There's a Square in There

I love the look of improvisational quilting, but I also like quilts that are quick to cut and put together ... so I designed "There's a Square in There". It uses a stack and slash method so there is no cutting of individual strips, and it still has that improv look that I like so much. It takes 8 fat quarters and a whole heap of white fabric. I used Max New's fabric - Sweet Daze - gorgeous blues, greens, browns and pinks.

I also inserted little strips of solid colour in random places just to make it a little bit more interesting.

I hand quilted it using Perle Cotton No. 8 in random sized squares all over the quilt. I used masking tape to mark out the squares and then quilted on the inside and outside of the tape. I got this great idea from Material Obsession. Kathy and her team are always full of creative ideas.

I love the pieced back almost as much as the front. I didn't include instructions for the back in the pattern because it was already 11 pages long (free pattern for the quilt back available here), but I did include instructions to make a matching baby quilt which I will show you later.

I bound it with Max New's brown backing fabric as I had quite a bit left over (I love using left overs - must be from growing up in a house with 7 children) and I think a dark binding frames it quite well.

And here's some shots of what is really going on!!

Between my husband taking the shots and me being bossy director there's only so long you can hold back the kiddies.

This pattern is available from the stockist list on my sidebar. Alternatively you can download the pattern instantly for AU$10 (approx US$9). It contains 11 pages of full colour step by step diagrams and photos to make the quilt top as well as a bonus baby quilt.

You can also download the pattern for the pieced back here.