Issue 54 of Today's Quilter is on your newsstands tomorrow and it is full to bursting with amazing Christmas projects, so I feel very honoured to have my Winterlilies quilt in such wonderful company.
This is such a fun quilt to make: simple enough in its construction for a beginner, but flexible enough in its layout to engage more experienced quilters. The block is based on a traditional log cabin design - with a twist - so I looked to antique log-cabin quilts to inspire some different layouts...
I decided to use a warm grey Makower linen textured background with bright, Nordic prints by Stacy Iest Hsu for Moda. My lovely quilter, Jayne Brereton, suggested a subtle holly design using a soft eau-de-nil thread to tie the fabrics together - it's not a colour I would have thought of, but it works SO beautifully.
If you don't want to use a darker background, changing the fabric values - from light to bright - or tweaking the colour palette adds even more variety...
Or, looking ahead - you know I'm always keen - by replacing the centre of the flowers with background fabric, you'll have the perfect fabric bouquet for Valentine's Day...
I'll be showing you how to make your own Winterlilies quilt on the Sewing Quarter on Thursday, October 10th and there will be some lovely kits to buy with their famous all-day flat-rate delivery charge. So you can start making yours as soon as the postman arrives.
If you've read any of my From my Sketchbook posts, you'll know how much I like to try out my designs in Christmassy colours. Well this time I can't wait to try a non-Christmas version. A Day Lilies quilt in fact, because you really could piece it in a day.
Nicola xx