Something Special

A Wedding Quilt

Even though we are getting into the final stages of moving out of House 1, I've managed to squeeze in some quality sewing time almost every day at House 2.  (I'd better get busy as W Day for GS-2 is fast approaching!)

The fact that the quilt I'm working on involves some pretty mindless sewing makes it a lot easier.  This will be the third quilt I've made from this book:  Loose Change by Kansas Troubles Quilters.

The patterns in the book are based on combinations of 5" and 10" squares, fabric frequently found in pre-cut Charm Packs and Layer Cakes (if you're using Moda).  Every manufacturer has its own terminology, but the concept is the same -- five and 10, nickels and dimes, loose change ...

I am using a line of Moda woven cottons, designed by Jen Kingwell (do you sense a theme here?).  They feel like silk, so soft.  However, I am concerned they may be too loosely woven to hold up to this technique.  We'll see.

First, a 5" square is centered on a contrasting 10" square.

There is a ruler designed to make this process easier, but the difficulty still lies in the pinked edges which make it hard to determine exactly where the 10" edge should fall.

Since the result will be somewhat scrappy, I'm not really stressing about whether the small square is exactly centered.  After top-stitching 1/4" (more or less) away from the edge of  the little square, the whole thing is cut into quarters -- in this case vertically and horizontally, but it could also be on the diagonal.

The pieces are scrambled and rearranged into 4-patch blocks.  In my case I am coordinating them by pairs, half with dark background and half with light.

Of course, value is a relative term, so sometimes my "mediums" become "dark" and sometimes they are "light."  My final setting will be 6x6 or 36 nine-inch blocks.

I purchased a Tula Pink wide back at a quilt show this weekend and I think the overall combo will suit the bride's request for something neutral.  She has very modern taste.

Now I just need to get it quilted in time!
Linking with Cynthia at Quilting is more fun than housework.