Hi, I’m Jenna from SewHappyGeek. I’m an American living and crafting happily in the UK. Early in 2011, I bought 22 FQs of Tula Pink’s Prince Charming line. They sat in a drawer for all these months, mostly because I hadn’t designed a quilt that I thought would adequately do justice to them. I just couldn’t figure out what to make, and so they came to occupy a mythical status in my stash. (Surely I am not the only quilter to develop this problem?!) Yet I wanted to use the fabric because it wasn’t doing anyone any good sitting in a drawer month after month! So when Sara asked me if I’d be interested in reviewing a pattern for her Tula Pink celebration, I knew exactly what fabrics I could use for it. I chose an easy pattern – the LOVE quilt. The pattern calls for 8x 1/4 yard pieces, and you will have scraps left over from them. For the LOVE centre, I used some of my stash of Prince Charming, and for the solids I used a red Klona solid, which was kindly provided by Will of Abakhan Fabrics. For the back I used some of my ‘sale’ fabrics, which I buy in metre lengths whenever I find them. For thread when piecing and quilting, I used Wonderfil products. I really recommend their ‘Deco-Bob’ for piecing – it’s so thin and strong!
The LOVE portion calls for wonky letters – essentially you make the letters in a non-wonky way, then trim on an angle. If you were using this block over and over in a quilt, the method might seem too wasteful. But using it in a small centrepiece is just right. I didn’t find it to be a complicated technique at all, and indeed I had the quilt top together in no time – less than a day.
I found the pattern’s layout and instructions to be eminently sensible and would recommend them to anyone – if you’re a beginner, it’s a perfect quilt to start with, and if you’re advanced, it’s a quick, cute project. I didn’t really make any modifications, except that I made the background all a solid red. I quilted it using parallel squiqqly lines – I just wiggled the quilt back and forth as I quilted it.
I think I’ll put the quilt away for now, and give it to my daughter Savi as a Christmas pressie – she’ll have forgotten all about it by then. I hope.
Thanks for inviting me, Sara, and thanks for all your hard work! 🙂
© J C Excell, 2012
It’s a gorgeous quilt Jenna!
Wow! Brilliant.
Sara, check you email, asap, please.
I went to the Sisters, Oregon show a few years ago and got to see the original quilt done by Tula Pink! It was beautiful and I’ve wanted to make it ever since! Jenna did a lovely quilt!
Love the red.
Lucky Savi!
Yes, again-L O V E it! What a combo, and I like this version even better than the pebbled one.