Medallion Quilt - Round 4, Summer Winds

I am done with about half the blocks for this round, but here are pictures of one of the sides attached. As you can see from my last post, I also attached a four-inch border around the Friendship Stars round.

This was going to be the final round, but I think I need one more border to tie everything together. My husband suggested something blue, and I think that's a good idea.

Here is a close-up of the block. It is called Summer Winds. Fabrics are from several Art Gallery collections, except for the background fabric. This is a blender I picked up from Fabric Depot from Studio E's Cream & Sugar VII collection. I will post piecing instructions for this block soon!

Friendship Star Border Piecing Instructions

Here you go, as promised! Click on the Friendship Star block for a copy of the piecing instructions. For this round, you will need 3/4 yard for the background, and 1/2 yard for the stars. For more information on this round, go to my original blog post here.

Round 2: Friendship Star - Make 24

Round 2, Medallion Quilt: Friendship Star Border

Friendship Stars are so easy but satisfying to piece. There are a total of 24 of these blocks in the second round, but they went super quick. Each Friendship star finishes at 6 inches. This round added 12.5 inches to the quilt, so now it should measure 42.5 inches.

The fabrics for this block are both from Art Gallery. The star is their Pure Elements solids in Honey, and the print is from the Indelible collection by Katarina Rocella. I didn't have time this week to put together the piecing instructions, but check back soon.

Bow Ties, a Leaders and Enders Project

I am pleasantly tickled at how this turning out. In fact, I LOVE (yes, all caps) the way the blocks came together.

I started sewing these bow tie blocks as leaders and enders quite a few years ago. I had a bunch of them sewn, but then stopped because I didn't have the wherewithal to organize and cut scraps for more blocks. In my resolution for 2018 to finish WIPS, the stack of blocks I had collected was one more project to tackle!

What I love most about finally putting the blocks together is to think back and remember the quilts I've pieced, as represented by all the different fabrics. There was no organization to this -- I just pulled bow ties out of the box and started sewing them together, four at a time, to create an eight-inch block.

After all that, I only had enough blocks to make final quilt of 32" x 32". You know what this means? It means I need more blocks. So back to my scrap basket to cut more bow ties!

UPDATE (7/20) - I was going to prep a quick block tutorial, but I found instructions for a four-inch bow tie on the on the Moda Bakeshop site this morning. You will need four bow ties for one eight-inch block. Click here to go to the block instructions.

Round 1, Medallion Quilt - Checkerboard Border

Easy to piece, but it packs a big wallop! After attaching the checkerboard border, the quilt should now be 30 inches.

Round 1 - Checkerboard Border

The orange print is by Allison Rhodes, from the Wanderer collection for Art Gallery. The cream solid is also from Art Gallery (I think).

Click on the image at left to go to the piecing instructions for the checkerboard border. You can find instructions for past rounds by clicking on the tab above, or through this link: Medallion Quilt.

A New Project: The Medallion Quilt

Having been homebound this past week on account of my knee surgery, what better way to spend my time than starting a new quilt project? Although the design for my medallion quilt is pretty much set, I am still struggling with fabric choices. Thus, the final quilt will look different than the EQ7 schematic I initially posted. Here is what I came up with for the center block:

Medallion Quilt - Center Block, Wyoming Valley

This block is called Wyoming Valley and finishes at 24 inches. I am very pleased with how it came together, kinda earthy and dry, based on my memories of my brief visit to Caspar, Wyoming, but with just a pop of color. Fabrics in this block are Art Gallery collections by Katy Jones (Priory Square, background and green) and April Rhodes (Wanderer, mustard and brown).

The PDF of the piecing instructions can be downloaded by clicking on the block at left. I also created a home page for this project, which I will update as new rounds are finished. The home page can be accessed by clicking on the tab at top, or through this link: Medallion Quilt.

Four & Eight Grid Sampler - Finished Quilt Top!

I finished piecing the quilt top on July 1st, and had a plan to spend a couple of vacation days from work over this Fourth of July week at a local longarm shop, quilting this top and the Memory quilt. Alas, life got in the way in the form of an unfortunate event on Father's Day, resulting in knee surgery this past Tuesday.

BUT, I didn't want to wait to at least post the finished quilt top! I was so excited to finish this and post all the instructions.

I started this project in 2013, worked on it very sporadically. I only started dedicating some time to it this past June, as I made it a point to get a little more familiar with EQ7 and Adobe Illustrator, which have made the writing-up portion much easier.

Everything came together smoothly in the end. All the information on this quilt, in addition to downloadable PDFs instructions for each block and the quilt finishing instructions, can be found by clicking on the quilt image below, or clicking on the "Four & Eight Grid Sampler" tab at the top of the blog.

PS. I didn't do a separate post for the last block in the center of the quilt (Square Surrounded), but you can find the PDF instructions by clicking on the image below as well.

Finally, I have a project to link up to the 2018 Finish-A-Long!

Plans for a new quilt project - medallion quilt

I have never done a medallion quilt, but there are so many out there that are so inspiring. Here is what I have so far:

The center block is 24 inches and is called "Wyoming Valley." I have only ever been to Wyoming once, on a cross-country road trip right after college. We stopped in Caspar, and watched a rodeo that evening. The block on the outside is called "Summer Winds," so I am tentatively calling this "Winds over the Starry Wyoming Valley."

Arrow Crown: Block 8 of the Four & Eight Grid Sampler

Love, love, love this block! There are a lot of pieces, but with a 16-inch block, pretty easy peasy. Enjoy!

Block 8 - Arrow Crown

Click on the image to the left for the printable PDF of the piecing instructions. Click here for the rest of the blocks for this quilt: Four & Eight Grid Sampler.