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Free quilt pattern: Head to the mountain
Free quilt pattern: Head to the mountain
As a self-described “fabric hoarder,” APQS Dealer Bradie Sparrow of APQS Canada | Sparrow Quilt Co. in Edmonton, Alberta, decided it was time to bust through some of the layer cake squares and 10-inch-wide strips she’d accumulated over five years. The delicious colors in those bundles were perfect for a scrappy kind of look.
She began making the largest half square triangle square that she could with the layer cake fabrics. Next she planned the four half-square triangles to match the size of the first square. However, just like many busy quilters, Bradie stopped working on the project and then picked it up again several times. “Do you like to do things the hard way too?” Bradie jokingly asked. “With all the starts and stops, this quilt took almost a year to piece. I would forget to take notes and would have to measure my squares all over again. I’m so glad to have quilt design software now!”
She finally pieced all the squares and was ready to lay them out, gradating from dark through light fabrics. She loved the arrangement and began stitching the rows together. Her husband, Matt, pointed out how much it looked like a mountain range. From there, the name for the quilt was born! Since they love driving through the mountains of Alberta and British Columbia in Western Canada, they decided to name the quilt Head to the Mountains. Click here for step-by-step video instructions for the Head to the Mountains quilt.
The size of this quilt is 59″ x 69″.
At APQS Canada|Sparrow Quilt Co., their motto is “It’s not a quilt until it’s quilted.” Their daughter, Landen, tackled the longarm quilting on an APQS Millie. She used free motion and ruler work to create the flowy lines and feathers that feel like clouds and wind in the large blocks. She accomplished accentuating the mountain illusion by using angled ruler work in the smaller blocks. Landen chose warm grey Glide thread and MagnaGlide bobbins and used Hobbs 80/20 batting. However, this quilt still patiently awaits its binding.
APQS Canada|Sparrow Quilt Co. is a full service quilt shop and APQS Store offering longarm sales, rentals and service.
Four APQS Longarm machines for rent and two Quilt Paths, help finish customer quilts in record time. They help quilters interested in owning their own longarm achieve their dreams. If you can’t make the trip to Canada to learn or rent a machine, you can always send them a quilt to be quilted. If you’ve ever considered offering longarm quilting services or renting out a longarm from your home or shop, APQS Canada | Sparrow Quilt Co.’s “Turnkey Longarm Rental Program” can have you up and running in less than 30 days!
Thousands of quilters worldwide love to watch their Facebook LIVE posts every Wednesday, featuring “#50blocks50weeks Virtual Quilt Along” videos using Paint Brush Studios Painter’s Palette Solids. They are currently on block 13/50, but it’s never too late to get started! Click here to get your FREE block patterns.
When they aren’t creating free content for all their loyal followers, supervising renters, finishing customer quilts or answering questions from APQS owners, you can find Matt and Bradie Sparrow at home with their ten children, five boys and five girls, enjoying Western Canada’s raw beauty!
