Cute quilts for kids... Don't Look Now !

Australian designer Kellie Wulfsohn, who designs under the name Don't Look Now, has created a wonderful collection of quilts for kids.  Her distinctive style includes bright, primary colors on a white background, resulting in a fresh and contemporary look. Kellie's whimsical quilts are often inspired by her own children (she is a mother of four).

Peak Hour, 56.5 x 56.5”, by Kellie Wulfsohn, at Don't Look Now

This fun quilt will delight every child who is fascinated with transportation.  Traffic signs help direct the flow in "Peak Hour", which features stylized trucks, motor scooters, and cars (some of the cars are even being towed away ! )  We love the clever 'stoplight' border, which is made of red, yellow and green circles. The pattern uses raw-edge appliqué (see the detail below).

Animal Alphabet, by Kellie Wulfsohn, at Don't Look Now

Upper and lower case letters are illustrated with adorable creatures from the animal kingdom.  The quilt even serves double duty as an 'I Spy' game:  can you find the dragon, iguana, kangaroo, octopus, unicorn and vulture?

Worry Dolls, 52 x 52”, by Kellie Wulfsohn, at Don't Look Now

Kellie Wulfsohn came up with such a clever idea:  a quilt covered with worry dolls.  Worry dolls are a tradition of Guatemalan children, who make tiny colorful dolls from sticks and fabric. A child who cannot sleep due to worrying can express their worries to a doll and place it under their pillow at night. According to legend, the doll will worry in the child's place, thereby permitting the child to sleep peacefully. With this cozy and cheerful quilt, a good night's sleep is sure to follow.

Image credits: Images are shown with the generous permission of Kellie Wulfsohn of Don't Look Now. You can read about Kellie on her biography.  We also featured Kellie's Alphabet Soup pattern in our post on The ABCs of Quilting.

Cute quilts for kids (a new series ! )

Lions, tigers and bears...cars, trucks and trains... fairy tales, and puppy dog tails.  We searched the globe for cute quilts for kids, and reviewed patterns from more than 100 designers; then selected 10 for this series*.  To qualify, the quilts had to be extremely cute (but not excessively cutesy) and unlike anything else out there. We think you'll love what we found... so let's get started !

Sand castles, 73 x 81", by Rebecca Johnson, at Chasing Cottons

We think that every child (and adult) would love these dreamy Sand Castles. The charming prints, sand-colored border, and easy piecing are all part of this quilt's appeal.  We've elected to show the quilt top so you can see the piecing, but you can view the finished quilt at the Chasing Cottons Shop. Rebecca Johnson's patterns are perfect for modern fabric collections, as you can see below (to learn about her favorite fabrics, check out her post called Fabric Fabric Fabric !!!)

Curlicue Crush, Rolling Meadows, and Kaleidoscope, by Rebecca Johnson at Chasing Cottons

Image credits and links:  Images are shown with the generous permission of Rebecca Johnson, who lives and works in the Central Coast (New South Wales), Australia. "Chasing Cottons" is named in memory of her third child, Chase (for the full story, see Where It All Began).  In addition to her tutorials, Rebecca offers Quilt Class 101 with free lessons on quilting techniques.

*Footnote:   We previously featured quilts for kids in our articles on Alphabet quilts (the ABCs of Quilting), Esch House Quilts (simple, modern shapes) and Quiltsrÿche (Dare to be Square).

By the sea: Beach Cottages

In the middle of a hectic day or a dreary winter night, who hasn't thought about escaping to the paradise of a warm beach, replete with graceful palm trees and cozy, inviting cottages? Well, Beth Maddocks has designed this ultimate vacation quilt. Even when we rest our eyes on it briefly, "Beach Cottages" provides a relaxing visual getaway. Grab your surfboards and make a run from your ocean-front home for the dancing waves of this darling quilt pattern !

Beach Cottages, 57 x 67", by Beth Maddocks, at Piece by Number

The intensity of the sun at most beaches creates an outdoor scene with pure colors, such as Beth has used here. Because beach scenes are often predominated with light and deep values of cyan and cerulean blue, there is an absence of the muted, toned shades that exist when sunlight is filtered through leaves and branches, as in woodland scenes.  The striped border of "Beach Cottages" uses both clear, pure pastels and high chroma brights to provide the sun-dappled effect. Here's a good way to use up bits and pieces of your favorite stash fabrics. Use pastel sky blue fabric to create the background, just as you would in constructing a landscape quilt. At the Beach cottages pattern page on Etsy, Beth suggests: "Choose fabrics reminiscent of your favorite beach -- South Pacific batiks, Caribbean brights, Bermuda pastels, African prints, or Californian/Mediterranean white, terracotta and turquoise. Personalize your quilt with novelty fabric faces in the windows, embroidered flowers, fish in the ocean, shells on the sand, novelty buttons -- your imagination is the only limit."

Beth Maddocks is an expert in paper-pieced or foundation-pieced quilts, in which the fabric shapes are sewn onto a printed design one by one. Because the paper (or cloth) backing serves to stabilize the fabric, this process makes it easy to handle small pieces of material and create sharp corners and accurate shapes such as the roofs, windows, doors, cabanas, crests of the waves, and palm trees in Beach Cottages.

Beth makes her home in Geneva, Switzerland, where she writes about her adventures on her blog, Piece of Mind. For more of her designs, please visit her website, Piece By Number. Also don't miss the  amazing variety of free patterns on her site (it's a great place to learn and practice foundation piecing !)

Image credits:  Images are shown with the generous permission of Beth Maddocks. To purchase her patterns, visit her Piece by Number shop.

Note: Do you love all kinds of "house" quilts, as we do ? Check out the following articles from 2010:  Our Town, Our Town Part 2, Our Town Part 3, Our Town Part 4, Our Town Part 5, and Our Town Part 6.

home again, home again . . .

. . . joggity-jog!

What a glorious, fun and frivilous two days it's been! We road-tripped, ooh'ed and aah'ed over quilts and fat quarters, shopped, ate, shopped, ate and shopped and shopped and shopped. And then we got up today and shopped some more!

Our first stop was, of course, the AQS show in Knoxville. We got there just in time for lunch and then headed down to take in the show.

There were tons and tons of gorgeous quilts. I long ago determined that even if I don't care for a particular layout or combination of colors, I can appreciate each quilt based on the workmanship, determination and creativity of the quilter. What a fascinating, incredible group we quilters are!

We were at the show until it closed. I took tons and tons of pictures, too. The challenge quilts were great fun, and there were several exhibits that held exquisite work as well. I know if it were up to me, a heck of a lot more ribbons would have been handed out. Oh, and would you believe, something *I* had a part in was hanging at AQS? For real!

Stick around . . . I'll post more beautiful quilt pictures, more trip details, and some photos of my *sweet* purchases (along with an explanation) over the next couple of days. Tonight, however, I'm headed to BED!

Catch you on the flip side!

:)

By the sea...

Whether you live in the Northern or Southern hemisphere, July is a good time to head to a beach (either to cool off or to warm up).  Alternatively, you can enjoy the seashore through the work of one outstanding textile artist: Iris Sonnenschein. Based in Massachusetts, Iris finds her inspiration in nature, music and works of art. She excels in combining textures and colors to evoke a sense of place, as seen in the beautiful sand and sea quilts in her nature gallery.

Made in the Shade, 26.5 x 39.5, by Iris Sonnenschein, at Iris Quilts

We love these colorful striped umbrellas and the wavy sand. Tiny sailboats dot the horizon, adding to this peaceful scene. Iris says: "The idea of creating a piece of art that can be touched, and can reflect a mood or a moment, feeds my creative energies; working with clients to create art that speaks uniquely to them, feeds my spirit."

Solitude, 27 x 23.5", by Iris Sonnenschein, at Iris Quilts

After creating "Surf Sound" for the Yawkey Family Inn (see her Public Art gallery), Iris Sonnenschein created this larger quilt with a red Adirondack chair at the ocean's edge. Small areas of the quilt have overlays of organza to create patches of shimmering sand.

While you are browsing the Iris Quilts website, don't miss her absolutely delightful Goddesses (you'll see "Nature Goddesses" and "Wild Women") and her magical Figures.  You'll see couples who float and fly over the land in a manner reminiscent of Chagall.

Image credits: Images are shown with the generous permission of Iris Sonnenschein.  You can also see her work at the Homegrown-Studios in the seaside community of Rockport, Massachusetts.

Simple shapes in quilting

Last week we featured top designers whose easy-to-piece quilts feature simple shapes: squares, rectangles and/or triangles. The results are simply beautiful ! The original articles are: Simple dimensional shapes:  Joen Wolfrom Designs; Simple modern shapes: Esch House Quilts; Simple shapes, jelly rolls and i Candy; Simple shapes by Diana and Laura; Simple shapes in fabulous fabrics; and Simple shapes: jelly roll quilts and other confections.  Links to the designers' sites are below the photos.

Row 1: Joen Wolfrom, at JWD Publishing.  Row 2: Debbie Grifka, at Esch House Quilts.  Row 3:  Stephanie Sheffield, Amy Walsh and Janine Burke, at Blue Underground Studios. Row 4: Laura Nownes and Diana McClun, at Laura Nownes. Row 5: Pamela Goecke Dinndorf, at Aardvark Quilts.  Row 6: Lori Allison, at Allison Quilt Designs.

Quilt Inspiration classics: Aquarium quilts and seascapes

This week, we're going positively aquatic! Today's quilts will make you feel that you can dive right in to the underwater scenery. The quilts we're showing include fish, turtles, and other sea-dwelling creatures, in settings that evoke the color and movement of the sea. What a way to keep (your) cool !

Koi, 40 x 68 (or miniature Koi, 11 x 13), by Lydia Russell Albers and Carol Morrissey, at O Carol Designs

Carol Morrissey is renowned for her vibrant, artistic designs. We love "Koi", above, by Lydia Russell Albers and Carol Morrissey, with its orange and red fish cavorting among stylized blue waves. The miniature version (11 x 13) features a single koi, which would make a beautiful motif within an Asian-inspired quilt.   Another stunning aquatic quilt is "Follow Me", below, which measures 40" x 50". The giant green sea turtles are so realistic...the turtle in the foreground appears to be swimming right towards us!

For more aquatic designs by Carol Morrissey, check out Swim Party,  Clown School (with a school of clownfish, of course), and Standing Room Only, to mention just a few ... we're particularly fond of  The Toad ( formerly known as Prince) (!)  Her patterns can be found on the patterns page at O Carol Designs. 

Seascape I and Seascape II,  by Marjan Kluepfel

Marjan Kluepfel is a fabric artist whose work has been shown in galleries around the world.  The inspiration for her magnificent seascape quilts comes from her scuba diving trips on reefs around the Hawaiian islands, and Australia. Seascape I is in a private collection, but Marjan offers a pattern for the dreamy Seascape II, which is shown above. The brightly colored hand-dyed fabric, which blends from blue-green up to yellow,  creates the impression of the sun penetrating the ocean depths; and the textural embellishments really bring the reef to life.   Marjan teaches some great workshops, including one devoted just to seascapes.  Her work can be viewed in her online galleries.

Blue Lagoon, 41 x 41, and Sandhill Cranes, 67 x 63, by Louisa L. Smith, at Quilt Escapes LLC

Louisa L. Smith is a fabric artist, designer, and teacher, whose work has been described as "painting with fabric".  The radiant Blue Lagoon is an example of a "creative nine-patch" quilt, while Sandhill Cranes uses a special curved diamond template; these are just two of the projects in the One Patch Plus book by Louisa L. Smith and Lisa Harris. In these quilts, a few dramatic elements are appliqued on top of pieced backgrounds that evoke the sea and sky. As in all of Louisa L. Smith's art quilts, the colors and values of the fabrics are expertly blended to create a sense of depth and movement (witness the beautiful blue Cycloid II).  Also check out her classes and lectures, which include "The Wonderful Art of Stripping"!

Beach Walk, 59 x 73,  including Whale Watch, by McKenna Ryan, at Pine Needles

Beach Walk has become a seascape classic; we especially like the Water Ballet (jellyfish) and the Whale Watch block, shown above...okay, we like 'em all.   Her other aquatic series include Sea Breeze, which includes a cute pufferfish (Koo Koo Puff); and her newest design, Something Fishy.  And here is something fun about the Pine Needles site:  you can send a free electronic postcard of any quilt block to a friend (how cool is that?)  Check it out by clicking on the exquisite LOVE quilt block (or if you happen to know someone who is snooty, consider sending The Snooty Sisters !

Aquarium Art Quilts: For even more inspiration,  take a quick peek at a few quilts by these outstanding quilters (you'll be glad you did): Janice Potter's Lion of the Sea;  Jean Baardsen's Raffle Reef and aquarium quilts;  Mary Butler's  Into the Deep;   Betty Busby's aquarium quilts at bbusbyarts;  Debra Harry's aquarium and mermaid quilts; and Stacy West's underwater gallery.

Fish samplers:Hmmm, a fish sampler sounds like something on a sushi menu (sashimi, anyone?) But of course we're talking about fish sampler quilts. See the Under The Sea series by Barbara Bieraugel, who lives in Hawaii (lucky devil). Now someone just has to design a sushi sampler quilt so we know what to order at the sushi bar!

Image credits and links: Images are shown with the generous permission of the artists.  This article was first published at Quilt Inspiration on August 9, 2010.

Simple, dimensional shapes: Joen Wolfrom Designs

We've always been partial to dimensional quilts, and Joen Wolfrom is a master of the genre. Joen has been part of the quilt-teaching and designing scene for 30 years, and she is known for her expert use of color and her simple, clean design lines. Joen is the owner of JWD Publishing, a pattern company that publishes high-quality patterns for quilters of all skill levels and interests.

Northern Lights, by Joen Wolfrom, at JWD Publishing

Northern Lights is based on a simple rail fence pattern, made with 1-3/4" strips. The variations in value and color from one block to the next make this quilt's beautiful, yet simple design vibrate with energy. "Northern Lights" is also a stunning example of a rainbow quilt.  We took this photo last year at the 32nd anniversary of The Cotton Patch in Lafayette, California (the quilts were hanging from the trees !)

Stepping out, by Joen Wolfrom, at JWD Publishing

The shading of four-patch and square-within-square blocks gives an interesting optical illusion; the warm four-patch blocks in the lower right advance, while the cool four-patch blocks in the upper left recede.  The variations in value, and the color contrasts, keep the eye moving across the surface of this quilt. See if you can identify the focal point.

Tropical Morning, by Joen Wolfrom, at JWD Publishing

"Tropical Morning" is made entirely of simple half-square triangles.  The lattice arrangement of light, medium and dark values creates a variety of three-dimensional shapes, from pyramids to prisms.  You probably know about Joen Wolfrom's popular books on color in quilting... this quilt is a striking example of the use of analogous blue-green and green-yellow color schemes.

Image credits and links: For more information, see Joen Wolfrom's website. Her latest book, Adventures in Design, will be released in the fall of 2012 and joins Joen’s other books, including Visual Coloring, Color Play, The Visual Dance, and many others. Joen Wolfrom is also the inventor of the popular 3-in-1 Color Tool.  You can also find JWD Publishing on Facebook.

road trip . . . space trip

Two big trips on the schedule for today. The first is one I'm taking to Decherd, Tennessee, to visit Decherd Needleworks and buy some FABRIC!

My friend Kathy is coming by this morning and together we'll travel up the Davy Crockett Highway to visit this small Tennessee town and specifically, the quilt shop! I won a 20% off coupon at our last guild meeting, and since they have a great supply of Civil War fabrics (and I need to get busy on our Stitcher's swap blocks), this seemed to be the perfect place to shop. I love visiting new quilt shops, so I'm looking forward to it!

Then, later this morning (11:26 a.m. EDT), the count is on for the Atlantis shuttle launch -- the last shuttle launch the of the United States. Right now there's still a 70% chance that the launch will be scratched, due to weather, but the crew of astronauts has already appeared and boarded the bus to head to the launch site, so officials are still hoping for a go. It was very touching to listen to the crowds go wild and be so pumped and excited when the crew came out, waving and smiling and everyone.

I'm a little surprised by how emotional I am about this. I remember as a very small child, watching the countdowns for some of the earliest space flights. It felt like everything else stopped and all the world sat watching those launches. I still remember how awestruck I was watching the marvel of a space ship, launching and hurtling into the sky. It's made me sad how much we've come to take space travel and the space and rocket program for granted. But it makes me sadder that today's launch marks the end of an era.

Nonetheless, I'll be listening to the final countdown. It's getting exciting -- they're looking more and more positive for a shuttle launch GO!

And I'll be traveling new roads to new quilt shops -- to forge blocks I've never forged before.

Happy Friday!

:)

Simple shapes, jelly rolls, and i Candy

Founded by Amy Walsh and Janine Burke in 2005, Blue Underground Studios' mission is to publish quilt patterns that allow all quilters, no matter their skill level, to make fantastic looking quilts. Based in the heartland, near Chicago, they offer a wide variety of contemporary quilt patterns, kits, and workshops that are designed with today’s busy quilter in mind; many are suitable for use with jelly rolls or other pre-cuts. We like their simple shapes and colorful quilts.

i Candy, 72 x 72", by Stephanie Sheffield, at Blue Underground Studios

Nothing says "cozy quilt" to us as much as a shape resembling a nine patch, especially in these romantic, engaging pinks and lavenders with a little black and white added for spice. This block certainly must be one of the most beloved and best known ones ever. The "i Candy" pattern features straight strips instead of squares on the outside, so it's even simpler than the traditional block. Using 2 1/2 inch strips, it's easy to cut and piece. As with all Blue Underground patterns, the top goes together quickly; several quilt sizes are included in this fun pattern.

Underground Blues, 86.5 x 86.5, by Janine Burke, at Blue Underground Studios

Monochromatic shades of serene, yet dazzling blue make some of the loveliest quilts known, and the uplifting shades here are no exception.  Janine Burke has fashioned a modern update on the Amish fence rail pattern by designing the strips in varying widths, then piecing them from narrowest to widest. This pattern contains a very interesting optical illusion, as the narrowest strips seem to be triangular and pointed, almost like a Mariner's Compass; however if you study the pattern, you will see that they are the same size from one end to another. Janine's "Underground Blues" pattern would look equally stunning using contemporary batiks or traditional calicoes.

Brix, 65 x 80.75", by Amy Walsh, at Blue Underground Studios

Amy Walsh writes on her fascinating blog, True Blue Quilts, that she has been sewing since she was old enough to hold a needle. She worked as an educator and a long arm quilter before establishing Blue Underground Studios . Her pattern above, "Brix", was just released for Spring Quilt Market 2011 in Salt Lake City. This design is great for using up small pieces of fabric in complementary colors, or for showcasing any collection of fabrics  by piecing high-contrast values next to each other. Thirty fat quarters are required to make the cover quilt.

Simple shapes in fabulous fabrics

Pamela Goecke Dinndorf has been fascinated by fabrics and quilts as far back as she can remember. One of her fondest childhood memories is of cutting fabric squares, lining them up, arranging them, and rearranging them to achieve the most satisfying effect. Based in Minnesota, her Aardvark Quilts pattern line is sold around the world. The simplicity of her designs allows the colorful fabrics to really shine.

Prisms, approx 46 x 64", by Pamela Goecke Dinndorf, at Aardvark Quilts

This new pattern is an example of Pamela's flair when it comes to triangles (and triangles within triangles !)  Horizontal and vertical settings are possible.  You can even purchase a kit for "Prisms" at Gruber's Quilt Shop. 

Glorify, 56 x 75" or 85 x 104", by Pamela Goecke Dinndorf, at Aardvark Quilts

Select two large prints and enhance or glorify them with twenty-five patches on point.  It couldn't be simpler, or more effective.

Pyramid Scheme, by Pamela Goecke Dinndorf, at Aardvark Quilts

This brand-new pattern has all kinds of fabric possibilities; see the kit designed by Jinny Beyer using Jinny Beyer fabrics.

Image credits and links:  Images are shown with the generous permission of Pamela Goecke Dinndorf. For an interesting interview, with great "in-person" photos of Aardvark Quilts' 2010 booth, see the article written by Kelly Jackson at I Have A Notion.  We also featured several Aardvark Quilts patterns in our article on stripes and plaids:  see Waste Not, Want Not.

Red, White and Blue

Happy 4th of July !  As today is Independence Day in the U.S., we decided to show a small red, white and blue quilt project which Marina has been working on.  We've been interested in red, white and blue ever since we posted about this color combination. I'm pleased with the combination of cyan, blue-violet and blue-red.

Red, white and blue, 24 x 32", by Marina Lynn, at Quilt Inspiration

The project was inspired by an antique commissioning pennant, circa 1837, seen at auction.  I used batiks for the red, white and blue background.  The "stars" were printed on fabric using a cyanotype process. Right now it's just a quilt top, but it will be quilted soon.  You might notice that the cyanotype strips have a wrinkled or "distressed" appearance... I'd like to think of it as lending an antique look, but in all honesty it comes from not ironing the fabric before it was "printed". I've decided not to let it bother me!

Happy Indpendence Day, and thanks to everyone who is following our blog.  We love our readers !

Simple, modern shapes: Esch House Quilts

When we first came across Esch House Quilts, Debbie Grifka had just revealed a quilt called Ephemeral Elegance.  A few months later, the quilt became an award-winner, receiving a blue ribbon in its category at the 2011 AQS show.  Often using solid colors and simple shapes, Debbie Grifka's modern, minimalist quilts are fresh and original. Here are a few of her great designs.

Madeline, by Debbie Grifka, at Esch House Quilts

"Madeline" is made with Debbie Grifka's newest pattern, "Spell It Out", which is available in 5 quilt sizes.  A full alphabet of letters in upper and lower case are included in the pattern, so you can personalize the quilt by spelling out any text you want in the margin !  The modern baby quilt is shown below.  You can read about "Spell It Out" here, and about "Madeline" here.

Shadow Boxes, 60 x 90", by Debbie Grifka, at Esch House Quilts

This bold, graphic quilt with its simple-to-piece shadow boxes would be beautiful in any color scheme, and can even be made with fabric scraps in medium and dark values.

Third Street Quilt, 12 1/2 x 48 1/2", by Debbie Grifka, at Esch House Quilts

Debbie Grifka designed these houses for easy construction.  She says:  "I have always loved house quilts, but the blocks have too many pieces -- so I simplified mine to just six pieces."  In addition to this table runner, you can see a wonderful quilt made with the blocks on the Esch House Quilts blog.

Image credits:  Images are shown with the generous permission of Debbie Grifka at Esch House Quilts.

Simple shapes, by Diana and Laura

California artists Diana McClun and Laura Nownes have been working together since the 1980's, when their first book Quilts! Quilts!! Quilts!!! was born.  With over one million copies sold to date, this book is often referred to as "the bible" of quiltmaking.  Many of Diana and Laura's patterns are suitable for strip piecing, jelly rolls and other confections.... here are just a few of our favorites.

Sparkling Spools,  by Diana McClun and Laura Nownes, Laura Nownes.com

We love simple patterns that look spectacular. "Sparkling spools" is just one of Diana and Laura's Simply Strip Pieced Patterns.

Bow Tie, 64 x 80", by Diana McClun and Laura Nownes, Laura Nownes.com

This easy to piece classic pattern focuses more on the placement of light and dark fabrics rather than the bow tie design, and it looks posititvely modern in this design. Imagine the fabric possibilities !

Origami Pinwheels, by Diana McClun and Laura Nownes, Laura Nownes.com

These pinwheels are so elegant and clever..the look of a traditional Japanese design is achieved without fabric folding!

You can find Diana and Laura's entire line of patterns at Laura Nownes.com.   Here are a few more of our favorites: The Big Tumble (which we featured in our 2010 series on Tumbling Block Quilts); Sensu (fan); Strippy Stripes; Bamboo and Pinwheels; and Pinwheels in my Garden.

Image credits:  Images are shown with the generous permission of Laura Nownes. You also can find Laura at the See How We Sew blog.

Simple shapes: jelly roll quilts and other confections

We have to confess that we aren't always interested in making complex quilts.  Sometimes we yearn for simple shapes - and simple piecing. Of course we want to have our cake and eat it too:  we still want our "quick" quilts to look fabulous. Lori Allison of Minnesota starts with patterns that often use traditional blocks – like the trip around the world block – but she makes it bigger, and applies modern cutting and piecing techniques to make it fast and easy.

Blooming patchwork (queen size), by Lori Allison, at Allison Quilt Designs

 

This one is new !  "Blooming patchwork" is a strip pieced, queen-sized quilt.  Thanks to a few fussy-cut blocks, applique is not required !

Funky Stripes, 3 sizes, by Lori Allison, at Allison Quilt Designs

This is a great way to show off large prints like these from Kaffe Fassett.  Also check out a mod chartreuse-and-teal version, which was made by Susie Smidt at Dakota County Star Quilters (at their 2010 quilt show page you can also see  "Color my World", pieced by Jackie Grinde.)

Cinnamon and Ginger, 57 x 71" or 71 x 86", by Lori Allison, at Allison Quilt Designs

Lori says, "Who knew this would be a top pattern seller? I certainly didn't because after I designed it, I let it sit in my computer for six months. Finally, two weeks before fall market, I didn't have anything so I looked through my files to see if there was anything at all worth resurrecting." (!) The fussy cut centers create an interesting geometric effect. The fully illustrated color instructions and easy assembly are typical of Allison Quilt Designs.

For a few more bestselling patterns designed for precuts - like jelly rolls and layer cakes -  check out Lori's "Jelly Roll World", "Fruit Cake" and "Candy Queen" patterns.

Image credits:  Images are shown with the generous permission of Lori Allison.  You can view her patterns at Allison Quilt Designs, quilt shops (see links) and the Quilters Warehouse.