Wildflower Garden

Jackie's Hydrangea Blue collection may just be hitting your local quilt shop now, but if you need a fast flower fix, check out the Wildflower Garden quilt she designed for the latest issue of Fons & Porter's Love of Quilting magazine. The quilt is packed with beautiful flowers and features her A Wildflower Meadow collection. 

Wildflower Garden designed by Jackie Robinson; pieced and quilted by Sheri Butkowski;
featured in Love of Quilting January/February 2018

Tell us about this quilt.

Well, it looks like it’s made on point, but it isn’t. It’s made up of a bunch of tiny nine-patches sewn together. It’s an Irish Chain variation—the nine-patches create the diagonal lines running across the quilt.

How did you decide which prints to feature in the big blocks?

I designed the pattern intending to use the medium florals. They show up really well, and the outer floral stripe ties everything together.

What does this quilt remind you of?

The quilt was recently returned to me (after the magazine photoshoot). When I unfolded it, I realized it reminded me of a garden I’d seen on a recent trip to Slovakia. We were at a castle up on a hill, and the gardens were pretty spent because it was the end of October, but the layout looked very much like this quilt. There are formal gardens like this—patchs among areas of different kinds of flowers—at the Bellingrath Gardens in Alabama, or The Butchart Gardens on Victoria Island in British Columbia. That’s what I like most about this quilt—how it reminds me of formal gardens.

Butchart Gardens

Click here to find the quilt pattern.
Click here to find the kit for Wildflower Garden.
Click here to see Jackie's other quilt patterns featuring A Wildflower Meadow.
Click here to find Fons & Porter's Love of Quilting.

Love It? Share It!

A Wildflower Meadow Virtual Trunk Show

You've seen Jackie's new collection, A Wildflower Meadow. Now see the prints in action! Jackie has five patterns featuring the fabrics; one is a free download on our website and the remaining four are available for purchase on her website.

 Read what Jackie has to say about each pattern: 

Mother Nature’s Garden: This pattern uses two classic blocks—eight-pointed stars and then friendship stars in the sashing. The stripe creates an impressive finish on any quilt, and I used the cream blender print right next to it to make it look seamless.

Click here to download the free quilt pattern. 

Chevron Wildflowers: This quilt is a chevron Log Cabin, all made with the split stripe fabric. It’s fast and it looks great!

Click here to find the pattern.

Confetti Stars: The big centers of the stars showcases the larger prints. The colors in the stripe inspired the confetti chain of tiny squares that connect the stars.

Click here to find the pattern.

Indian Paintbrush Star: This is a Lone Star variation. It’s probably my favorite from this collection—I love the way it looks. My sample is traveling in a trunk show right now, but when it comes home, I’ll find a spot for it in my house. I chose to feature the salmon color because it goes so well with the Indian Paintbrush print on black.

Click here to find the pattern.

Walk on the Wild Side: This quilt can be a five-unit Block of the Month—four blocks plus the assembly. It’s made primarily with the coordinate prints, and then the wildflowers in the setting triangles. The center is the most labor-intensive part of the whole quilt.

Click here to find the pattern.

Click here to see the entire A Wildflower Meadow collection.
Click here to read Jackie's interview about her new fabrics. 
Click here to visit Jackie's website.

Love It? Share It!

Technique Thursday: Mitered Corners with A Wildflower Meadow

Debby Kratovil is back with a Technique Thursday post! We sent her a charm pack of Jackie's A Wildflower Meadow collection, along with yardage of that great stripe. She's here today to show you how to convert those charm squares into triangles (not HSTs!), and then how to create a perfect mitered border using her Magical Mitering Method. 

Here's Debby!
What can you do with a charm pack of fabrics, Debby?

Well, let me entertain you!

First, let's see this A Wildflower Meadow collection by Jackie Robinson. I chose these for the lovely flowers on black with the companion mini prints.

Just a little stack of 5" squares has so much potential! (really?) There were two of each print in the pack. I didn't use the two striped squares. I think you'll see why as I go along.

Wildflower Meadows stack of 5" squares 

This is a pattern I developed several years ago based on a technique I have used for 20 years. My Thousand Pyramids quilt (published in Modern Patchwork magazine in 2014) was made using a charm pack of solid fabrics. This was the result of a blog challenge and I thought long and hard about how to use 42 squares in a creative way.

I mixed the solid colors with a cream solid.

Thousand Pyramids quilt (22" x 22") made with a charm pack of solid fabrics

Now, let me tell you what I thought up!

I wanted to use my 60 degree ruler. I know you have one. I'll just wait a few minutes while you go dig around in your sewing room. Are you back? Let's go!

I stacked a few at a time and sliced a 1-1/2" x 5" strip off one end. I did this to all of the charms.

Cut a 1-1/2" strip from one end of the squares

All charms cut as described above. Aren't they so pretty? The larger rectangles are 3-1/2" x 5".

Stacks of strips and rectangles

 OK. I know what you're thinking. What is this crazy quilter up to?

Pair up two of the 3-1/2" x 5-1/2" rectangles and sew along BOTH of the long sides

Rectangles are paired and sewn as shown above. I used my multi-sized 60 degree ruler at the 3-1/2" line and sliced off a triangle wedge. I have plans for those leftovers on the side, but that's not part of this tutorial. I waste NOTHING!

Slice a 3-1/2" triangle from each rectangle pair

 I cut all pairs this way.

All pairs cut and stacked

 Open up the pairs and you have sets of two triangles joined.

Pairs of triangles are joined

I sewed four sets of two triangles into each of five rows. I used some of the little cutaways to square up the sides as shown below. Then I joined the rows together into the little quilt center.

Two rows of four sets of triangles

Hey! Look at those little 1-1/2" x 3-1/2" strips from those first cuts! Isn't that wow? I trimmed these to fit the sides (1-1/2" x 3-1/2") and then added the top and bottom row. This is where I stopped in my first quilt at the top of this post using the solids.

Quilt center

Benartex sent me 1/3 yard of that fabulous stripe. Now it's time for me to show you my Magical Mitering Method. I cut four 3" strips from the striped fabric. I added 3" + 3" to the quilt center measurement for a total of 23". Four strips cut 3" x 23" so that they extend 3" beyond the center on each side as shown below.

Sew with 1/4" to the first side, extending 1/2" beyond so that you can see the stitching. Press seam TOWARD the center. (Yes, I know, this is NOT a typical mitering technique where you begin and end EACH seam at the 1/4" mark. But, that's why I call this magical!)

First 3" border strip sewn. Notice that I sewed 1/2" beyond the border side

Sew the opposite side border on next. Now it's time for the magic!

Being able to see the stitches from the first two border seams helps you drop your needle in exactly at that 1/4". I also back stitched. I stopped at the other end exactly where the stitching shows from that first seam. Press the seams of these two sides AWAY from the center.

Adding the last two sides

 Fold the corners as shown below. Because you pressed the border strips as you did, this will behave nicely (and we certainly want nicely behaved borders, now don't we?)

Press the corners as shown and pin

 Stitch from inside corner to the outside (this avoids a fabric bump). I used a short, narrow zig zag.

Top stitch with monofilament thread from inside corner out

Repeat for all four corners. Turn work over and trim away excess fabric. You can see my zig zag stitches here a little better.

Trim away excess fabric

 And this is what you get!

My Wildflower Meadow Thousand Pyramids quilt

And, yes, I didn't forget about those cutaways. I will share what I did with these another time. But they are usable and I created another WHOLE quilt using them. Here are the ones from this project:

Usable triangle cutaways for another day

Thanks, Debby!

Head over to Debby's blog for a chance to win a charm pack of A Wildflower Meadow by Jackie Robinson.

Click here to see the entire A Wildflower Meadow collection. 

Stop by tomorrow to see Jackie's quilts featuring her new fabric line. 

Love It? Share It!

Wide Backs!

Yesterday we showed you Jackie Robinson's new A Wildflower Meadow collection. One of the coordinates she raved about was the Wave Texture. Great news! This fantastic blender-turned background is also perfect for backing. In fact, so perfect, that we're offering it in 108"widths--backings ready to go, no piecing necessary! Available in 14 colors. 

Click here to see the Wave Texture Wide prints.


****************************************************

Also, mark your calendars for the 24-Hour Sew-a-thon, part of the 1 Million Pillowcase Challenge hosted by American Patchwork & Quilting!

You are officially invited to join American Patchwork & Quilting magazine and sew pillowcases for charity for the weekend of September 15-16, 2017. Quilt shops, guilds, and groups around the country are hosting events in conjunction with our 24 Hour Sew-a-Thon in Des Moines, Iowa. 

Visit www.allpeoplequilt.com/sewathon to find an event near you (note: some events are held on alternate dates). No event nearby? Sign up to host one or join in virtually! APQ will be sharing videos and photos on social media throughout the event.

Love It? Share It!

A Wildflower Meadow

Jackie Robinson's newest collection, A Wildflower Meadow, is a profusion of blooms and color. We gave you a sneak peek of it in our Spring Quilt Market post, and today we're back to show you everything. The fabrics are inspired by a few of her favorite flowers, including some found in her backyard and on hikes in the mountains. 

A closer look at a few of the prints: 

A box full of Wildflower Meadow goodness! 

The star of the collection is the floral stripe, perfect for fussy cutting, borders, and so much more! 

We asked Jackie to tell us the story behind her new collection, A Wildflower Meadow.

What started this collection?

The lupine. They are wildflowers that I see all the time. We have a lot of lupine here in the yard. It grows wild. We had an exceptionally wet and cold winter this year, and the result was fabulous wildflowers this summer. So everything I had done in the fabric, I got to see really big time in person. Our favorite hiking trail went through a field of bluey-purple. It was just fabulous!

Then there’s the Indian paintbrush. It’s paintbrush shaped at the top, and such a gorgeous salmon color.

Another favorite is the bear grass. It’s a grass, but it looks like a white puffball. It has its best season every three years or so, and this was one of those years. Bear grass shows up in the floral border stripe, and the tonal flower print is essentially a flattened bear grass motif.

The little white daisies in the overall flower print are oxeye. Do not cut and take them into your house—they smell like dirty socks! We learned that the hard way. We enjoy them outside. They are considered an obnoxious weed, but I like them.

Tell us about some of the coordinates.

I like the leaves—they make such a nice texture.

The black print is a double line scroll. It’s in the stripe, and I like having it available as a separate fabric to put up against the stripe. I was looking for a print that was a different background from the wave.

And the wave. It’s fabulous! It cuts up like dynamite—wiggles every which way. It’s the grandest background texture, and it’s non directional. It’s just such an unobtrusive solid, and I love it.

What is your favorite print?

My favorite is the allover wildflowers. But the wave is my absolute favorite texture.

We'll be featuring more ideas and inspiration for Jackie's fabric line this week, so be sure to come back! 

Click here to see the entire A Wildflower Meadow collection.

Click here to visit Jackie's website.

Love It? Share It!

Spring Quilt Market Booth Tour - Day 2

We're back from Spring Quilt Market with plenty to show! We'll be splitting the photos into three days of posts. Today you'll see the booth displays and new collections from Ann Lauer, Matthew Pridemore, and Jackie Robinson. 

Here's Ann's booth, featuring her new line, Here Come the Sun (hello, sunflowers!). 

Sunflowers are abloom all over--in both Ann's quilt patterns and bags from Pink Sand Beach Designs.

The showstopper--a free quilt pattern for Here Comes the Sun. 

 Ann's not only showing off her collection, she's also wearing it. Check out her jacket:

Sunflowers peeking through in the back.

Showing off her quilts in a demonstration for shop owners:

Click here for a sneak peek at the Here Comes the Sun collection, available in quilt shops in the fall.

Next up is whimsical fun with Matthew Pridemore's Dino Age collection. 

"Friendly Little Dinosaurs" is a free quilt pattern available on our website.

This quilt uses the Dino Age panel, surrounded by a variety of pieced borders. 

Even Matthew's wife, Heidi, got into the fun, modeling a dress she made using the Dino Age fabrics! 

Click here to see the entire Dino Age collection, available in quilt shops now. 

Our third booth display to show today is from Jackie Robinson, called A Wildflower Meadow. The collection features Jackie's signature stripe, wildflowers, and plenty of coordinates! 

Hello, Jackie!

This quilt looks complex, but all the work is done by the stripe. 

A medallion quilt surrounded by the floral stripe. 

Click here for a sneak peek at the entire A Wildflower Meadow collection, coming to quilt shops late summer.

Did you catch the first day of our Quilt Market booth tour? 

Click here to see fabrics and quilts by Nancy Halvorsen, Rose Ann Cook, and Cheryl Haynes. 

Stop by tomorrow to see more of our Quilt Market booth. 

Love It? Share It!