Patchwork Frames Quilt from The Sewing Chick

Great feature today from Tessa of The Sewing Chick!   I love this sweet quilt!  Excellent fussy cut quilt.  And it is from Tasha Noel's line Simple Life.  The sweet little floral in this collection is one of my favorite.  Ever.  Tessa is our fabulous friend who sent Heather this amazing collection of Heather Ross prints...I'm patiently waiting by my mail for my cut! :)  Stop by The Sewing Chick...great sewing blog with lots of impressive finishes and tutorials. Thanks again Tessa!!

This week, I quilted and bound the Patchwork Frames quilt. This pattern was created by Beth at Plum and June and is available for free here. It is a super way to highlight a cute novelty fabric as I have done here with Tasha Noel's The Simple Life. Beth's directions were easy to understand and her diagrams were clear. She also includes several layouts and the cutting directions for each. I wanted a baby/toddler size so just made nine frames (each measures 12" without the sashing). I mixed things up a little by varying the placement of the fussy cut center in each block.

I did an all over free motion quilting design of loops and hearts. You can see that they are kind of uneven and vary in size, but that's what I like best about free motion quilting. The irregularities are what gives it charm and that done by hand look that I love. Maybe that's just what I tell myself and I do try to get the design as even as I can, but I really do prefer it to not look like it was done by a computer.

For the back, I used this beautiful print from Heather Bailey's Nicey Jane collection. I am and will always be a huge HB fan - this collection reminds me of vintage sheets.

The binding is a red and white stripe from Timeless Treasures. I would have preferred to use the red gingham, but I didn't have enough left and sometimes you have to use what you've got! I machine stitched the binding, but this time I experimented with cutting the strips 2 1/4" instead of 2 1/2". I had some gaps so I think I will stick with the wider strip and a generous 1/4" seam allowance.

You can read more about the construction of the quilt top here and here.

I also thought it would be interesting to see Beth's pattern in all solids. Now, modern minimal is not my usual style, but I do love color so playing with all these solids was fun!

I utilized a bunch of Kona cotton charms that I got from a swap last year as well as a charm pack of Michael Miller Cotton Couture and leftover solid scraps. I spent waaaay too long deliberating over color choices but am pretty pleased with the gradient color effect. Don't you just love the way the same pattern can have a totally different look depending on your fabric choices and layout!! I know I do!