With this quilt I am kind of doing this backward. The bride expressed that she likes blues, greys, whites and beiges. I went to the fabric store looking for greys, but wasn’t having a lot of luck so I started looking for greyish blues. I found this cute print above. It is just not showing up as blue as it is.

I wanted one more lighter choice and decided on this white-on-white patterned dot.

The problem I encountered is that there was just not any larger print in the store I was in. So I bought these all and decided I would find the matching feature fabric. Since all the fabrics I had selected were in fairly popular shades I hoped it wouldn’t be too big of a problem..

A week later I went in to a fabric store in another town. I walked in and on a shelf right by the door was this beauty.  This is exactly the tone and style of a large pattern I was looking for to put in larger blocks for a quilt with 12” blocks alternating with 12” 4 patch blocks.

One of the quilts that my mother and grandmother made for me when I got married was a similar quilt with a 4 patch made out of fabrics from the clothing my mother made for me and my sisters. I wanted to make this quilt in a variation of this simple style.

This is a mockup of what I am planning to do:

I will be working on this quilt next week, so I hope I will have at least the top to show you in the next newsletter.

Keep sewing and quilting and be happy. Spring will be coming any time now...

— Queen Bee

Selecting matching fabrics for a quilt is a crucial step in creating a beautiful and harmonious design. Here are four tips to help you in this process:

1. Color Coordination: Start by choosing a color palette that appeals to you. This could be based on your favorite colors, the colors in a room where the quilt will be used, or even inspired by a particular fabric you want to include. Think about balance – including a mix of light, medium, and dark tones can add depth to your quilt. Also, consider how colors interact with each other; some colors may clash, while others complement each other beautifully. A color wheel is a useful tool for seeing which colors will work best together.
2. Print and Pattern Scale: Mix different scales of prints to add interest and movement to the quilt. For example, combine larger prints with smaller ones and medium-scale patterns. This variety prevents the quilt from looking too busy or too bland. Be mindful of how the prints will look when cut into smaller pieces – a very large print might lose its impact when cut into small squares, for instance.
3. Fabric Texture and Quality: It's important to choose fabrics with similar weights and textures for ease of sewing and to ensure the quilt wears evenly over time. Quilting cotton is a popular choice because it's easy to work with and comes in a vast array of colors and patterns. Be wary of mixing very stretchy fabrics with non-stretchy ones, as this can make sewing more challenging and affect the quilt's durability.
4. Theme Consistency: If you’re working with a specific theme (like floral, geometric, or abstract), try to stay consistent throughout your fabric choices. This doesn’t mean every fabric needs to have the exact same pattern, but there should be a unifying element. For instance, in a floral-themed quilt, you could mix different types of floral prints or include some fabrics with leaf or vine patterns to complement the flowers.

Remember, quilt-making is a personal and creative process, so these tips are guidelines rather than strict rules. Feel free to experiment and choose fabrics that speak to your own style and vision for the quilt.

Fabric Selection Made Easy

Quilt-As-You-Go (QAYG) is a quilting technique that breaks down the quilting process into more manageable steps. Instead of first constructing a large quilt top and then quilting it as a whole, QAYG involves quilting smaller, individual sections of the quilt first, and then joining these quilted pieces together to form the final quilt.

In QAYG, you start by dividing your quilt into smaller sections. These could be blocks, rows, or any manageable size. You then sandwich each section with its corresponding batting and backing fabric.

Each section is then quilted individually. This can be done through machine quilting or hand quilting, depending on your preference. Because you’re working with smaller sections, it’s easier to manage the fabric under your sewing machine, and you have more freedom to experiment with intricate quilting designs.

After quilting the individual sections, the next step is to join them together. One common method is to use sashing, which are strips of fabric sewn between the quilted sections. This not only joins the sections but also adds a decorative element to the quilt.

Once all the sections are joined, you'll add any finishing touches like borders or additional quilting lines to integrate the sections seamlessly. The final step is to add binding to the edges of the quilt, just like a traditionally made quilt.

The QAYG technique can be a game-changer, especially for those who find the size and weight of traditional quilting challenging. Smaller sections are more portable, making it easier to quilt on the go. It's also a great way to experiment with different quilting styles and patterns within the same project.

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