Quick Quilt Tops 2021 – help us pick a quilting design!

March 9, 2021

Nearly 4,000 votes were cast and it’s official…from 10 possible design layout options in our Quick Quilt Series, Design #3 came in a close second, but the crown goes to Design #9 shown below with nearly 1000 votes!

(Don’t remember what the other layouts looked like? Click here to see the options.)

If you think it was hard to choose your favorite, I totally understand. I had an especially difficult time narrowing down the original possibilities to just 10! I’m always in awe of how many different quilt layouts can be created from just one block type.

Playing with the blocks became so addictive that I needed a family intervention. For some reason they thought eating took precedence over arranging quilt blocks in 50 different configurations. All I did was rotate the Y Block in different ways, but my mind still reels when I think about how many new layouts could be achieved by flip-flopping the yellow and green fabrics in half the blocks. Makes my head hurt!

Once I learned Design #9 was your favorite, I got to work drafting quilting designs for it. Of course, an overall design would be just fine, and could make the quilt look modern or traditional, depending on the pattern. But it’s amazing to see what magic can happen if you employ the “what if” technique to the quilting designs.

I chose bright, spring colors for the quilt (what can I say—it’s been mighty cold in Iowa lately!) So “what if” I incorporate some springtime tulips, leaves and a little cross-hatching to give a plaid look? Quilting Design #1 is born. Or what if I wander a curvy feather around the center star to frame it, and carry the feathers out into the corners as in Design #2? What if I go crazy with curves or nuts with straight lines in unexpected areas? You get the idea!

Scroll through the quilting design options I’ve come up with below and vote for your favorite. Then I’ll quilt the winning design on to the quilt. Granted, they may be a bit over the top for a simple quilt like this one, but since we’re going to give it away to one lucky winner in the end (along with some great APQS swag), why not kick it up a notch?