Nautical Economy Blocks

If you spend any time on instagram you know that, a while back Red Pepper Quilts posted a tutorial for the Economy Block. Initially I wasn't sold on the block. It's great for fussy cutting and "I don't really have a lot of novelty fabrics" is what I thought.

Then I was organizing my fabrics I realized that I have a ton of novelty fabrics and they are all one theme. Surprise surprise. Nautical!

So this project became a leader/ender project that I've been working on for many months.

These are fun little blocks, but you do need a LOT of them to wind up with a quilt of any size. I kept thinking I had plenty only to find my quilt was more the size of a doormat.

Ultimately, I think this will make a great I-Spy quilt for a kid. It would also be great for baby tummy time! 

I also backed this one in flannel for a little extra warmth and snuggle factor.

Quilt stats:

Size: 40"x50"

Pattern: Economy Block

Fabrics: Mix of scraps and stash

Quilted by: Myself

Finished: 1/20/15

Chopsticks Finished

This pattern is one of the greats. It's called Chopsticks and is by Jaybird Quilts. Why do I say it's a great pattern? For one thing, Julie always makes her patterns so easy to follow with great diagrams. There is no 'trying to figure it out'. It's so easy! The other reason is that if you do a google search for this pattern you will see it in so many colors. You can't go wrong, all fabrics look great with this pattern!!

Mine was made with Joel Dewberry's Bungalow. I fell in love with this line immediately and knew I needed to make something just for me!

Of course when I was laying it out to baste it, both my kids wanted to lay claim to it!  I think my daughter may have wanted it for the backing. I used flannel on this one and the color screams Anna from Frozen (at least to me!).

You can really see my straight line quilting on the back with that flannel. What I wound up doing was dividing the triangle into equal parts and then stitching a quarter inch from the edges. I think it gave it a nice texture.

I used up my scraps for a scrappy binding.

I will definitely be making another Chopsticks!

Quilt stats:

Size: 49" x60"

Pattern: Chopsticks by Jaybird Quilts

Fabrics: Bungalow

Quilted by: Myself

Finished: 1/25/15