FFF: Fantastic Fabrique Foursome!

Raise your hand if you love Paula Nadelstern's kaleidoscope-style fabric but feel a little hesitant about cutting into it.

(Okay, we have to ask...did you actually raise your hand even though we couldn't see you?)

Wendy Sheppard's "Fabrique Foursome" design, featured in the Summer 2013 issue of Easy Quilts, has the answer. Check it out:

"Fabrique Foursome" designed and machine quilted by Wendy Sheppard
and pieced by Sherry McConnell;
featured in Easy Quilts summer 2013
Photo courtesy of Fons & Porter

We asked Wendy for some tips on cutting Paula's gorgeous fabric, and she was happy to share, along with some additional photos of her quilt.

We love how you used Paula's Fabrique-istan fabric! Can you talk about how you cut into it and how you figured out how to do that?

When I look at a large fabric print pattern, I try to look to see if there's any symmetry first.  Then, I try to see if I couldn't take advantage of the symmetry and cut in a way that would efficiently use the pattern print.  In this case, I saw a large star print which is symmetrical, and proceeded to quarter the star to be used in constructing a block. 

Did you purposely select each sashing plus sign color to match the fussy cut squares?

Yes, I did.  I used the bright sashing fabrics to counter the black in the fussy cut squares.

Any tips for fussy cutting?

Definitely do a test sample.  Sometimes with fussy cutting, I don't press my fabric before cutting because heat from the iron tends to slightly distort the fabric weave that would make precise fussy cutting a little challenging, especially if I have to rely on straight lines in the print pattern.

Favorite thing about the quilt?

The colors!!!

Favorite thing about the fabric?

The prints and colors that just draw the viewer to want to submerge in all those colors.

Tell us about your decision to add the outer black outline border.

I find black to be the best blender when using a lot of colors in a quilt design. That "black" black fabric seems the perfect choice in "reining" in all the bright and bold colors scattered all throughout the quilt, and seems to provide a nice boundary within which the other colors can show off.

Any advice to quilters out there?

I always try to encourage my quilting friends to try out color palettes that aren't "their" thing necessarily -- sometimes, the effect can be stunningly and strikingly beautiful and out of the ordinary!

See more photos and learn more about this quilt on Wendy's blog.

See the entire Fabrique-istan line here and Extreme Colors line here.

Find the kit for this project here.

Find Easy Quilts here.