McCalls Quick Quilts + Fast Fun Flannel

Autumn has arrived in Portland, Oregon! The leaves are starting to turn, it is cold in the morning and it is getting dark earlier. This is my favorite time of the year. I love the light, the colors and the transition. What is your favorite season?

I am also happy to celebrate fall with the publication of my quilt design, Fast Fun Flannel, for McCall's Quick Quilts October/November 2012 issue.

And guess who quilted it? The fab Nancy Stoval of Just Quilting! When I asked her to work with me on the project with a super tight deadline she rose to the occasion. McCall's is offering this as a kit, which is so awesome!

This opportunity came about last January when I met Judy Livingston at a PMQG meeting. She told me they were always looking for folks to create designs using their fabrics and I jumped at the chance to give it a try. I worked with several collections, the first project I designed for them was a winter themed quilt called Snowball Frost. They have this as a free download on their website. After that they gave me a challenge of working with a new Maywood Studio flannel collection called Flowers of The Forest. The colors felt very early-fallish to me, and I started to play around with some compositions. I liked the idea of playing with a traditional basket weave block and thought the heavier weight of the flannel would lend itself nicely to this technique. I added my twist, using shades of light and dark and a black floral to create depth. As I started to sew it I realized it reminded me of the green cherry tomato baskets from my childhood that I used to collect from my grandmother and take home and weave ribbons through!

I am super proud of this design, and am happy that it is going to live with my sister-in-law Kim. Let me know if you make this quilt. I'd love to see your version!