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.

Crown and Star: Block 7 of the Four & Eight Grid Sampler

This is one of my favorite blocks out of the nine that I pieced for this quilt. It's a relatively simple block, but has lots of impact visually.

Block 7 - Crown and Star

Click on the image to the left for a PDF of the piecing instructions. The rest of the blocks in this series can be found here: Four & Eight Grid Sampler Home Page.

Ruins of Jericho: Block 6 of the Four & Eight Grid Sampler

More than half-way through. Here is the sixth block, called Ruins of Jericho, in the Four & Eight Grid Sampler. Like the other blocks in this series, it is based on Judy Hopkin's 501 Rotary-Cut Quilt Blocks but super-sized to a 16-inch finished block.

This one was easy-peasy and doesn't really need any explanation. Again, fabrics for all blocks are from Denyse Schmidt's Shelburne Falls collection. Click on the block below for the PDF of the piecing instructions. 

Block 6 - Ruins of Jericho

 I decided to make things a little easier and created a single page for all block directions in this Sampler. Click on the full quilt icon below to take you to the page, or click on the tab for "Four & Eight Grid Sampler Quilt" at the top of the page.

Click for all blocks in this series.

Old Grey Goose: Block 5 of the Four & Eight Grid Sampler

I spent a little more time preparing the PDF of the piecing instructions for this block. I am using a combination of EQ7 and Adobe Illustrator. I am definitely not an expert at either software, and there is somewhat of a learning curve. Hopefully the extra time paid off!

I love this block! I am not altogether sure if I see a goose, maybe the head of a goose? Well, I will add this to one more of life's mysteries to ponder. Click on the block below for the PDF of the piecing instructions!

Block 5 - Old Grey Goose

Here are the links to the piecing instructions for the four previous blocks in this series:

Block 1 - X-Quartet 

Block 2 - Dutchman's Puzzle 

Block 3 - Hour Glass II

Block 4 - Fox and Geese

The Four & Eight Grid Sampler Quilt Mock-Up with Shelburne Falls Fabric Swatches

I am having so much fun messing around with EQ7! Here is a better mock-up of the Shelburne Falls Four and Eight Grid Sampler, this time using true fabric swatches from the collection. The prints are not to scale, but it still pretty cool!