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| Picture by Sandra Walker of MMM Quilts. Used with permission. |
Every year or two, my fabric stash starts to feel more like a burden than a blessing, and I have to prune. Sometimes, my preferred strategy is to sell off fat quarters and larger cuts that no longer excite me at FeelGood Fibers. Other times, I home in on a stash-busting pattern or two and start cutting. With my guild’s fall retreat on the horizon, I decided to cut up a 38-piece fat quarter bundle I won last year at a monthly guild meeting.
Now would be the appropriate spot in the post to show you this bundle in all of its pristine, uncut glory, but I took a rotary blade to it before the lighting got good for photos. So you’ll have to take my word for it: These fabrics are all bright, happy solids from Free Spirit. Especially assembled together, they are gorgeous. In fact, they were so beautifully curated that I couldn’t bear to break them up and instead decided to sew the Postcard from Sweden pattern with them.
Do you remember this design? Kelly Liddle, of Jeli Quilts, based it on a postcard she bought at Ikea. The free pattern was super popular about five years ago, and it’s still pretty easy to find kitted. (Download the pattern or buy the kit at Stash Fabrics.) The picture at the top of the post is the version Sandra Walker sewed up earlier this year.
I decided to make two of the smaller throw sizes because, again, this was all about busting stash. The instructions call for subcutting squares into triangles, but I figured I would simply cut squares and make two half-square triangles at a time. If I’m going to cut and sew a quilt out of 30-plus different fabrics, I may as well cut and sew two!
Of course, the colors in my bundle didn’t match up perfectly to the ones in the pattern. I made it work. I found the required Kona Cottons in the Kona color card I cut up years ago and then paired them with fabrics from the bundle, focusing on color family and value. Sometimes, I pulled a needed color from my stash; other times, I chose to use two fat quarters of slightly different colors to give me the necessary yardage.
Mark my words: I am not going to overthink this project! I will not use a design board to vacillate over the final layout! I think I’ll sew the quilts at the same time, making one row of half-square triangles and then promptly sewing the row together. It’s Operation: Just Get Them Done!
UPDATE: This bundle is no longer available. Sign up for the From Bolt to Beauty newsletter to be the first to learn about future bundles!
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Oh Michelle, Postcards from Sweden is gorgeous!
ReplyDeleteMichelle
https://mybijoulifeonline.com
Making two at a time with HSTs sounds like a perfect plan to me; I'd much rather do that than cut my squares on the diagonal.
ReplyDeleteLove this pattern - I have seen many gorgeous quilts made with it. Good luck! I bet yours will (both) be wonderful.
ReplyDeleteLooks like a beautiful plan, Michelle!!!
ReplyDeleteLooking forward to seeing the completed quilts. I like the idea of doing two at a time. I sewed along with Sandra a few years ago when she offered this the first time. It was fun and is one of my favorite quilts.
ReplyDeleteHa, I love your operations title ;) Enjoy your sewing! xo
ReplyDeleteI've always loved the Postcards from Sweden pattern, and can't believe it's already been five years since Kelly designed it! Wow, but time flies. But it's still on my "someday" list. Looks like you have a great start on yours with those yummy colors. Hope you enjoy making it!
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