Low Volume Sixteen Patch Quilt

Seems like most quilters have a few quilt stories about sewing during the Covid-19 epidemic. This quilt is one of mine! (If you are interested in Covid-19 sewing, see my post from June 11, 2020 about a quilt made with scraps from sewing face masks).

I saw this pattern, “Chamomile” by Allison Jensen, woodberryway.com, on a Facebook live sale. It looked so cute, so I popped into my shopping cart.

I had a low volume* 2 1/2 inch strip roll and knew this was the perfect pattern for this fabric. I had yardage of a few others which I added, cutting them into strips too. I got right to work and sewed the 16 patch units, and the little 9 patch cornerstones. Then I looked at all those 1 1/2 inch strips of fabric which needed to be sewn together to create the sashing. And the wind went right out of my sails. Wooft.

I just could not get myself to sew all those fussy little strips together after sewing face masks. I packed all the fabrics and the blocks I’d completed into a project box and buried at the bottom of my stack of projects. I didn’t take it to the attic….it stayed out where I could be reminded of its existence.

Well, it took me almost a year, but I did finally get back to it. And really, the sewing wasn’t all that fussy. On the other hand, we’re not sewing face masks anymore!

So here it is. It is really a sweet quilt. There is a pink and cream striped fabric on the back which I picked up for a song at fabric sale our guild had recently.

A done deal? Um, no. The pattern calls yardage in fat quarters or fat eighths and I had a 2 1/2 inch roll. Somehow my quilt match failed me and I have still another 20 identical 16 patch blocks that still need to be made into a quilt. I don’t have enough of the soft teal or peach solid fabrics left to make another quilt that is just the same. But why would I want to do that anyway?

So, I have my eye out for a striped fabric in a different colorway that might create a similar look with less work. I am curious to see what, and when, that will happen!

I also had some strip sets that were off-cuts from the sashing strips on this quilt that were too short to use anywhere in this quilt. Look back to see my post from April 28, 2022 of the doll quilt I made using these strips and a swatch of fabric from spoonflower.com.

*Low volume fabrics have white or pastel backgrounds with very light printed surface designs.

Bear Paw Modern Low Volume Quilt: "Bears in the Meadow"

Here's my completed "Bears in the Meadow" low volume quilt with a modern setting using the classic Bears Paw block. I love how the bear paws are wandering to and fro off the margins of the quilt!

Along with swirls and several tiny hearts, there are 16 bears done with free motion quilting. (See my last post).  I initially thought I'd only stitch 5 or 6 bears into the quilting but I had so much fun that there are 16! You have to really look hard to find them! Even my count might not be accurate!

The quilt backing is a flower print with a large block of bear fabric in the middle. So, it's bears all round!!

I did try to get a photo of the quilt in a meadow but because the quilt is so large, that turned out to be rather difficult. Here is my best shot, taken from the top of the slide in my neighborhood playground!

in dappled sunlight in the park.

This quilt is so me!  It's a keeper!

Floral Latte Quilt Finished!

I hope everyone in the US enjoyed Thanksgiving Day with your families yesterday!

This seems like a good day to show one of the quilts I just finished. This is Floral Latte, a low volume Plus Sign quilt. The design is my own.

It has a wool batting--the quilt is light, soft and has lovely loft.  I like my wool quilts to puff so there is a minimal amount of quilting. It's a warm has having a Springer Spaniel on your lap--only less wiggly!

"Floral Latte"--Low Volume Plus Sign Quilt Top

Here is my "Floral Latte", low volume plus sign quilt design, finished top.

"Disruption" in pattern to create more interest has been my theme this fall. In this quilt the disruption is in the 3rd vertical column of block from the left. All the blocks in the horizontal rows are the same block. But in the 3 vertical row, it's the opposite block.

I also added the narrow orchid strip and a plain border just on the left side of the quilt.

I tried out lots of various layouts on my design wall--but this is the layout that I found the most interesting and the most pleasing!

I left the background in the photo this time--I like how the autumn color in the trees and the leaves on the ground compliment this quilt!

And speaking of compliments...a shout out to my friend Suzanne for giving me the inspiration for this quilt's name!  Thanks!

Low Volume Plus Sign Quilt in Progress

I'm zipping right along with the Low Volume Floral Plus Sign Quilt!

As shown above, there was a near catastrophe on the design wall when two of the dogs decided to wrestle right in front of my quilt! Fortunately I moved the excitement to another room in time!!  (Though for the record, I did have a back up photo of my design).