering Instructions |
Do You EQ?
And just for fun, here is a comparison of the quilts. The one on the left was drawn with Electric Quilt 8 software and the one on the right is the completed quilt.
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| Do You EQ? Quilts |
Thank you for stopping by today!
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