New Pattern - Veggie Quilt!
Hello! It seems like forever since we've had a second to sit down and write to you here! We had a whirlwind of an April at Modern Textiles, but May is upon us and it feels good. I am SO EXCITED to share our newest pattern with you!
The Veggie Quilt pattern has been in the works for what feels like a long time. In reality, I've been plugging away at this guy for a few months, in between other patterns and squeezing it in on the to do list when there was time. The last few weeks I was able to focus in and finish up the last few details so we could debut the pattern and quilt at the Metro Quilt Expo. It was so great to see it all come together at such a wonderful event. And now I get to share it with all of you!!
Last year my daughter and I had our first garden. I've always loved to plant things, but since I had kids (and then mixed in a small business which is like adding at least 3 more kids) I haven't been able to dive into a REAL garden. But last year was the year.
In terms of first year gardens I guess it was a success - we grew a lot of stuff (mostly tomatoes...so many tomatoes!) and learned a lot of lessons. We've got our seedlings growing right now for year 2 and I can hardly wait to get them in the ground and watch them grow. All that to say...the veggie quilt pattern was meant to be and grew from another thing I truly love. I absolutely love it when multiple interests collide into one massive project!
The Veggie Quilt pattern includes instructions for four different vegetable blocks: a tomato, onion, carrot and radish (which could also easily be beets). The blocks are all based off of 2-1/2" squares, which makes this pattern a perfect use for our Accuquilt die cutter which can cut 48 2-1/2" squares at once (available for use in our classroom for just $5 an hour!)
Each veggie can be made from one print for each color, or use a fun variety of prints and tones to create a neat dimension in your quilt. Time to dig into your scrap bins and put them to good use! Sort them by color (maybe press them a little if your scrap bin looks like mine) then bring them in to use our Accuquilt cutter and you'll be ready to start your project with PERFECT 2-1/2" squares. The Accuquilt is super easy to use - we'll even give you a little lesson before you get started.
Guess what? Photographing quilts on a windy day is hard!!
The Veggie Quilt pattern includes three layouts. The veggie quilt is 58" x 70" which would be a perfect throw or picnic quilt size! It includes multiple blocks of each vegetable.
The Radish Table Runner is 19" x 38-1/2" and features 4 radish blocks in a row. The radish was the first block I designed for this pattern and will always be my favorite. (Radishes are my favorite thing to plant because you get to pick them so fast! It's almost like instant gratification gardening.)
The Carrot Table Runner has two carrot blocks facing the opposite way and is longer and narrower than the Radish Table Runner, measuring in at 12" x 42". Which I think makes it super functional since it leaves you room to actually eat at your table without moving the runner!
Of course the layout possibilities are endless though! A tomato block all on it's own is 8-1/2" square which is perfect for a pot holder. And any one of the blocks would make an adorable wall hanging. Once you've worked through the pattern I think you will find that the block sizes work well together, making them easy to mix and match in your own layout.
I personally have a few more layout varieties that I can't wait to try. I'll be sure to share them here on the blog, so watch for more veggie goodness in the future!
The sun shining through the quilt (which still has yet to be quilted) is such a fun effect, isn't it?
We hope you love our veggies as much as we do! To help you out, we've made kits for each of the projects included in the pattern. And just because we LOVE you so much, we cut all the 2-1/2" squares for you!! You'll be all set to dive into your project. We hope you stop in the shop to see our full veggie display and to pick up a pattern or a kit. Or come and cut your own kit! The Accuquilt is available for use in the classroom during normal business hours whenever there isn't a class. Check our class calendar here to verify the schedule.
Have you noticed our little gardening theme with our Spring series of patterns? In case you've missed some, here's a run down of the latest Modern Textiles Originals!
The Around the Kitchen pattern features a paper pieced aloe plant, jars and books arranged perfectly on your kitchen shelves. Is there anything better than arranging your freshly canned goods after all that hard work! We hope making this project gives you that same awesome feeling!!
The Carrot Zipper Pouch and Baby Bunnies are so cute and so easy to make! The perfect gift for the gardener in your life (although I doubt they will let the bunnies out of the pouch)!
Our plant cozies have been so fun to make and gift! We've made a little kit from this tutorial too, stop in the shop to see our cute buckets and fabric combos.
The Flower Garden Mini is an eye catcher! This gorgeous wall hanging is the perfect way to bring the feeling of nature into your home. And a great way to practice quilting on a small project.
We hope you've enjoyed merging gardening and sewing as much as we have. And keep an eye out! We just might have one or two more projects up our sleeves.
Happy Sewing!
Roxanne