In between those bigger projects I love to get my hands working on some simple but rewarding quilt projects, so when Sarah Ashford released her most recent book, I knew I would be checking it out!
Let me run through the projects I made and what you can expect to find in Sara Ashford’s new book ‘Jump into Patchwork and Quilting’.
Jump into Patchwork and Quilting by Sarah Ashford
You may have heard of Sarah Ashford, as she is well known in the quilting world, as a pattern and fabric designer author, freelance writer for Today’s Quilter Magazine and The Modern Quilt Guild and of course for her podcast The Great British Quilter.
Sarah’s new book is very much a beginner's book, spending a good deal of time getting you started. You’ll find a handy list of beginner supplies and quilting terminology, plus some useful information on picking fabrics and making your first quilts. It is very easy to read and a great way to introduce a friend or family member (even kids) to the world of patchwork and quilting.
Published by CT Publishing, Jump into Patchwork and Quilting is priced at $14.95 USD for the book and $11.99 for an ebook copy. Very reasonably priced and a great idea for a Christmas gift this year!
If you are a seasoned quilter like me, then I’d still consider getting a copy of this beautiful book, as the simple designs are the perfect palette cleanser between those complicated and intricate designs. The styles are also great for gifting your finished quilts, as you can easily match them to a child’s room, or as a housewarming gift.
Project #1 Lazy Days Log Cabin Quilt
My daughter and two salty friends enjoy the sun as I work on photographing my quilt.
Page 37
Sarah has put her modern spin on one my mom’s favourite traditional blocks, the log cabin. My Lazy Days Log Cabin quilt is destined as a gift for a good friend’s granddaughter. With a sea theme, I decided to use some Mermaid fabric I bought online from The Fabric Curator. It’s called ‘Seaspell’ and it's from the ‘Dear Stella Fabric’ collection. I fussy-cut my mermaids because I wanted to showcase the mermaids without using up all the fabric. The remainder of which is now sitting in my ‘maybe someday grandbaby stash’!
I cut the fabric to use the mermaid, undersea castles and the jellyfish as my central square motifs. Seaspell’s colours are not my usual go-to colour palette, so I was pleasantly surprised to find that I had enough fabric to pull it all together! Two of my kids have said it’s one of their favourites - and they’ve seen more than a few quilts. Sarah’s pattern makes a 48” x 60” finished quilt, mine is a little longer because I added a top and bottom border in the same colour as the bottom edge of the log cabin, making it look like rows running across.
A block with the mermaid as my central motif
I quilted it on my Handi-Quilter Avante with an edge to edge seashell pattern. The digital design is by Deb Geissler, it’s called ‘Deb's Shell’. You can find it for sale at Urban Elementz.
This really was a great project, giving me quick results and helping me dive deep into my stash pile!
The other fabrics I used were;
The pink and peach fabric was from Dashwood Studio
The blue/grey was from Water Girl Quilting Co
The burgundy fish, green fish and pale green dots were from Elizabeth Hartman
The peach dolphins and scales was from Riley Blake
Mystery burgundy binding and blush fabric with white dots were from Mixology Fabric, Camelot Design Studio or Len’s Mill Store
The burgundy and white and peach and white fabrics were from Karen Lewis Textiles and Robert Kaufman Fabrics
White and blue waves was from Wilmington Prints by Laura Marshall
All the other blues were from Mirage Fabric, Alexander Quilts, R J R Fabrics and Missouri Star Quilt Co
Finally, the solid light green was from V Christenson
Project #2 Pretty Patchwork Pillow
My finished cushion.
Page 24
I wanted to make my son Max a pillow to match his Sew Grateful quilt (pictured below). I had his leftover fabric to pick from. I’m not a beginner, so I knew the patchwork part would be a breeze. However, I’ve never made a pillow with the envelope method. Sarah’s instruction on page 26 made it easy.
I used EQ8 to plan this design out, which is a fabulous quilt design software by the way. I think the colour and pattern choice worked well, don’t you?
My EQ8 draft,with Kaffe Fassett and Tula Pink fabric.
The majority of the fabric is from the Kaffe Fassett collection, however, a few batiks and the fabulous fox design is by Chipper - ‘FOX NAP’ by Tula Pink for Free Spirit. The majority you will have seen in a previous quilt I showed here on the blog, as my son’s version of the Sew Grateful Quilt.
My son Max proudly holding up his Sew Grateful Quilt.
I really enjoyed this quick and easy cushion design. It used up plenty of scrap fabrics, but with a really pleasing result.
I took some video while I worked on this project.
To hold my back hem in place I used Quilter’s Choice basting glue, which I always have on hand because it gives me a cleaner line to stitch over than using pins. It works particularly well on smaller projects or for hems as in this project.
The hardest part for me was the machine quilting. I own a longarm and rarely do any quilting on my Janome Skyline. After several attempts with my walking foot, and a few calls to my friend Melissa Marginet, I decided to just go ahead with my regular foot. I followed Sarah’s lead and went diagonally across the squares. I used gold thread because that's what I used on his quilt and it worked perfectly.
Machine quilted in glittering gold.
My final thoughts on the book
If you are looking for an easy to follow quilting and patchwork book, then I can wholeheartedly recommend Sarah Ashford’s Jump into Patchwork and Quilting. It is an easy read and has some very clear instructions, which makes the projects simple to follow and much more likely to be finished and gifted!.
As I said earlier it is perfect for beginners, but if you are a seasoned quilter, then please take a look. I think you’ll find these projects are a great break from the more intricate, headache causing designs we are all working on and will one day finish!