Learn to make this beautiful and traditional quilt block with the step-by-step tutorial from NewQuilters.com.
There is nothing I like more than a simple quilt pattern that looks complicated. Behold .... the Jewel Box quilt. Shibori is a Japanese term for a method of dyeing cloth. Traditionally using Indigo, it is a form of tie-dyeing that goes back to the 8th century. This quilt block is called: Jewel Box I did not use a printed pattern - but by reading this post and the links below you will be able to master this :) Quilt Specs: The fabric: A fat quarter bundle of Shibori II from Moda. This collection designed by Debbie Maddy contains 20 different designs and I used all of them in this quilt. The 'background' fabric is Kona white. Note: If you are using pre-cuts like charm squares or a layer cake, do not starch or iron with steam - they will shrink. If you are using yardage for this project, feel free to starch and iron with steam. 1) Cut 5" x 5" squares from both the Shibori fabric and the Kona white: a TOTAL of (126) each. 2) Take (63) of the blue and (63) of the white squares and make (126) half square triangles. Use a scant 1/4" seam. Trim to an unfinished size: 4.5" x 4.5" A good tutorial for making HST's with charm squares is HERE from Scrapish. 3) Take (63) of the blue and (63) of the white squares and make (126) 4-patch units. See pix above. These should be unfinished at 4.5" x 4.5" Note: A good video tutorial on how to make 4-patches from 5" squares is HERE from Me and My Sister Designs. If you are using yardage (cut into 2.5" strips) - a video HERE from Missouri Star Quilt. Co. is helpful. Or, you just cut up 2.5" x 2.5" squares and a post HERE from Fabric406 explains this method. Assemble all your units the way shown above with the 4-patch focus fabric on the top left - and HST focus fabric - top right. That's it! Sew away and stack them up. I figured out my quilt size based on a 4" finished square. 14 squares across & 18 rows down = 56" wide x 72" long. NOTE ABOUT YARDAGE ... The yardage for THIS quilt in two colors would be exactly 2 yards of each. But since I would err on the side of caution with mistakes, pre-washing, squaring up and starch - I would get 2.5 yards of each to be SAFE ! Bonnie Hunter from Quiltville's Quips & Snips has a great chart for yardage if you choose to make this quilt with just two fabrics ... a light & a dark. Just figure out how large YOUR quilt will be - and go to the chart column for 5" squares. See the Jewel Box pattern emerge as you rotate these units and match up the triangles and the four patches. I made this diagram which explains the assembly in detail - the colors are not important. Two good links below are also helpful with instructions & pictures. *Make all your units (#1). *Take two units (#2) and rotate them so the focus fabric HST's are pointing out (#3) *Sew blocks together with 4-patches and triangles next to each other (#4 and #5). The backing is a beautiful midnight blue minky. Wavy line quilting was done with a walking foot in Aurifil 50wt. threads. Following the seams makes it super easy to quilt and creates cute little squares. More Links: 1) Shontelle from England Street Quilts has a great PDF and diagrams for a Jewel Box quilt here. While our assembly techniques are different (Shontelle stripped pieced her 4-patches, I made them from 5" squares) - her pattern guides are the best. 2) For some step by step pictures of Poppy's Jewel Box quilt, visit Cuckooblue. Thanks to everyone for their tutorials and for all those who left comments that corrected my horrible math skills. (2/14/19) Materials: Shibori II by Moda / Debbie Maddy Kona white Dimple dot minky / midnight blue Binding: Cotton Couture Midnight / Michael Miller Aurifil Thread 50wt: #2600 (dove) & #1248 (denim blue) Warm & White batting Jewel Box quilt pattern Size: 56" x 72" December 2018
I am so excited to have finished my Jewel box quilt and be able to share pictures with you. The blocks in this quilt were my President Blocks made by our guild members and given to me when my turn as guild president was over. So this quilt is very special to me and I will be using it on my bed!! I had shown this as a quilt top here last month and was unhappy with my choice in border fabrics. So I found a dark brown and blue batik in my stash and had JUST enough to make it work. I’m must happier with this chose of fabric and glad I cut the blue one off. Yes I just cut off the seam allowance instead of ripping. It made the medium blue inner border smaller but that was okay, it was too big anyway! :) I wanted to custom quilt this one but not go crazy with it as I like light custom on my quilts, that just my personal taste. I used a few different color threads. Brown So Fine in the outer border and dark batiks in the body of the quilt. Matched blues in the two inner borders and used off white in the background. Light beige Bottom Line for the back to give a whole-cloth look. I was really surprised how great the back turned out, I might even use it this way too! The backing fabric is extra wide Stonehenge. I CC’d the dark batik squares and then added another curve along both side in the background to create the pumpkin seed design you see on the back. I debated about added another curve to those little background triangles and even stitched a few out but knew right away that was the wrong way to go. It took away from the straight lines framing the larger Quarter Square Triangles. I’m glad I tried those or I would still be wondering. It then took me awhile to decide on what to do in the empty frames around the QST’s that I created with the single row of quilting to divide up the background. I had done small loops in the middle border already so tried more of those and really liked how they looks. Making these decisions can drive me crazy sometime…but in a good way as it make me think! :) Did my favourite Echo Curved border, you can find my tutorial on that design here. I swept the ice off to get a few pictures….love this one with the cracks! I named that crack ‘The Diamond” as it sparkles and is huge! A girl can dream can’t she :) One last picture….now to get working on the binding. I dyed some brown fabric this morning to use for binding so I better get cracking on it so I can bring it to guild next week for Show and Tell.
When we designed the house we built in 2012, we knew we wanted to open our doors to whatever opportunities came our way. We knew we wo...
There is nothing I like more than a simple quilt pattern that looks complicated. Behold .... the Jewel Box quilt. Shibori is a Japanese term for a method of dyeing cloth. Traditionally using Indigo, it is a form of tie-dyeing that goes back to the 8th century. This quilt block is called: Jewel Box I did not use a printed pattern - but by reading this post and the links below you will be able to master this :) Quilt Specs: The fabric: A fat quarter bundle of Shibori II from Moda. This collection designed by Debbie Maddy contains 20 different designs and I used all of them in this quilt. The 'background' fabric is Kona white. Note: If you are using pre-cuts like charm squares or a layer cake, do not starch or iron with steam - they will shrink. If you are using yardage for this project, feel free to starch and iron with steam. 1) Cut 5" x 5" squares from both the Shibori fabric and the Kona white: a TOTAL of (126) each. 2) Take (63) of the blue and (63) of the white squares and make (126) half square triangles. Use a scant 1/4" seam. Trim to an unfinished size: 4.5" x 4.5" A good tutorial for making HST's with charm squares is HERE from Scrapish. 3) Take (63) of the blue and (63) of the white squares and make (126) 4-patch units. See pix above. These should be unfinished at 4.5" x 4.5" Note: A good video tutorial on how to make 4-patches from 5" squares is HERE from Me and My Sister Designs. If you are using yardage (cut into 2.5" strips) - a video HERE from Missouri Star Quilt. Co. is helpful. Or, you just cut up 2.5" x 2.5" squares and a post HERE from Fabric406 explains this method. Assemble all your units the way shown above with the 4-patch focus fabric on the top left - and HST focus fabric - top right. That's it! Sew away and stack them up. I figured out my quilt size based on a 4" finished square. 14 squares across & 18 rows down = 56" wide x 72" long. NOTE ABOUT YARDAGE ... The yardage for THIS quilt in two colors would be exactly 2 yards of each. But since I would err on the side of caution with mistakes, pre-washing, squaring up and starch - I would get 2.5 yards of each to be SAFE ! Bonnie Hunter from Quiltville's Quips & Snips has a great chart for yardage if you choose to make this quilt with just two fabrics ... a light & a dark. Just figure out how large YOUR quilt will be - and go to the chart column for 5" squares. See the Jewel Box pattern emerge as you rotate these units and match up the triangles and the four patches. I made this diagram which explains the assembly in detail - the colors are not important. Two good links below are also helpful with instructions & pictures. *Make all your units (#1). *Take two units (#2) and rotate them so the focus fabric HST's are pointing out (#3) *Sew blocks together with 4-patches and triangles next to each other (#4 and #5). The backing is a beautiful midnight blue minky. Wavy line quilting was done with a walking foot in Aurifil 50wt. threads. Following the seams makes it super easy to quilt and creates cute little squares. More Links: 1) Shontelle from England Street Quilts has a great PDF and diagrams for a Jewel Box quilt here. While our assembly techniques are different (Shontelle stripped pieced her 4-patches, I made them from 5" squares) - her pattern guides are the best. 2) For some step by step pictures of Poppy's Jewel Box quilt, visit Cuckooblue. Thanks to everyone for their tutorials and for all those who left comments that corrected my horrible math skills. (2/14/19) Materials: Shibori II by Moda / Debbie Maddy Kona white Dimple dot minky / midnight blue Binding: Cotton Couture Midnight / Michael Miller Aurifil Thread 50wt: #2600 (dove) & #1248 (denim blue) Warm & White batting Jewel Box quilt pattern Size: 56" x 72" December 2018
Have you guys had a chance to sew with Liberty Tana Lawn yet? It's like the fabric equivalent of a glass of lemonade on a summer day, so light and refreshing. I would say it falls right in between quilting cotton and voile as far as softness and consistency. I found it very easy to sew with—it may
Kim's Jewel Box Quilt This Jewel Box Quilt Quilted by Kim Majczan, Owned By Abbey Majczan Gohl, Pattern by Janet Wickell of The Spruce Crafts, it's available for free. Kim:"I have made versions this b
Ever had fabrics so lovely that you knew exactly what quilt pattern you wanted to make with them? That would be a waste made into anything else? Even when you are REALLY close to the wire with this…
Several people have asked how I got from the design to the instructions to make this Jewel Box quilt with the medallion center and pieced bo...
When we designed the house we built in 2012, we knew we wanted to open our doors to whatever opportunities came our way. We knew we wo...
Be Inspired by These Colorful Examples! The “Jewel Box Quilt” is an old pattern that begs to be experimented with. The quilt is usually made from jewel tone fabrics against a contrasting background, often black. The vivid colors pop against the black and glow like jewels. Image courtesy of About.com. Batik fabrics are very …
There is nothing I like more than a simple quilt pattern that looks complicated. Behold .... the Jewel Box quilt. Shibori is a Jap...
Use this Jewel Box quilt pattern to make a gorgeous quilt from a combination of vividly colored fabrics sewn against a black background.
Missy made this beautiful Jewel Box quilt for her dear friend!!! Quilt Info: Pattern: Jewel Box Fabric: Royal Blue by Edyta Sitar Size: 61" X 69" Batting: Quilters Dream Batting, Orient Thread: Glide, Linen Quilting: Windy Meandering Interesting Fact: Missy is a whiz at matching backing fabrics. Check out how well she matched this Toile backing fabric: The quilting is Windy Meandering and is a 52" repeat across!!! Quilters Dream Batting, Orient, is a blend of bamboo, silk, tencel and cotton. It has the softest drape of all, which makes it super cuddly, it shrinks less and is lighterweight, which makes it a great choice for warmer climates or summer quilts. It's my favorite batting to use for throws! Although this fabric line is called "Royal Blue", it's really more teal! Great job, Missy!!! Your friend will love this quilt! The Jewel Box block pattern was popular in the 1990s, when I first made one. Have you made a Jewel Box quilt? Grace and peace!!! ~Nancy Linking up with Needle & Thread Thursday, Put Your Foot Down, Creative Compulsions, TGIFF, Peacock Party, Confessions of a Fabric Addict, Friday Foto Fun, Finished Or Not Friday, From Bolt To Beauty.
We're back with more sparkling inspiration from MJ Kinman. Enjoy her birthstone blocks as you read more about how she created them. (Good luck picking a favorite--they're all fantastic!) If you missed our first interview with her, find it here. "Jewel Box" by MJ Kinman Q. Tell us about your Birthstone collection. MJ: When I quit my day job, I knew I wanted to do something with the diamonds. I wanted to make art quilts, but I also wanted to make a block or series of blocks that people could do themselves. Everyone loves birthstones. The Birthstone blocks allow quilters to find success right out of the gate and also receive a few lessons on color and contrast. The Jewel Box is the quilt made from all 12 Birthstone blocks. March Birthstone - Aquamarine February Birthstone - Amethyst Q. How did you choose the stones to use in the Birthstone collection? MJ: I’m always looking for gemstones with interesting cuts and vibrant colors. The Emerald is an emerald cut. The Diamond was going to be a solitaire, but then someone suggested heart shaped, so I did that. Alexandrite is an antique French cut. It’s one of the simplest to put together, but so elegant. May Birthstone - Emerald April Birthstone -Diamond June Birthstone - Alexandrite Q. How did you translate your technique into a pattern that anyone can make? MJ: My goal was to use as few pieces as possible but still achieve the sparkle; I didn’t want a 17” square pattern to have 800 pieces! January Birthstone - Garnet December Birthstone - Tanzanite Q. Tell us about the fabric in the Birthstone Series kits. MJ: They’re done completely with Painter’s Palette Solids. The kits contain between five and twelve different fabrics to create the design. August Birthstone - Peridot October Birthstone - Pink Tourmaline Q. Do you have a favorite of the Birthstones? MJ: The sapphire. It’s a scissor cut. I love blue, and I really like the way the lights and the darks play out. September Birthstone - Sapphire Q. What would you tell someone looking to try one of your Birthstone patterns? MJ: Just do it! It’s designed for the confident beginner. Truly, the thing about my patterns is that they don’t have to be perfect. The seams are offset—they don’t have to come together. If you’re intimidated by traditional patterns where seams need to match, that’s not an issue here. Diamonds and gemstones sparkle a trillion different ways. The image I use is one way it sparkles when the camera lens clicked. They don’t have to be perfect. No one will notice. It’s a technique where you can get away with a lot. There’s so much going on in your diamonds—the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. Be fearless and just do it. I can’t wait to see the results! July Birthstone - Ruby Q. Where can quilters find the patterns and Painter's Palette Solids kits? MJ: Quilters can go directly through eQuilter.com for both the patterns and fabric bundles. I also sell the patterns on my website. November Birthstone - Citrine Visit MJ's website to see and read more. See all 168 Painter's Palette Solids colors here. Find kits for the Birthstone Series here.
Several people have asked how I got from the design to the instructions to make this Jewel Box quilt with the medallion center and pieced border, so I'll show you how I planned it out. First, the picture of the EQ design I made. If you don't have EQ, I certainly recommend it, it's great. I divided the design I made with EQ into nine sections to make it easy to sew. I'll assemble the nine sections at the very end, like a huge nine-patch, so I'm not dealing with a king size top until the final seams. Then. looking at my sections, I counted out exactly what combinations of blocks I'd need to make the four corners. For each corner section, I will also need 6 solid navy rectangles to complete the border edge. The middle of each edge section needs just two solid navy rectangles for the pieced border, but also had the most different block combos: And the center of the quilt was the simplest, needing mostly blocks with the navy blue, except for those 4 white triangles at the corners: If you don't like half square triangles, don't start this quilt... I made 396 white-to-a-color hsts and 184 blue-to-a-color hsts to use in the whole quilt, then divided them up into 9 piles (and nine ziplock baggies) to spread out the different fabrics to the different quadrants. I was afraid if I didn't, I'd end up with a glob of lime green or red in the last corner... lol I used a paper template to make the half square triangles. You can print them free on your computer from sites like Block Central. Here's a link to the size I used in this quilt: Half Square Triangle paper In order to make this bright and scrappy, I used some 4 inch squares I'd ordered on eBay to make the hsts, plus cutting into my stash of fat quarters. The only fabric I bought is the navy blue that makes the pieced border. Even the white on white used in the quilt is scrappy. It's been a great stash buster. I made a lot of the sixteen-patches using Bonnie Hunter's leader/ender method, but I also sewed together strips cut from fat quarters to strips from the navy or white on white fabric, then pressed them and sub cut them into two-patches. If anyone is counting, I needed 784 white-to-a-color two patches, and 512 blue-to-a-color two patches to make my 16 patch blocks. :D But I AM making a king size, and that's a lot of bed to cover. This will be my summer quilt, bright colors and lightweight batting in this one, when I get it quilted.
Learn to make this beautiful and traditional quilt block with the step-by-step tutorial from NewQuilters.com.
There is nothing I like more than a simple quilt pattern that looks complicated. Behold .... the Jewel Box quilt. Shibori is a Japanese term for a method of dyeing cloth. Traditionally using Indigo, it is a form of tie-dyeing that goes back to the 8th century. This quilt block is called: Jewel Box I did not use a printed pattern - but by reading this post and the links below you will be able to master this :) Quilt Specs: The fabric: A fat quarter bundle of Shibori II from Moda. This collection designed by Debbie Maddy contains 20 different designs and I used all of them in this quilt. The 'background' fabric is Kona white. Note: If you are using pre-cuts like charm squares or a layer cake, do not starch or iron with steam - they will shrink. If you are using yardage for this project, feel free to starch and iron with steam. 1) Cut 5" x 5" squares from both the Shibori fabric and the Kona white: a TOTAL of (126) each. 2) Take (63) of the blue and (63) of the white squares and make (126) half square triangles. Use a scant 1/4" seam. Trim to an unfinished size: 4.5" x 4.5" A good tutorial for making HST's with charm squares is HERE from Scrapish. 3) Take (63) of the blue and (63) of the white squares and make (126) 4-patch units. See pix above. These should be unfinished at 4.5" x 4.5" Note: A good video tutorial on how to make 4-patches from 5" squares is HERE from Me and My Sister Designs. If you are using yardage (cut into 2.5" strips) - a video HERE from Missouri Star Quilt. Co. is helpful. Or, you just cut up 2.5" x 2.5" squares and a post HERE from Fabric406 explains this method. Assemble all your units the way shown above with the 4-patch focus fabric on the top left - and HST focus fabric - top right. That's it! Sew away and stack them up. I figured out my quilt size based on a 4" finished square. 14 squares across & 18 rows down = 56" wide x 72" long. NOTE ABOUT YARDAGE ... The yardage for THIS quilt in two colors would be exactly 2 yards of each. But since I would err on the side of caution with mistakes, pre-washing, squaring up and starch - I would get 2.5 yards of each to be SAFE ! Bonnie Hunter from Quiltville's Quips & Snips has a great chart for yardage if you choose to make this quilt with just two fabrics ... a light & a dark. Just figure out how large YOUR quilt will be - and go to the chart column for 5" squares. See the Jewel Box pattern emerge as you rotate these units and match up the triangles and the four patches. I made this diagram which explains the assembly in detail - the colors are not important. Two good links below are also helpful with instructions & pictures. *Make all your units (#1). *Take two units (#2) and rotate them so the focus fabric HST's are pointing out (#3) *Sew blocks together with 4-patches and triangles next to each other (#4 and #5). The backing is a beautiful midnight blue minky. Wavy line quilting was done with a walking foot in Aurifil 50wt. threads. Following the seams makes it super easy to quilt and creates cute little squares. More Links: 1) Shontelle from England Street Quilts has a great PDF and diagrams for a Jewel Box quilt here. While our assembly techniques are different (Shontelle stripped pieced her 4-patches, I made them from 5" squares) - her pattern guides are the best. 2) For some step by step pictures of Poppy's Jewel Box quilt, visit Cuckooblue. Thanks to everyone for their tutorials and for all those who left comments that corrected my horrible math skills. (2/14/19) Materials: Shibori II by Moda / Debbie Maddy Kona white Dimple dot minky / midnight blue Binding: Cotton Couture Midnight / Michael Miller Aurifil Thread 50wt: #2600 (dove) & #1248 (denim blue) Warm & White batting Jewel Box quilt pattern Size: 56" x 72" December 2018
We're back with more sparkling inspiration from MJ Kinman. Enjoy her birthstone blocks as you read more about how she created th...
Be Inspired by These Colorful Examples! The “Jewel Box Quilt” is an old pattern that begs to be experimented with. The quilt is usually made from jewel tone fabrics against a contrasting background, often black. The vivid colors pop against the black and glow like jewels. Image courtesy of About.com. Batik fabrics are very …
I have always like the Jewel Box pattern. Now I have finally made one. This was the Scrap Group project we worked on yesterday. Mine is made from scraps and Kona white. If I make another I will reverse the fabrics in the pieced border. But I'm not changing this one. I have not decided whether or not to add a second border. I could add another pieced border using my stash of 2" squares. Or I could just cut some yardage for the second border. If I don't add another border, I have a nice blue and green stripe that I plan to use for binding. This measures 48" by 54" at the moment.
Jewel Box Quilt by tamarackshack Jewel box is a sparkling delight of a quilt, featuring jewel-toned fabrics from Jinny's Palette collection. The green version has border print medallions and a border
I remember seeing a quilt by Kaffe Fassett where the sunlight shines through the fabric to give it a stained glass effect.
2000, 64" X 80" For several years I made a jewel box quilt for one of my siblings each Christmas. This is the quilt that was made for Julia. I often start with a color scheme or border fabric and match all the "jewel" pieces to that. Julia, You are my inspiration. Love and Memories last forever. -posted by Ione
Learn to make this beautiful and traditional quilt block with the step-by-step tutorial from NewQuilters.com.
Be Inspired by These Colorful Examples! The “Jewel Box Quilt” is an old pattern that begs to be experimented with. The quilt is usually made from jewel tone fabrics against a contrasting background, often black. The vivid colors pop against the black and glow like jewels. Image courtesy of About.com. Batik fabrics are very …
Debra's Jewel Box Quilt This Jewel Box Quilt Quilted by Debra Rolfe (Dungeonquilter), Pattern by Janet Wickell of The Spruce Crafts, it's available for free. Full Post: Jewel Box Quilt Pattern
We're back with more sparkling inspiration from MJ Kinman. Enjoy her birthstone blocks as you read more about how she created them. (Good luck picking a favorite--they're all fantastic!) If you missed our first interview with her, find it here. "Jewel Box" by MJ Kinman Q. Tell us about your Birthstone collection. MJ: When I quit my day job, I knew I wanted to do something with the diamonds. I wanted to make art quilts, but I also wanted to make a block or series of blocks that people could do themselves. Everyone loves birthstones. The Birthstone blocks allow quilters to find success right out of the gate and also receive a few lessons on color and contrast. The Jewel Box is the quilt made from all 12 Birthstone blocks. March Birthstone - Aquamarine February Birthstone - Amethyst Q. How did you choose the stones to use in the Birthstone collection? MJ: I’m always looking for gemstones with interesting cuts and vibrant colors. The Emerald is an emerald cut. The Diamond was going to be a solitaire, but then someone suggested heart shaped, so I did that. Alexandrite is an antique French cut. It’s one of the simplest to put together, but so elegant. May Birthstone - Emerald April Birthstone -Diamond June Birthstone - Alexandrite Q. How did you translate your technique into a pattern that anyone can make? MJ: My goal was to use as few pieces as possible but still achieve the sparkle; I didn’t want a 17” square pattern to have 800 pieces! January Birthstone - Garnet December Birthstone - Tanzanite Q. Tell us about the fabric in the Birthstone Series kits. MJ: They’re done completely with Painter’s Palette Solids. The kits contain between five and twelve different fabrics to create the design. August Birthstone - Peridot October Birthstone - Pink Tourmaline Q. Do you have a favorite of the Birthstones? MJ: The sapphire. It’s a scissor cut. I love blue, and I really like the way the lights and the darks play out. September Birthstone - Sapphire Q. What would you tell someone looking to try one of your Birthstone patterns? MJ: Just do it! It’s designed for the confident beginner. Truly, the thing about my patterns is that they don’t have to be perfect. The seams are offset—they don’t have to come together. If you’re intimidated by traditional patterns where seams need to match, that’s not an issue here. Diamonds and gemstones sparkle a trillion different ways. The image I use is one way it sparkles when the camera lens clicked. They don’t have to be perfect. No one will notice. It’s a technique where you can get away with a lot. There’s so much going on in your diamonds—the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. Be fearless and just do it. I can’t wait to see the results! July Birthstone - Ruby Q. Where can quilters find the patterns and Painter's Palette Solids kits? MJ: Quilters can go directly through eQuilter.com for both the patterns and fabric bundles. I also sell the patterns on my website. November Birthstone - Citrine Visit MJ's website to see and read more. See all 168 Painter's Palette Solids colors here. Find kits for the Birthstone Series here.
We're back with more sparkling inspiration from MJ Kinman. Enjoy her birthstone blocks as you read more about how she created th...
The Jewel Box Quilt is out of its grocery sack and on to the design floor. Big step! That is Daughter carefully unloading the stack using the photo printout as a guide. She let the cat in, who pr…
These are quilts 3 & 4 from the Sugarland Fall Festival. Meet Seashore Rails, the simplest rail fence pattern. This is the pattern I pick when I do not want to think, when I do not have the patience to measure once, leave alone twice, when I do not want to cut fabric. Seashore Rails This is the holy grail (and the savior) for all those (me included) who like the concept of handmade but may not always have the nine yards of patience. Take two strips of color, one strip of white. Stitch them along the length, with the white in the middle. Cut into squares. Voila, you have your blocks!!! Black Border, Green Binding Arrange your blocks - one horizontal and one vertical, add a border to make it all come together and you have a quilt top!!! When Eleanor Burns said - Quilt in a Day, I am sure this is what she meant. I chose this mushroom fabric for the backing. Do you like Mushrooms? I had to choose easy and quick patterns since I really cranked out 14 of these in four weeks (My craziness is now well-established). Therefore, choosing bright happy fabrics was really the key!!! Matching binding to both the front and the back was an essential ingredient in making the quilt appealing. I think the green binding in the front works only because it stands out against the black border, whereas it appears a bit blah next to the teal/aqua blocks. Quilted and Bound As far as the back, well that green really adds to the mushroom fabric, even if I say so myself (blush). Green Binding - Multicolored Shrooms!!! Can you see the quilting? Me neither. The blocks finish at 6", the quilt without borders is about 36" square and with 2.5" strips border added, it finishes at about 40" square. I quilted using a decorative stitch (looks like the letter C), making the appearance of clouds, as one line looked like Cs and the next being a mirror image. Ooh, like a day at the Beach!!! And one more picture... Labelled!!! Once Seashore Rails was done, I had a few blocks leftover...leading to the next quilt - Jewel Box. Seashore Rails was definitely boyish. Therefore, I chose to add some non-blues (greens/purples) to make Jewel Box, so that it was a more gender-neutral quilt. Remember, while I am making these, I wanted an even split between boy and girl quilts, so that the quilts could appeal to all. Can you see the rail fence blocks in between the green and purple box blocks? I chose a bright purple border for Jewel Box, to highlight the purple and take the attention away from the teal/aqua blocks. However, the exact same green binding works against the purple too. Happy coincidence, indeed. Ok, are you ready for this? This is big and scary!!! Backing - Funny and Colorful!!! And see, the green binding works beautifully with the backing too. The quilting gods were smiling upon me! Quilted the same way as Seashore Rails. Jewel Box also finished at about 40" square. Finally, I can see some quilting in this picture. Scary & Adorable Did you think that I forgot the label? No, I am too vain for that. Labelled! OK, just one more picture. Can you see the cloud effect quilting in the picture below? Looks like this monster is peeping from behind the wall to yell - BOO!!! BOOtiful!!! I will be linking up with Let's Bee Social, Needle & Thread Thursday, Whoop Whoop Fridays, Link a Finish Friday, Thank Goodness Its Finished Friday, Finish it up Friday and Monday Making. I hope these simple patterns and bright fabrics bring some measure of joy and inspiration to your day. Your bright comments definitely bring joy to mine!!!
This week has been border central again...I am a bit over it but I still have borders to go on at least three more quilts so I just have to...
Learn to make this beautiful and traditional quilt block with the step-by-step tutorial from NewQuilters.com.
There is nothing I like more than a simple quilt pattern that looks complicated. Behold .... the Jewel Box quilt. Shibori is a Japanese term for a method of dyeing cloth. Traditionally using Indigo, it is a form of tie-dyeing that goes back to the 8th century. This quilt block is called: Jewel Box I did not use a printed pattern - but by reading this post and the links below you will be able to master this :) Quilt Specs: The fabric: A fat quarter bundle of Shibori II from Moda. This collection designed by Debbie Maddy contains 20 different designs and I used all of them in this quilt. The 'background' fabric is Kona white. Note: If you are using pre-cuts like charm squares or a layer cake, do not starch or iron with steam - they will shrink. If you are using yardage for this project, feel free to starch and iron with steam. 1) Cut 5" x 5" squares from both the Shibori fabric and the Kona white: a TOTAL of (126) each. 2) Take (63) of the blue and (63) of the white squares and make (126) half square triangles. Use a scant 1/4" seam. Trim to an unfinished size: 4.5" x 4.5" A good tutorial for making HST's with charm squares is HERE from Scrapish. 3) Take (63) of the blue and (63) of the white squares and make (126) 4-patch units. See pix above. These should be unfinished at 4.5" x 4.5" Note: A good video tutorial on how to make 4-patches from 5" squares is HERE from Me and My Sister Designs. If you are using yardage (cut into 2.5" strips) - a video HERE from Missouri Star Quilt. Co. is helpful. Or, you just cut up 2.5" x 2.5" squares and a post HERE from Fabric406 explains this method. Assemble all your units the way shown above with the 4-patch focus fabric on the top left - and HST focus fabric - top right. That's it! Sew away and stack them up. I figured out my quilt size based on a 4" finished square. 14 squares across & 18 rows down = 56" wide x 72" long. NOTE ABOUT YARDAGE ... The yardage for THIS quilt in two colors would be exactly 2 yards of each. But since I would err on the side of caution with mistakes, pre-washing, squaring up and starch - I would get 2.5 yards of each to be SAFE ! Bonnie Hunter from Quiltville's Quips & Snips has a great chart for yardage if you choose to make this quilt with just two fabrics ... a light & a dark. Just figure out how large YOUR quilt will be - and go to the chart column for 5" squares. See the Jewel Box pattern emerge as you rotate these units and match up the triangles and the four patches. I made this diagram which explains the assembly in detail - the colors are not important. Two good links below are also helpful with instructions & pictures. *Make all your units (#1). *Take two units (#2) and rotate them so the focus fabric HST's are pointing out (#3) *Sew blocks together with 4-patches and triangles next to each other (#4 and #5). The backing is a beautiful midnight blue minky. Wavy line quilting was done with a walking foot in Aurifil 50wt. threads. Following the seams makes it super easy to quilt and creates cute little squares. More Links: 1) Shontelle from England Street Quilts has a great PDF and diagrams for a Jewel Box quilt here. While our assembly techniques are different (Shontelle stripped pieced her 4-patches, I made them from 5" squares) - her pattern guides are the best. 2) For some step by step pictures of Poppy's Jewel Box quilt, visit Cuckooblue. Thanks to everyone for their tutorials and for all those who left comments that corrected my horrible math skills. (2/14/19) Materials: Shibori II by Moda / Debbie Maddy Kona white Dimple dot minky / midnight blue Binding: Cotton Couture Midnight / Michael Miller Aurifil Thread 50wt: #2600 (dove) & #1248 (denim blue) Warm & White batting Jewel Box quilt pattern Size: 56" x 72" December 2018
Jewel Box Quilt This tutorial is available for free... Full post: Jewel Box Quilt
