Quick Quilts from Simple Quilt Block Designs – Quilting Daily
The Slow Quilting Movement, led by Mark Lipinski, has taken hold, and many fiber artists have joined in. I agree: There is something deeply satisfying about taking one’s time to work on a project that will honor the art and the maker, and last a lifetime.
On the other hand, there is something to be said for finishing a quilt.
Siobhan Rogers, an Australian quilt designer and popular quilt teacher, noticed that many of her students want to create dazzling quilts from fabulous fabrics, but are “time-poor.”
So she wrote a book that focuses on designs using repeats of a single quilt block, simplifying the construction process: By the Block: 18 Surprisingly Simple Quilts. Like a lot of modern quilt designs, the ones in the book take traditional quilt blocks and blow them up, repeat them in non-traditional ways, or float them in an expanse of solid fabric.
“One of the best ways to achieve a complex looking quilt that comes together quickly is to work on a large scale,” writes Siobhan.
Take, for example, Siobhan’s ‘Polaroid’ quilt, inspired by the 1970s and ’80s-era instant photos. The quilt blocks are essentially four-patches surrounded by sashing. Each block measures 14″ square, and the entire quilt is only 34″ x 45″.
Throughout the book, Siobhan offers “Time-saver” tips on design and construction, from keeping your ironing surface near your sewing machine for quick pressing trips and using jelly roll strips to make a fast but interesting binding.
By the Block is a terrific book for beginning quilters who know the basics and want to create fast but sophisticated designs and for intermediate quilters who can use Siobhan’s easy quilt block patterns as springboards for creating their own designs.
P.S. What’s your best time-saving quilting tip? Leave your comment below.
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