Thursday, August 24, 2017

Piece and Quilt with Precuts Blog Hop - Morse Code - My Version of Dot 'n' Dash

Christa Watson, a good quilting friend of mine, just launched her 3rd book called Piece and Quilt with Precuts: 11 Quilts, 18 Machine-Quilting Designs, Start-to-Finish Success. (affiliate link)  I love Christa's books in that they take you all the way from fabric selection, through the quilt top making process, and through the quilting process too.  It is a pattern book and a quilting book in one!



Christa sent me a copy of the book and I chose to remake the Dot 'n' Dash quilt pattern with a little twist in the fabric selection and size.  Here is the book version of Dot 'n' Dash, a lap sized quilt.

Photography courtesy of Martingale/That Patchwork Place

The Dot 'n' Dash pattern is written for jelly rolls (which makes for a very speedy quilt top). I did not have a jelly roll that I wanted to use, but I had this wonderful print from Anna Maria Horner that I did not know what to do with. The print is Crossing Paths from the Lou Lou Thi Needleworks collection and it is a 58" wide quilting cotton with stripes running from selvedge to selvedge with cross-stitch patterns on them.

Instead of cutting the fabric the traditional way (selvedge to selvedge), I cut the Crossing Paths fabric along the length of the fabric so each of my pieces contained different colored stripes.  It gave the look of improv sewing a bunch of fabrics together with much less work.  I actually made the entire quilt (top, binding, and backing) with only this print and some white background fabric! I thought it was a neat touch to have the backing show what the fabric looked like before it was chopped up. 


I changed the number of blocks in the quilt to bring it down to a baby size. I am always needing baby quilts as gifts so it is good to have one finished in case I need one in a hurry.  My version finished at about 40" x 48".


The quilt top came together very quickly and easily and soon it was time to bast and quilt.  I quilted using the continuous stipple design from the book (shown on the Windows quilt in Piece and Quilt with Precuts).  Stippling is one of my favorite quilting designs, it gives great texture and is very quick.  


With so much white, I would have typically gone with a white thread, but to add just a hint of color, I used really light pink Aurifil thread in 50 wt. for the quilting.


I really enjoyed Christa's book, especially how it combined great looking quilt designs, easy to follow instructions, and inspirational quilting designs.  You can pick up a copy of Christa's book over on Amazon by clicking here (affiliate link) or buy a signed copy in Christa's store.

Follow along with the hop - There are multiple quilters showing different versions of each of the book patterns over the course of the hop, you find a listing of all the different posts over on Christa's blog.






44 comments:

  1. I have some of that fabric, and this is a unique way to use it. Thanks.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Lovely! I've often wondered what to do with stripes that go across the grain as they rather dictate the width of the strips I'd be able to cut. You have hit on a brilliant idea by, somewhat unconventionally in quilters' land(!), cutting WITH the grain. It's given a wonderful variation in the pieces. Hoorah for being unconventional! I have to try it too!

    ReplyDelete
  3. I really like your choice of cutting the fabric to show stripes in each piece. Very different and it works so well for this quilt!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Love this pattern and your selection of fabrics!!!

    ReplyDelete
  5. wow - this turned out so amazing!! Such a clever way to use that fabric :-)

    ReplyDelete
  6. this is a lovely quilt. I love that it came together so quickly
    quilting dash lady at Comcast dot net

    ReplyDelete
  7. A quilt with great eye appeal and a perfect pattern for jelly rolls.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Great job, making the strip go to work for you! Well done!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Very cool! The fabrics make it look as if there are multiple pieces sewn together to make those strips - it's a neat illusion.

    ReplyDelete
  10. I love how your version came out. That fabric you used really works well and gives the look of patchwork with less work, like you said. Neat idea!

    ReplyDelete
  11. I really like how the quilt turned out. Great color choice.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Great idea-cutting across the length! Why haven't I thought of that?!

    ReplyDelete
  13. This is an amazing quilt and it is so neat that you only used 2 fabrics to create / piece it! The pink thread is a subtle touch.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Hey this is beautiful!!! Thank you so much for using my fabric collection Manderley! I love this so much!

    ReplyDelete
  15. Gorgeous quilt - I really love your fabric choices!

    ReplyDelete
  16. Thanks for sharing especially around choice of thread for quilting.

    ReplyDelete
  17. I love the book version bc it looks like candy and happy.
    I love your version because it looks modern and artistic

    ReplyDelete
  18. *Wow!*. What a creative way to use that fabric!!
    ... And what a *wonderful!* baby quilt!!
    I love the modern but complex look you got, with such an elegantly simple cutting plan!
    It works so perfectly with Christa's great pattern!
    Thank you for the inspiration, Cheryl!!
    Pat T.

    ReplyDelete
  19. This quilt is wonderful for using up a stash of fabrics. Your fabric choice has motivated me, thanks. Christa's patterns and quilting ideas are just what I need.
    djcutting2(at)gmail(dot)com

    ReplyDelete
  20. Great quilt! Would have never thought to use pink thread for the quilting. Looks good.

    ReplyDelete
  21. I love how the dark fabrics make it pop!

    ReplyDelete
  22. Great pattern and great use of that unique fabric.

    ReplyDelete
  23. What a great use of this fabric! Well done!!

    ReplyDelete
  24. Beautiful fabrics and beautiful quilt!!

    ReplyDelete
  25. What a clever idea to use the fabric you did! Your quilt turned out great! Thanks for sharing.

    ReplyDelete
  26. Wow! That is a great way to use your striped fabric! It looks great. Thanks for sharing.

    ReplyDelete
  27. What a great way to use up a piece that doesn't seem to fit anywhere else. Congrats on a fun finish!

    ReplyDelete
  28. That is genius (what you've done with that fabric!). You are my hero! Fabric like that can be hard to use, but you made it look easy.

    ReplyDelete
  29. I love how you were able to use the fabric, what a great idea.

    ReplyDelete
  30. What a creative way to use your fabric. It turned out great!

    ReplyDelete
  31. Great quilt Cheryl! I love the way you've used that don't know what to do with it fabric to great effect. I have fabric like that - could be the perfect use for it!

    ReplyDelete
  32. Now, that's thinking! Looks great, too! So does the book!

    ReplyDelete
  33. Love this quilt! Beautiful fabrics! This looks so different in darker colors. Lovely.

    ReplyDelete
  34. Your version of the Dot n' Dash turned out so cute! What a great choice of fabric and the pink thread for the quilting! Such a fun and fast finish!

    ReplyDelete
  35. I love your version of this quilt and the use of the fabric! So much fun to figure out an alternate way to use a fabric. I just love it.

    ReplyDelete
  36. This would be a fun quilt to make ! I love it! tks

    ReplyDelete
  37. Great info. Lucky me I discovered your website by accident (stumbleupon).
    I have bookmarked it for later!

    ReplyDelete
  38. Saved as a favorite, I love your web site!

    ReplyDelete
  39. Thanks on your marvelous posting! I genuinely enjoyed reading
    it, you might be a great author.I will always bookmark your blog and may come back sometime soon. I want
    to encourage you continue your great posts, have a nice day!

    ReplyDelete

Thanks so much for taking the time to leave a comment!