This post is part of the Tula Pink Sew Along!
Today’s post is from Colleen of The Busy Bean. Besides having a cute accessories shop, Colleen also has all of her finished quilts up on her blog as well as some fun tutorials. Check it out!!
I chose to make the Shattered Glass quilt from Tula’s book. I really liked the semi-scrappy, sort of ordered look to it. I know, scrappy but ordered? Yes indeed.
The first thing I will say is that her fabric measurements were spot on. Sometimes pattern writers go crazy overboard with fabric… so you go out and buy it and are really mad at the end when you have all sorts of extra fabric. Not this quilt. The only thing I bought was the background fabric, I worked with my scrap bins for the rest. But I didn’t end up with yards of extra background fabric, and I appreciate that.
This pattern finishes at 54″ x 72″ which is a little small for my taste in throws, so I modified it to add an extra row of blocks and finish at 72″ x 72″ – perfect for snuggling under while watching a movie on the couch. Since I was making the quilt for my brother-in-law’s wedding gift, I really wanted to make it big enough for two. It was easy to modify since Tula gives you a recipe for each block – so I could quickly do the math and figure out how many more squares to cut. And while I was at it, I just cut enough for two extra blocks. The 18″ x 24″ block size made it easy to fold in half and make coordinating throw pillows for a bridal shower gift.
It’s a simple stitch and flip concept, but I really think the different sizes of squares and triangles in each block make it a lot of fun to make. Each block is laid out the same with the background rectangles, but they all look so different because of the different size triangles. One of her tips for new quilters is to save the half-square triangles you cut off and piece them together to create something else. I already do this – I sew down the sides and throw them in a big Pyrex bowl to piece whenever I get the chance. For this quilt, I grabbed the biggest HST units that were leftover and made a row of pinwheels for the back.
Overall, this is a pretty simple quilt to put together. It’s triangles, which can be a little scary for your first quilt, but once you try them you realize they’re not so hard after all. And Tula does a great job at the beginning of the book explaining the basics of how to make them, how to make them, how to choose fabrics, and how to finish your quilt. I’d say a confident beginner should have no problem with this quilt.
This is super nice with a gray background Colleen.
Oh this is my new favourite!
I like the bits of color with all the neutral!
This is the pattern I was considering doing from her book, was looking forward to see a different version of it. I’m still not sure of course!
Fun, love the scrappiness