Two Pixelated Quilts / Beauties Pageant 288

Hello! And welcome back to my look at all 14 projects in Not-Your-Typical Jelly Roll Quilts ...

A few weeks ago, I shared two quilts that I designed to use one of my favorite time-saving techniques: strip sets. By sewing jelly roll strips together along the long edges, cutting those blocks of fabric into smaller units, and sewing those units in different configurations, I made both butterflies and a set of stars in a striped-hexagon sky. The two projects I’m sharing today take that technique one step further, into the realm of pixelated projects.

Pod Patrol

I love the look of pixelated quilts. In fact, I had made some in the past, including a pixelated fire truck and pixelated hearts. Once I set my mind to designing a whale quilt for my book, I saw an interesting opportunity to incorporate pixelation: In Pod Patrol, pictured below, I sewed 2.5-inch squares together to create bands of waves. 

I could have randomized the placement of the fabrics in the waves here (and the instructions provide advice on that front), but I really love the diagonal color gradient of these waves. It optimizes the jelly roll I had to work with and creates a fun sense of movement.

When I finished this sample, though, it seemed so very blue. To up the cuteness factor—and provide a splash of color—I gave one of my white whales an appliqued spray of red hearts. I have to admit, I love this last-minute addition so much that I’m tempted to give the second white whale his own heart spray, too!

Jelly roll: Water from Ruby Star Society 

Background fabric: Moda Bella Solids in Smoke

Batting: Warm and White

Finished size: 56.5" x 66.5"

Pieced by Michelle Cain; quilted by Ophelia Chang

Pixelated Herringbone 

Pixelated Herringbone takes strip-pieced pixelation to the extreme. Almost all of this quilt’s 1,280 squares are strip pieced, allowing me to assemble the top in a fraction of the time.

And this design is so versatile. I recently sewed a version by using two blue-grays as the solids that corral the herringbone segments and by pulling the necessary prints from my scrap bin. With all those individual 2.5-inch squares, this approach required more fiddly sewing, but I still managed to strip-piece the solid-color units. I’m sending that project to a longarmer soon and will follow up with a blog post as soon as it’s bound. : )

Because my stash can easily fulfill Pixelated Herringbone’s fabric requirements, and because I can always dive into my bin of 2.5-inch scraps for a fabric pull, I foresee making this project many times in the future.

Jelly roll: Stay Gold by Melody Miller for Ruby Star Society

Accent fabrics: Moda Bella Solids in Mediterranean and Blue Raspberry

Background fabric: Moda Bella Solids in White

Batting: Warm and White

Finished size: 64.5" x 80.5"

Pieced by Michelle Cain; quilted by Ophelia Chang

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