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Free quilt pattern: Rise and Shine
Though many quilters lovingly reminisce about first learning to sew at their grandma’s knee, Christine Atamanchuk of Sherwood Park, Alberta, Canada, credits her Opa with teaching her to sew at the young age of four! He was a designer for GWG (which is now Levi’s® Jeans). He even taught her how to make her own patterns, and she’s designed and made everything from a hoodie and winter jacket to mukluks and moccasins. She is, however, a first-generation quilter!
From the moment she started quilting, Christine says “It just took over! What started as a hobby has become my passion and I love every part of it. I tend to end up altering or making my own patterns to fit ideas in my head. I think this is because of the garments I used to design and often garment patterns must be changed or altered. I am now starting to write up some of these quilt patterns so I can share more with everyone.” We’re sure glad she did!
Her exuberance shows in the striking “Rise and Shine” modern quilt pattern she’s shared with us.
The autumn colors she chose look rich and luscious against the white background fabric. The solid color bars gracefully stagger down the length of the top, creating movement without detracting from the simplicity of the design. The quilt could look just as dramatic with a different colorway, a rainbow of fabrics, or even bold prints.
To complement the straight lines in the piecing, Christine quilted it with her APQS Millie equipped with Quilt Path using a curvy edge-to-edge digitized pattern called Sashiko by Patricia Ritter and Marybeth O’Halloran, available at Urban Elementz. Even though the quilting pattern has lots of arcs, its uniform structure helps keep the attention focused on the quilt fabric.
But it also means that the back of the quilt looks awesome—especially with a fabric that reads as a solid. She used the “Prickly Pear” shade of Glide thread, and soft Cuddle fabric as the backing—no wonder it looks so soft and luscious.
Christine chose Hobbs 80/20 batting, which provides enough loft to create great texture to the quilting, and as her hubby James shows, it also drapes very well!
With quilting as her passion, Christine opened Quilting by Christine so she can do what she loves day in and day out. She thoroughly enjoys the quilting community because “it is packed full of amazing people, and this makes my job even better!” As a professional quilter, she accepts quilt tops both locally as well as through the mail. With thousands of digital designs and hundreds of thread colors to choose from, along with Hobbs 80/20 and wool batting in stock, Christine will help find a combination to complement your quilt top perfectly!
Her expertise has led her to do lots of custom quilting for Brett Lewis, a Northcott Fabrics designer. Those quilts were displayed at the Houston Quilt Market in 2019, and you can see her custom quilting on his pattern covers as well. Christine also loves teaching quilting classes and teaching people how to longarm quilt, and she plans on hosting and attending more classes and shows in 2022.
She is an inspiration to others but also inspired by others; Christine hopes you’ll share photos of the Rise and Shine quilt you make and tag her in social media so she can see your wonderful creation! Tag her on Instagram and Facebook (@QuiltingByChristine) and use the hashtags #RiseandShineQuilt #RiseandShinebyQBC.
