One Inspiration Leads to Another


It began several years ago when a friend and I put together a program for our quilt guild on what to do with scraps. We made a mess of scrap blocks using squares and rectangles. Eventually, it became a popular workshop and after teaching it for a few years, I pitched the idea to my pattern publisher, who was just beginning to publish books. She thought The Thrifty Quilter sounded like a winner, and thank you, it is. (Find out more about it at http://www.sweetgrassdesigns.com/ ).

Then came the 2010 Olympic Winter Games. Here I sat with plastic bins full of squares of fabric, and there was that Vancouver 2010 logo with all of its bright blues and greens, and somewhere between snowboard-cross (my new favorite Olympic sport) and short-track speed-skating, this quilt top was born:

It's the first of three Olympic-inspired tops, actually.

Here's the second:

This one is TQ-able. You like that? It's a term I made up to describe a quilt that can be made using one or more of the six pieces in my Thrifty Quilter system.

Actually, "Power Play" was made with a new tool, designed by Elisa Wilson of Back Porch Designs in Kalispell, MT. It lets you quickly mark, sew and trim up eight 4-1/2" half-square triangle units from two 10" squares. Yes, it is intended for "layer cakes", and can also be used with charm squares. I was able to make the 80 HST's I needed for this quilt in 3 hours!

This is one of two quilt tops I made to test Elisa's Square Me Up ruler. The other is pictured on her blog: http://blog.backporchdesign.com/?p=620

The third olympics-inspired pattern is still in production. I need to collect more red and royal blue 3-1/2" scrap squares before I can finish it. But I'll give you a hint: Norwegian Curling Team!