Those Easy Quilts of Summer

Okay, looking through the archives of this blog it seems every year I talk about making a quilt. I now have so many saved tutorials and patterns that it is truly ridiculous.

But one day...one day it will happen.

In the mean time, here are a few I want to share with you. If you make any of them please let me know. Perhaps, I can complete a quilt through you.

The Purl Bee's Zig Zag quilt for a baby boy.

Still want to make this one.

And from the Crazy Mom Quilts blog, here is another great way to make a zig zag quilt without using ANY triangles.

Another design from the Purl Bee blog is this unique Sunny Tied quilt. I love how it is constructed.

What Do You Think I Should Do?

The 54" width of the fabric.

I've had this fabric, "Brunei" by Lee Behren, for over seven years as drapery rolls wrapped in plastic in my closet. I have at least six yards. In fact, I went back later and bought more so I'm not really sure how much I have now. I really loved this fabric and did make two pillows out of it; however, the motivation to make this into a coverlet/quilt like the one below passed years ago.


Detail of fabric middle.

A photo shoot in Living Room* magazine of an Anthropologie comforter.

You see how the Anthropologie coverlet has a distinct color change down the middle just the same as my fabric? I remember feeling that it was a sign and "meant to be". And it was at the time, too bad I took too long to stitch it up. Now I'm not so much into a lot of pink in my bedroom. So I'm trying to think up some way to make this fabric work by combining it with more orange and green fabrics. Perhaps a big border of another patterned fabric? Intersperse strips within the design or create a patchwork like the examples below?

Comforters from The Company Store.

However, that would mean buying more fabric and I already have enough for two coverlets! Can somebody help me with this?! Suggestions are welcome!

It's lovely though, isn't it?

*A great magazines that was canceled after only three issues.

If you want to make a quilt...

After writing about quilts so much lately I decided to share the research I've had saved for the last two years. I have already done the groundwork in trying to find the easiest ones for a beginner (like me!) to undertake. Here are some options:

Instructions for a simple (but colorful) strip quilt at the Film In The Fridge site. Her quilts are so lovely!

One of the "crazy" quilt squares

All Sorts' great visual tutorial for the Crazy Nine Patch quilt - I suggest you buy a rotary cutter and mat for this one or cutting your pieces accurately without those could drive you bonkers.

There are instructions for a crib-size version of a Flock of Triangles quilt in Denyse Schmidt's first quilt book. Altering this to make an adult-size quilt will require some math. I'm just warning you. Here's an inspirational post from blogger Marirob who made this one as her very first quilt, yes, first!

Lady Harvatine's doll-size Confetti quilt tutorial. So cute.

2012 Addition: I'm adding another great tutorial, for a Double Diamond 4-Patch quilt courtesy of Crooked Seams.

So, go out there and make a quilt for your home!

Yes, Too Much!

Thanks everyone for your feedback on the comforter.

Why, oh why, do I not listen to myself?

I kept putting off that purchase and then when I finally bought it, I let it sit in the living room for days.

The day I wrote that other post I had remade the bed with new sheets and put on the shams and coverlet. As I traveled the world wide web, I would glance over my shoulder every now and then and look at the bed. So, what was I thinking? Well it wasn't what commenter liam's mom - gina said, which was "If you walk in the room and feel joy, that is all that matters."

Well, I did not feel joy.

I kept thinking about how my bed looked in the first photo of that post, so calm and relaxing, and I knew full well that was not the way I felt about this new look.



My favorite photo from those shots was the one where the sham seemed to only have the green, yellow, orange and red stripes. If the quilt contained only those colors, it would have been perfect. However, I couldn't look at the quilt without truly hating that section of pale blue, aqua, pink, and fuchsia. It even had the nerve to show up twice!

The quilt went back this past week and my credit card is $80 lighter (well, at least until that Denyse Schmidt "cheater cloth" comes to my local quilt shop!)

Taking a cue from my goals for my wardrobe, I no longer want "it will do" items in my home and this quilt just would not do for me.