Super-Sized God's Eye Quilt

This is one of my favorite quilts ever!  I was inspired by an article in Quilty magazine (May/June 2013).  They had taken a single star block and super-sized it to make a very contemporary quilt.  I liked the idea, but traded out the star block and replaced it with one of my favorite blocks.  Not only is it a striking design, but it was incredibly fast to make!  I pieced the top on day one, finished the quilting on day 2, and finished binding it on day 3.  I probably could have done it faster than that, but I had to squeeze it in after work.  (I sometimes get quite annoyed that I have to interrupt my quilting with reality!)

I was working with a specific color palette – Green and purple – because it was a gift for a very special person in my life.  I started with a trip to JoAnn Fabrics and found a wonderful paisley print for the backing material.  These days we seem to be backing our quilts with big, bold, flowery prints in almost garish colors!  It adds a bit of fun and contrast to the clean lines and minimal color scheme of the contemporary designs.  Once I chose the backing fabric, I picked three colors to use for the block.  I used black, purple and green.

My quilt finished 48” by 56”.  The center block was 40” square and I added borders to get the size I wanted.  I used a wrapped binding technique to bind the quilt.  If I were to do it again, I would do a traditional binding.  I did simple straight line quilting from top to bottom spaced about half an inch apart.  Because of this style of quilting, the quilt shrunk up a bit in the top and bottom edges, but not on the side edges.  So the binding is a bit wavy at the top and bottom from trying to stretch it to fit.  I think a traditional binding would have been a better choice, but I didn’t have time for all that handwork!

Shopping List:

4 yards – backing material
2 yards – Background (Black)
½ yard – Green
¾ yard – Purple
Thread – I used a charcoal grey color and went through the better part of 1200 yards
Batting – At least 53” x 61”
Basting Spray

Cutting List:

Purple                   2 – 11 ½” squares
                             2 – 13” squares
                             4 – 6” squares

Green                    2 – 11 ½” squares
                             1 – 13” square

Background          1 – 13” square
                            8 – 5 ½” squares
                            4 – 6” squares
                            4 – 5 ½” x 10 ½” rectangles
                            4 – 5 ½” x 15 ½” rectangles
                            2 – 8 ½” x 40 ½” rectangle (top borders)
                            3 – 4 ½” x width of fabric (side borders)

Backing Fabric – divide into two 2-yard lengths and sew together along the selvedge edges to form a rectangle measuring about 72” x 84”.  I know this is too big, but I like leftover fabric, and I don’t like any more seams than necessary on the back of my quilts.

Technique:

I used the “Quilt in a Day” method for making flying geese.  Of course, you can choose any method you want to use.  I am quite certain that Eleanor Burns can explain her technique better than I can, so I will simply say that you need to make 14 flying geese blocks that measure 5 ½” by 10 ½” (the finished size is 5 x 10).

 

Four of them are purple with black corners.  Use one 13” square and one 11 ½” square.

Six of them are green with purple corners.  Use two 13” purple squares, and two 11 ½” green squares.  This method actually makes 4 blocks at a time, so I just made 8 and set 2 of them aside for my next scrappy project!

Four of them are purple with green corners.  Use one 13” green square and one 11 ½” purple square.

Now make 8 half-square-triangle (HST) squares that measure 5 ½”.  Again, you can use any method you want.  I line up a 6” purple square on top of a 6” black square, draw a diagonal line on the purple square from corner to corner, stitch ¼” away from both sides of the line, and then cut on the line.  Press the seams open.  You will have two blocks that are slightly over-sized, so trim them to the correct dimensions.

Now assemble 4-patches using the HST squares and the black squares.  You will need four of these blocks.  Just be sure that the purple triangles are on opposite corners from each other.

Now take all your blocks to the design wall and lay them out like this:

Assemble the quilt in rows and then assemble the rows to make the top. 

Carefully sew the borders to the top and the bottom and then to the sides.  Use lots of pins for this step to avoid wonky seams!

Baste the layers together using basting spray (or pins) and begin quilting.  I did simple straight-line quilting up and down the quilt spaced about ½” apart.  I intentionally went a bit crooked and spaced the lines a bit more or less than ½”.  I knew I wouldn’t be able to be perfect, so I tried to emphasize the imperfection!

When I made my quilt, I wrapped the backing material around the edges to bind the quilt.  This is the one thing I would do differently next time.  So I would suggest you trim all the layers even and add a binding instead!

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.

·        

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

·       


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

·       


         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! 

Don’t forget to add a label!

Play with the layout!  You might find a more interesting way to layout your blocks.