Allotrope Pillow & Block Tutorial

Allotrope pillow
Once upon a time, a long long time ago, Mark Cesarik sent me a nice little package with charms of his Cosmic Burst line.  I had best intentions of whipping up a project with them before baby came back in the spring.  My pregnancy got complicated at the end and so, these poor little charms sat neglected.

UNTIL....inspiration struck!  And you know what?  Boy, am I glad I waited.  These colors are just screaming out with energy.  Sometimes the right fabrics and design just fall into place, you know?  That's how this block felt for me.

allotrope pillow side view
I turned this block I'm calling Allotrope into a pillow.  I'm gifting it this Christmas.  Perfect for a little girl.
allotrope pillow back
I used the Cosmic Burst charms and paired it with Kate Spain's Terrain.  It was a surprising pairing for me, but I am really digging how they look together.  I straight line quilted it pretty tight - something I don't normally have the patience for.  I think it adds some nice dimension here.
allotrope pillow close up
I also piped it using my Pillow Piping tutorial with colorful Terrain print.

What a difference from the original sketch I had for Allotrope with blues!
allotrope eq sketch
If you'd like to make your own Allotrope block, I've provided Allotrope templates for you.  I only used the templates for the corners though.  All the center squares are 2.5" unfinished squares sewn together to make an on-point block.  This makes a 12" block.

(I added a white border on the pillow to make a 15" square.)

{betty dress} quilt block pattern

Here is my latest mini.  Is it vintage yet modern?  I am so happy with how it came out.    The background print contains vintage ads/logos for sewing notions and trimmings.  I immediately had this curvy paper pieced dress in mind when reading the text.  So I drafted up a 10" block featuring this ladies dress to feed my paper piecing addiction yet again.
Look at those curves!  Although the skirt is only solid green, I visually wanted to add a pleat or dart look.  The skirt is paper pieced in four sections to add the visual interest.  Then I added the scalloped quilting down the skirt using the pleats as guidelines.  These were the first curves I've actually ever pieced myself.  It's not nearly as difficult as I thought it would be.  I tried it first on a test block before using my real fabrics.

 As I've mentioned before, I am focusing on smaller projects and building my confidence in FMQ and other skills.  The scallops and the loops in the border were an experiment.  I like the effect of those loops on the solid border.  The grey color adds some modernness to the otherwise vintage feel.

Here is the paper pieced block standing alone without the border.

I've made the {betty dress} block up into a pattern if you'd like to try it yourself.  You can get it in on Craftsy.
The {betty dress} is a PDF pattern.  The finished block measures 10" square.  The pattern includes written instructions, a diagram of the block, and mirror image pattern pieces.  This pattern does not teach you how to paper piece.  {betty dress} is an intermediate level pattern.  There are 2 curves and 2 y-seams.  This block is a great place to try out these techniques!

 I'd love to see your version if you make one!

Water Pitcher #4 Block Pattern & GiveAway

Here is the fourth (and final!) water pitcher in the series of paper pieced blocks.  Woo hoo!  A classic two-toned water pitcher and basin. 
 What fun it has been designing these.  I like that these blocks feel a little different in that I've used color in the background to create the shapes of the pitchers.  Of course, I'd love to see some different color pitchers on low volume backgrounds too.


Water Pitcher #4 is a PDF pattern.  The finished block measures 12" square.  The pattern includes written instructions, a diagram of the block, and mirror image pattern pieces.  This pattern does not teach you how to paper piece.  Water Pitcher #4 is an advanced beginner level pattern.

water pitcher block patterns are available here
water pitcher #2 is a FREE download available only at Craftsy here (FREE!)

Here are all the blocks in the series.

Next I will start working on a small wall hanging sized quilt to display all the blocks in. 

Do you have a favorite?

Would you like a chance to win your choice of the water pitcher patterns?  I am giving away SIX copies of water pitcher block patterns.  The winner gets to choose which pattern they receive.

Here's how to enter:

1.  Tell me which one you would pick if you won.  (1 entry)

2.  Become a follower of GXQ (or let me know if you already are one).  (1 entry)

3.  Tweet or Facebook this giveaway.  Include @genxquilters in your post. (1 entry)

Leave a separate comment for each entry on this post.  Entries will be accepted until Monday, October 22, 2012 at 11:59 pm EST.

The winner will be chosen by Random Number Generator and announced on Tuesday, October 23, 2012.
This giveaway is now closed.
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water pitcher block patterns are available here
water pitcher #2 is a FREE download available only at Craftsy here (FREE!)