Skip to main content

Ombré Dot Birthday Quilt

By Alisa

I started this quilt in 2019 and worked on it off and on through the lockdown of 2020.  My quilt was inspired by the Brickyard Quilt tutorial by Missouri Star Quilt Company.  The Missouri Star quilt was made with a white background and I wanted to flip it to black; but I did use the lovely Ombré Confetti New Colors Metallic Jelly Roll by V. & Co for Moda Fabric that they demonstrated. The jelly roll is no longer available, but there are lots of “Ombré Confetti” yardage options available.

The blocks are cut from longer strip sets made up of six jelly roll strips. Because the fabric is ombré with a big variation you’ll get several blocks with the same color family but no two blocks are exactly the same. 

The pattern calls for two of the block corners to have a background triangle added. I didn’t add the corners because I noticed that my blocks were dramatically different sizes. I didn’t square them up after the initial cut from the strip sets -- that might have been the problem. Once the corners were snowballed, it was just too hard to get a common size so I skipped that step, and moved forward with the original blocks.  

I took a break from this quilt several times during the year and finally got it together and committed to making the blocks work. I tried a bunch of layout options before arriving at this one. 

After assembling the top I added an inner border made from leftover black jelly roll strips.

I had purchased two colors  -- onyx and graphite grey -- of the Ombré Confetti yardage along with the  jelly roll; I decided to piece the black together for the back and miter the grey to give the border a dimensional look.

I had the top quilted at a local long-armer in an all-over pattern of circles.

My binding professional -- my mom! -- added the binding in the grey ombré.  I made a quick cover from the remaining onyx ombré yardage and, after a year of work, gave it to a good friend for her January 2021 birthday.




 

Comments

Cathy said…
Absolutely beautiful!
Katie McGrath said…
Great job! The black strips really make the block colors pop.

Popular posts from this blog

Notes on Purl Soho Cross-back Apron pattern

Purl Soho Cross-back Apron, regular sized,  front view Purl Soho Cross-back Apron, regular sized,   back view by Linda Theil This is the Purl Soho Cross-back Apron featured on their website at  https://www.purlsoho.com/create/2015/11/20/cross-back-apron . Their page includes complete directions for making this one-size-fits-most apron with large, side-pockets and cross-back straps. This retro apron is so nicely made and looks so much like the apron my grandma wore in the Nineteen-fifties that I had to make one for my friend who appreciates the nostalgia and the beauty of this design. Although this apron pattern, as published, can adjust to several sizes from 2-10; I also made a larger option, adjusting the width of the pattern pieces to accommodate up to size 16 and up. Size adjustment may also be made by varying the length of the straps. These notes are a record of my experience with the pattern, and should only be viewed as...

Sujata Shah's no-template piecing

16-inch, four-patch "pinwheel" block designed by Sujata Shah, pieced by Linda Theil 2016 Fabrics:  Sturbridge line by Kathy Schmitz for Moda and Daily Zen line by Michael D'Amore for Benartex. I attended quilt artist Sujata Shah's "Pinwheel" class sponsored by the Greater Ann Arbor Quilt Guild  at Washtenaw Community College in Ann Arbor  on July 17, 2016. Shah is inspired by the work of Gee's Bend quilters and has developed a no-template method of piecing to emulate their unstructured designs. Shah's book, Cultural Fusion Quilts , is available at Amazon.com.  Shah's uses four 11-inch squares to make each block, but she said a quilter could use any size base they choose. Since I had a package of precut 10-inch squares in the "Sturbridge" design by Kathy Schmitz for Moda, I based my block on that size. We were instructed to bring a variety of backgrounds in one color and brights in another color. Since I signed up late for ...

Notebook cover from Arabesque

by Linda Theil I just finished making the "Crafted Life Companion" notebook-cover designed by Australian Ali Phillips of Arabesque Scissors . I've made several of Phillips' patterns and have come to experience Phillips as creating at the same stratospheric level as English designer Diane Spencer Ogg for brilliant design innovation and attention to minute specificity in their patterns. Both creators are also highly professional and skilled presenters in their step-by-step demonstration videos for every design. Please see Phillips' video at the end of this post. The Arabesque notebook cover is designed to fit an A5 notebook size, and includes a sleeve for notepads up to 4 x 8-inches. Other pocket options are included in the pattern -- most of which I left out in my first version. I did take advantage of a marvelously useful innovation Phillips provided: a beautifully designed "coloring page" that helped enormously to keep all my pattern pieces organized....