Welcome to Melon Hill: A Quilt for Rhonda's Mom

Well, here’s the plan! My friend Rhonda is buying a quilt for her mother’s birthday present. Once again, this is a short-notice deal, so I needed a quilt in a hurry! She went on the internet to find pictures of quilts that she liked and chose this basic layout. I drew up a plan and calculated yardage requirements, and then we went shopping! She chose a bright color palette with a bold pattern for the backing. The finished size of the quilt is 60 inches by 60 inches. Here’s how I made it:

Shopping List

· Pink – ¾ yard

· Orange – ¾ yard

· Blue – 1 yard

· Purple – 1 ¼ yards

· Red – 1 yard

· Green (binding) – ¾ yard

· Backing – 4 yards

· Batting – 65”square

· Thread (I bought 1200 yards and have plenty to spare!)

· Basting spray (if desired)

· Photo Fabric Sheet for printer

Cutting List

· Pink: 6 – 9” squares

· Orange: 24 – 2 ½” x 11” strips

· Blue: 24 – 2 ½” x 15” strips

· Purple: 1 – 2 ½” x 8 ½” strip

10 – 2 ½” x 10 ½” strips

1 – 2 ½” x 12 ½” strip

24 – 2 ½” x 19” strips

· Red: 6 – 5 ½” strips

If you prefer, wait until you are ready to cut these border strips. I cut mine with the grain because it is a directional pattern and I wanted all the little faces to be up right!

· Green: Cut 2 ½” strips across the width of the fabric. Sew the strips together end-to-end using a 45-degree seam and set the binding strip aside for later.

· Backing: Cut (or tear) in half cross-grain so you have two pieces measuring 72 inches each. Cut (or tear) off the selvedge edges. Sew these two pieces together using a ½”-seam allowance. Press the seam open and set the backing aside.

· Photo Fabric: After printing the desired photo, trim the fabric photo to 8 ½” square.

Technique

For my log cabin blocks, I use partial seams. I use this method for two reasons. First, I really am that fussy and want every corner to look exactly the same. With other methods, one corner would over-lap in the opposite direction. I know this doesn’t matter, but I like uniformity! The second reason (and the more important) is that I like to cut all my “logs” at the same time and at the same dimension. If I use another method, each color has to be cut at three different sizes. You have my permission to make your log cabin blocks any way you want to!

All seams are sewn at ¼-inch unless otherwise noted. We don’t have any funny angles, so it isn’t absolutely critical that your seam allowance is perfect, but it should be close!

First, join one orange strip to one side of each pink square using a partial seam. Start stitching so the strip is aligned to the top edge of the square and sew to about halfway down the side. Finger press the seam allowance so that it folds away from the square. (All seams should be done this same way!)

· Now join a second strip to the next side of each pink square. This second strip should start at the top edge of the square and end at the bottom edge of the first strip you attached.

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Join the third and fourth strips to the next side of each square in the same manner.

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Now go back and finish the first seam you started in the first step.

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Repeat these steps to add the 15” blue strips.

· Repeat these steps to add the 19” purple strips.

· Press your blocks.

· You should have six log cabin blocks that measure 21” in both directions.

· Cut your blocks in half and then in half again so that you end up with 24 blocks that each measure 10 ½” in both directions.

o Be sure to cut each log cabin block one at a time.

o I use two rulers to align my cuts. First, align the 4 ¼” line along one side of the pink square. Then align the other ruler next to it to be sure the other side of the pink square is also 4 ¼” away. If not, then adjust the rulers to make the cut in the center of the block.

o Be sure your blocks are not skewed out of square! Align the block with the lines on the cutting board. If your block is a bit twisted then take it back to the iron and press it into shape! Otherwise you will have wonky blocks and your quilt will never be right.

o Once you have made your first cut, turn the cutting mat carefully so you don’t disturb the block. Then make your second cut.

· To ONE (and only one!) of the 10 ½” blocks, sew a 10 ½” purple strip to the left side, and a 12 ½” purple strip to the bottom edge.

· To FOUR of the 10 ½” blocks, sew a 10 ½” purple strip to the left side.

· To FOUR of the 10 ½” blocks, sew a 10 ½” purple strip to the bottom edge.

· To the photo square, sew the 8 ½” purple strip to the right edge, and a 10 ½” purple strip to the top edge.

· Now assemble the quilt blocks following the layout chart.

· Carefully pin the red border to each side of the quilt top and stitch.

· Baste the layers together using basting spray (or pins if you prefer) and begin quilting.

o I did simple straight-line quilting in the ditch over the entire quilt.

· Trim the quilt so all the layers are even, and add your binding!

Here is a picture of the finished quilt. As you can see, I used different colors from the original design. We started with the border fabric and Rhonda chose fabrics to coordinate with it. I quite like the vibrant palette!