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Quick Quilt Top series – help us pick a design layout
How many times have you caught yourself sighing, “There just aren’t enough hours in the day!” Come on, be honest – if you haven’t said it at least once a day, then you’ve at least thought it. When you’ve got more things to do than you have time to do them, it’s time to decide if they are worth doing in the first place. To me, quilting is always worth doing.
Instead of following your usual rush-rush routine, do something scandalous. Do something unthinkable. Do something … for yourself. Make a quilt with us. We had so much fun with our first Quick Quilt Top series on half-square triangles that we’re doing it again – this time with a Drunkard’s Path block.
This block is so versatile. It first appeared around 1888 in the periodical Farm and Home, but even after 130 years, it’s a favorite for both traditional and modern quilters. Place four blocks together and you’ve got an awesome circle.
Give the blocks a twist, and you’ve got a spinning cross.
Add a few more blocks, start twisting and turning them, and the next thing you know your head will explode from all the possibilities – at least mine did. I got so carried away that I quickly amassed over 60 different designs. I finally had to rein myself in and ask a few friends to help narrow down the field to 10 layouts.
Which is your favorite?
Take just a few minutes out of your crazy day to choose it from the ones I’ve created at the bottom of this post. We’ll tally the votes, and then I’ll create some quilting designs for the winning pattern layout. You’ll help pick that winner too. Finally, I’ll quilt the project, and one lucky winner will get the quilt, along with a basket of quilting goodies from APQS!
If you don’t happen to win the quilt, don’t fret … we’ll also be giving away the pattern so that you can make your own.
The Drunkard’s Path block is easy to sew by machine, but it’s also a perfect portable project because you can also stitch it together by hand. If you can’t get in front of your sewing machine each day, toss a block into a baggie, along with some thread and a needle. Tuck it in your bag or purse. Whenever you’re stuck waiting, whip out that block and get it stitched in minutes.
Don’t let those curves intimidate you. In our next post, I’ll show you some cutting and piecing tricks that will make this a very fast project. Keep the blocks small for a quick baby quilt or scale them up for a larger throw. Even if you’ve only got a handful of “me-time minutes” each day, you can have this done in “no time.”
Since fabric color and placement can have a huge impact on the design layouts, I’ve purposefully kept the designs as dark-light options for now. The fabric will be a surprise. In the meantime, cast a vote for your favorite layout below!
