Monday, March 11, 2019

A Most Versatile Pattern

Happy Monday Guys!

Have any of you been participating in Instagram Quilt Fest (#igquiltfest) this year?  This is my first year participating, and it has been so much fun!  I love seeing everyone's personality come through in sharing their version of the prompts.  It's been a great way for me to learn about new-to-me quilters as well and help jump back into the amazing community of quilters we have out there.

This week I'd like to talk about a quilt pattern that I find myself making over and over again.  I actually showed a quilt made with this pattern a few weeks ago, but I have some more examples I'd like to share today. 

I love this quilt, because it's the perfect "gift" size; great for snuggling on the couch, using at the office, or even for a baby.  Also, it works great with feature fabric and large scale prints that have been so popular in recent years.

The pattern is "Girls Best Friend" by Mountainpeek Creations (found here).  I never felt like the quilt on the cover of the pattern did the pattern any justice, as almost every quilt I've seen made from this has been more attractive (in my opinion) than the cover quilt.  However, that could just be the photography, which can sometimes be difficult on quilts that don't have a ton of contrast in the piecing.

I'm glad I gave it a chance while working at Quilts Plus, in Kalamazoo MI, because this quickly became one of my go-to patterns and most made design.

Here is the first one I made (9 years ago already!) while working at Quilts Plus:

I loved the softness of the blue and green in this quilt (try and ignore my icky orange carpet), and to this day this is one of my favorite quilts to leave out in my living room.  One way I like to manipulate this pattern is to use a different fabric for the 4 corner blocks.  The pattern calls for this fabric to be the same as the center and border, but I always felt that it made the other blocks look they were floating weirdly in the middle of the focus fabric.  Changing the fabric layout a little bit helps me feel like the piecing is more intentional.

Another example I'd like to show is a quilt I actually have for sale in my Etsy shop right now:


I love that each one of these quilts is so different thanks to just a fabric change!  I have seen many others make this quilt and they always turn out great!

What about you guys?  Do any of you have a favorite quilt pattern that you've made multiple times?  What pattern is your favorite and why?

Until next time!
Cristina
The Quilted Mitten