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Scrappy Miniature Whirlwind Quilt

I like this scrappy miniature quilt. It's made from sixteen 3" foundation (paper) pieced whirlwind blocks and finishes at 21" square. The blocks are quick and easy to make, but you might have to experiment a bit with patch placement (for the neutral background) because triangles can be a little challenging at first if the technique is new to you.

I get lots of emails from quilters who've never tried foundation piecing, and always encourage them to experiment with it -- most people love the technique once they've tried a few quilts. And after you've made a couple of foundation pieced projects, you'll know instinctively how to make them all. Newcomers to foundation piecing should read my Foundation Piecings Basics and Paper Piecing Tips before sewing the quilt.

Photo © Janet Wickell

Scrappy Miniature Whirlwind Quilt originally appeared on About.com Quilting on Wednesday, September 8th, 2010 at 09:00:16.

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Do you have bunches of leftover fabric from other projects? Do you like scrap quilts? If you answered yes, a string quilt might be a perfect next project for you. To make a string quilt, strips are sewn freehand-style onto foundations. You don't have to fuss over strip width, seam allowances or worry that strips don't "match." You can configure the strips in any way -- make square blocks or cut pieces into other patchwork shapes. If you don't have leftover fabric, no problem, lots of quilters cut new yardage into strings just so they can make one of these lovely quilts.

String Quilts Gallery
Learn to Make a String Quilt
Foundation Piecing Basics
Submit Your String Quilt to the Gallery

String Quilt by Momof11

Pictures of String Quilts originally appeared on About.com Quilting on Sunday, September 5th, 2010 at 11:39:18.

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I'm not inserting an image of the Milky Way quilt for a couple of reasons. It's difficult to see the design as a small thumbnail, plus I've included two very different color and color value arrangements within the pattern, and don't have room to display both.

Milky Way is one of many quilt blocks based on the traditional Friendship Star design, but Milky Way's unique alternating stars won't emerge when blocks are simply sewn side-by-side. The method used to make them appear is easy though, and it's simple to create all sorts of layouts, from subtle to dramatic.

Related Quilt Patterns
Aurora Borealis Quilt Pattern
Friendship Star Quilt Blocks
Mini Friendship Stars Quilt
Springtime Ribbons

Milky Way Quilt Pattern originally appeared on About.com Quilting on Wednesday, September 1st, 2010 at 13:48:57.

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This thirties-era Pinwheel-in-a-Square quilt block finishes at 12" x 12", large enough for the wonderful reproduction fabrics to make a bold statement. Of course, if you aren't into fabrics from this area, simply choose another theme for your quilt blocks. The design works well with any fabrics.

Janet Wickell

Thirties Pinwheel-in-a-Square Block originally appeared on About.com Quilting on Monday, August 30th, 2010 at 07:00:57.

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I've had several emails from readers looking for basket quilt and quilt block patterns. So here's something new, a Woven Basket pattern.

Use the pattern to make Woven Baskets quilt blocks. Page 4 of the pattern includes yardages and cutting to help you make a 61" square wallhanging, but you can customize the size and layout to suit your needs. Like other basket blocks, Woven Baskets works perfectly with either scrappy or organized fabrics.

Janet Wickell

Woven Baskets Quilt & Quilt Block Pattern originally appeared on About.com Quilting on Wednesday, August 25th, 2010 at 09:23:02.

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The Improved Four Patch quilt block is made up of a four patch central unit set on point, and then surrounded by triangles. It's an easy patchwork quilt block that's suitable for quilters of every skill level, even beginners. The block finishes at 11-1/4-inches square, and you'll find instructions and fabric requirements for single blocks and for an entire quilt.

Improved Four Patch Quilt Block & Quilt Pattern originally appeared on About.com Quilting on Saturday, August 21st, 2010 at 05:57:31.

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The traditional Navajo patchwork quilt block makes a wonderful scrap quilt. Mix-up its colors, adding anything that reminds you of the western United States (or throw out tradition and choose an entirely different palette).

Navajo is a block with a ready-made on-point appearance -- created by sewing corner squares to each patchwork center. Sew the blocks side by side, or put them into columns and separate the columns with colorful strips of fabric.

Janet Wickell

Navajo Quilt Block Pattern originally appeared on About.com Quilting on Wednesday, August 18th, 2010 at 10:07:32.

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I'm excited to finally announce that we're looking for a contributing writer (CW for short) for the Quilting site. CWs are part of a new program at About.com, one that's helping Guides fill-in areas of specialized content, in this case someone to write about Machine Quilting (it's a fantastic method, but I love hand quilting, and have loads of work to do in order to develop that content). So if you love to machine quilt, and have technical writing experience, just follow the link to learn how to apply to be a Contributing Writer for the Quilting site.

Write About Machine Quilting for Us originally appeared on About.com Quilting on Monday, August 16th, 2010 at 10:46:26.

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I've only seen the Northern Lights (Aurora Borealis) once, from an open field in Iowa. They were beautiful, but had I not known what I was looking at, the constant bends and flashes of color that crossed the night sky would likely have been a frightening experience. I hope to witness the lights again sometime, but it won't happen in my southern state.

I wanted the Aurora Borealis quilt to resemble those flashes of light against a night sky. The quilt is created by surrounding color-intense stars (a Friendship Star variation) with a mottled, multicolored fabric backed in black. A plain black background is added next, to make the colorful components stand out. There's not enough space here to show you an image of the Aurora Borealis quilt -- see page 3 of the pattern (and click on the image if you would like a closer look).

Janet Wickell

Aurora Borealis Quilt Block and Quilt Pattern originally appeared on About.com Quilting on Friday, August 13th, 2010 at 12:00:13.

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Ocean Waves is a design that's packed with half square triangle units. The quilt isn't difficult to make, but it does have lots and lots of pieces. I'm only showing the block here, because scaling the quilt down to a size that fits the space makes it pretty much unrecognizable. The pattern is a natural for scrap piecing, but looks great sewn in an orderly fashion, too. If the number of patches the quilt requires seems like more than you want to take on, just assemble a small batch of the units each time you sit down to sew. Accumulate them in a box, keeping track of how many you add each time, and for a true scrap quilt sew the units with fabrics from the day's sewing tasks. The end result is definitely worth the effort.

Ocean Waves Quilt Pattern originally appeared on About.com Quilting on Sunday, August 8th, 2010 at 15:47:01.

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Links to other information about southwest quilt patterns

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