Easter quilt

By Spotlight

Talented quilter, Fran Rourke, works at Spotlight’s Fountain Gate store in Victoria. She made her first quilt three years ago while demonstrating machines in-store & since then, has shown great flair for the form. An all-round queen of craft, Fran is also a skilled mohair bear maker, bag designer, embroider & more. She likes this easy 9-patch quilt because it does not rely on seasonal fabrics. A lover of colour & known for her brights, Fran enjoyed working with a softer palette for this exclusive ‘get creative’ project.

Final Result

Materials

• 30cm pink dot fabric
• 30cm blue dot fabric
• 30cm lime dot fabric
• 30cm lilac dot fabric
• 25cm pink homespun
• 25cm blue homespun
• 25cm lime homespun
• 25cm lilac homespun
• 1m white homespun
• 3.2m co-ordinating fabric for outer border & backing
• 150cm x 170cm batting
• 3-4m assorted rickrack (blue, pink, lilac, lime) or embellishments of choice
• 75cm vliesofix
• matching Gütermann cotton thread
• sharp scissors
• rotary cutter, mat and quilters rulers
• quilting pins, tape measure
• scissors, seam ripper
• hand needle
• sewing machine with ¼” foot and walking foot
• optional - cardboard for egg template

Step 1

Cutting
All strips are cut across the width of fabric unless otherwise stated.

• From pink dot fabric cut 2 x 3½” strips, crosscut into 15 x 3½” squares.

• From blue dot fabric cut 2 x 3½” strips, crosscut into 15 x 3½” squares.

• From lilac dot fabric cut 1 x 3½” strip, crosscut into 10 x 3½” squares.

• From lime dot fabric cut 1 x 3½” strip, crosscut into 10 x 3½” squares.

• From white homespun cut - 3 x 9½” strips, crosscut into 10 x 9½” squares, then from the remainder of the 3 strips cut 16 x 3½” squares; cut 3 x 3½” strips, crosscut into 24 x 3½” squares for a total of 40 x 3½” squares.

• From each colour of homespun cut 5 x 1½” strips, crosscut each into 2 x 11½” strips and 2 x 9½” strips.

• From lilac/lime dot fabric cut 5 x 2¼” strips for binding.

• From border/backing fabric remove the selvedges and cut 2 x 3” strips lengthways then cut into 2 x 61” and 2 x 44” lengths for borders.

Step 2

Eggs
Draw an egg shape (approx 4” x 5½”) onto the cardboard and cut out to use as a template. Using the template, trace 8 egg shapes onto the paper side of the vliesofix and roughly cut out the shapes leaving 2-3cm extra around the edges. Iron the vliesofix eggs onto the wrong side of the dot fabrics - 2 pink, 2 blue, 3 lilac and 3 lime. Cut out each egg on the drawn line. Remove paper backing and stitch rickrack trims onto the eggs. Iron each egg onto 9½” white homespun square (10 blocks). Optional - machine stitch around the eggs using a satin stitch, blanket stitch, zigzag or other decorative stitch. Alternatively, hand stitch around the edges.

Step 3

9-patch blocks
Following the diagram arrange the 3½” dot and the 3½” white homespun squares in block design as shown in the diagram. Sew the squares together in each row, pressing the seams towards the dot squares. Sew rows together carefully matching seams. Seams should butt together easily if seams were pressed towards the dot squares.

Step 4

Framing the blocks
Stitch a 9½” x 1½” corresponding coloured homespun strip to the top and bottom edge each block. Press seams towards strip. Stitch an 11½” x 1½” of same coloured homespun strip to the sides of each block, pressing seams towards strip.

Step 5

Quilt top
Arrange blocks in 5 rows of 4 as shown in the picture. Sew blocks together in rows then sew the rows together.

Step 6

Borders
Sew the 44” x 3” borders to the top and bottom of the quilt, press. Sew the 61” x 3” borders to the sides of the quilt, press.

Step 7

Finishing
Join fabric for backing. Layer backing, batting and quilt top, baste together. Quilt as desired or stitch in the ditch and diagonally quilt the 9-patch blocks. Join strips for binding, press in half lengthways and bind the quilt. Sign and date your quilt or attach a label.

Note

All fabrics should be 100% cotton, washed & pressed. ¼” seam allowance used throughout unless otherwise indicated. Read all instructions carefully before commencing the quilt.

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