Quilt patterns are a wonderful way to tackle a project. All the measurements and fabric requirements are laid out for us. The instructions are right there, just waiting for us to get started. But have you ever wanted to try designing your own project? Ever had someone ask for a special quilted item and you just can’t find the right pattern?
Time to jump into the deep end! Will there be mistakes?….best way to learn. Will there be cursing?….that can even happen when you have a pattern. Will you feel a sense of accomplishment when you’re done?…absolutely!!!
When you’re jumping in to the Designing pool for the first time, you don’t have to tackle a whole quilt.
Laurel’s Inspiration came from patterns she’d collected during a Row by Row event (remember those, they were so much fun!). She had collected a variety of row kits and decided it would be nice to include a row depicting her family farm as it looked at 122 years old. Her reference was a painting done by her mother. Laurel went for a closeup view which she drafted onto graph paper. A pencil and an eraser came in handy 🙂 and voila, this lovely row was created. It integrated very nicely into the whole quilt.
Judith L’s journey started when her grandson requested a Rubik’s Cube Quilt.
“After unsuccessfully shopping for material printed with the pattern, I started trying to imagine how I would put this together. I had just finished the Shattered Star Pattern and decided that a part of the star was the angle I needed for the centre cube. It was not perfect but whatever. I went on line and watched You Tube videos for Tumbling Block pattern and decided to use this pattern as it did kinda look like a cube. Then decided to accent the blocks with a bright colour. He is pleased.”
And our final Inspiration is from Deb W. When her great nephew was due, her niece decorated the baby’s room with a cool roadway graphic. Deb saw a few photos on Pinterest that fit into that theme so she got some paper and combined different elements from the photos to make one overall design. Then she dug through her scraps to find fabrics that would make the quilt fun for a little one! Trial and error of course played a part, especially since it was an applique project but Deb is pleased with the end result.
So…take a deep breath….and jump into the Designing pool! As Judith said, it doesn’t have to be perfect.
We love to share so send us your projects and the stories behind them.