It's a Big Number!

503,666

That's the number, at least as of the time this post went live. American Patchwork & Quilting's One Million Pillowcase Challenge has inspired 503,666 pillowcases to be made. 
That's fantastic!
It's also just a little over halfway to their bold 1,000,000 goal. 

To celebrate reaching the halfway point, AP&Q is hosting a contest on Pinterest. They've chosen 20 of their favorite pillowcases and are asking readers to choose one and repin it on their own board. The pillowcase pattern with the most repins by July 31 will win. 

So, head over to AP&Q's Pinterest board and repin your favorite!
(And if you need help deciding which to vote for...ahem, cough, cough...this one below, featuring our Rockets & Robots collection by Blue Sky Studios, is ours.)

We at Benartex are thrilled to be a sponsor for the One Million Pillowcase Challenge. We love the concept--quilters and sewers making and donating a pillowcase to a local charity, making a difference in their own community. We love how easy it is--you can make a pillowcase in an hour! 

Find more details about the One Million Pillowcase Challenge, including free patterns for pillowcases, a list of charities, and the official counter keeping track of donations, here.

One more thing we love about the Challenge--seeing all the different ways our fabrics can be used to make bright, cheery pillows. Check out some of the samples made by American Patchwork & Quilting:

Lili-fied chevron pillowcase

Manhattan Modern  crazy rail fence pillowcase

Cabana uneven hourglass pillowcase

Interlude spool pillowcase

Tree Frog train pillowcase

Find the free patterns for all of these pillowcases here.

And don't forget to head over to Pinterest and repin your favorite! After the winning pillowcase has been selected, we'll be remaking it in some of our newest fabric and joining in the One Million Pillowcase Challenge blog hop!

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What's old is new...Chevrons circa 2013

From their first appearance on pottery and rock carvings in 1800 BC to coats of arms in the Middle Ages to the sleeves of letterman's jackets in the late 20th century, chevrons have been, shall we say, around the block. 

They've been popping up all over the quilt industry for the last few years, but we've never seen chevrons quite like in this quilt pattern. 

One jumbo (the quilt measures 57" x 71"!) echoing chevron, using the Manhattan Modern fabric collection. Big prints at home in a big design.

"Sketchbook" designed by Joanie Holton and Melanie Greseth,
made by Vicki Swanson and machine quilted by Naomi Polzin;
featured in McCall's Quilting May/June 2013

Joanie and Melanie gave us the inside scoop on their super-sized design.

How did you come up with the idea for this design?

We were asked to design "modern quilts" with the Manhattan Modern line… we love the modern look but are also a fan of angles.           

  

What do you like best about the quilt? 

We love that it isn’t made up of your traditional square blocks--the angles give it some attitude and flair.

What are the solid-looking prints in the quilt?

We originally designed it with Broadway Textures in the solid areas but made the quilt with Benartex Home linens….just to try something different. We liked the look of linen, but cotton worked better with the angled piecing, so the kits include cotton instead. 

See the entire Manhattan Modern collection here and Broadway Textures here.

Find the kit for this project (and learn more about designers Melanie and Joanie) here.

Find McCall's Quilting here.

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Stripes Hard at Work

Designers Joanie Holton and Melanie Greseth used the geometric motifs in Manhattan Modern to create "Side by Side," a deceptively complex looking (but easy to make!) quilt. Their quilt is featured in the Spring 2013 issue of QuiltTrends magazine.

"Side by Side" by Joanie Holton and Melanie Greseth,
featured in Quilt Trends spring 2013

How did you come up with the idea for this design?

We wanted a quilt with a stair-step look, but also wanted it to be simple. The quilt uses just one block! 

                        

What attracted you to the Manhattan Modern line?

It’s fresh and pretty, and it really reminded us of spring. (Joanie and Melanie used the more muted aqua, brown and green colorway, though the line comes in brights as well.)

           

What makes this quilt stand out in your mind? 

It’s not symmetrical – sometimes a challenge for me (Joanie), but I really like the effect it creates. (We do too!)

QuiltTrends also offered a sneak peek at another design using Manhattan Modern, called "Cubit." 

This quilt was designed by Stephanie Sheridan and Linda Leathersich of Stitched Together Studios. Visit their Facebook page to learn how to purchase this pattern and see it made in a few other Benartex fabric collections.

See the entire Manhattan Modern collection here.
Find a kit for this quilt here.
Find QuiltTrends magazine here.

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More Manhattan Modern

We recently debuted Michele D'Amore's latest collection, Manhattan Modern. Today we're showing some additional free patterns you can use with these bold, graphic prints. 

American Patchwork & Quilting used Manhattan Modern with a crazy rail fence band for its 1 Million Pillowcase Challenge initiative.

Download the patterns for the pillowcase here.

On our website, we have free patterns for two quilts and a table runner, 

all designed by Stitched Together Studios.

"Emerald Cut" in two colorways

The table runner version

"Modern Living"

Click here for the free pattern pdfs for any of these patterns. 

There are so many creative ways to use these large-scale prints. Have fun!

p.s. Remember Lili-fied? There's a pillowcase pattern on the APQ site for that collection as well, with a cool chevron band!

Download the patterns for the pillowcase here.

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Modern Appeal

We're gearing up for QuiltCon later this week, a modern quilt show and conference in Austin, TX, hosted by the Modern Quilt Guild. While we're packing our suitcases for the show, it seemed like the perfect time to show off Manhattan Modern, a new collection by Michele D'Amore.

Graphic lines, blossom bursts, stripes, dots and checks...this line has a little bit of everything!

Square swatches don't do some of the prints justice, so we pulled out a couple prints to show in their entirety.

And if brights aren't your thing, the collection comes in a trendy home dec colorway of teal, olive, cream and brown.

This new collection is one of our nods to the modern movement, and when you see what designers have done with it, we think you'll agree that it's full of possibility! 

Deanne Quill of Creative Sewlutions used Manhattan Modern with her pattern, Shenandoah, and we'll be showcasing this quilt in our booth at QuiltCon. We love how this pattern uses the big, bold prints in unexpected ways! Which colorway do you like best?

Stay tuned for our next post, which will show off Manhattan Modern in a few more quilt designs and a pillowcase pattern for APQ's 1 Million Pillowcase Challenge!

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