Snow Day, Sew Day

 When the weather turns snowy, let's turn the day sew-y! Too corny?

A few weeks ago, I made an ugly quilt with my friend, Michelle. What's an ugly quilt, you ask? According to Karen Brown of Just Get It Done Quilts, "this quilt is great for using up those fabrics in your stash that you’ll never want to use. They might not be in your colour zone. They may not be your kind of pattern. Or you have simply matured as a quilter and realized that they no longer fit with the projects that you like to make." And trust me when I say I have fabrics in my stash that I ask myself "What were you thinking buying this!!??" 

That meant I had plenty to work with when it came to getting fabrics together to make an ugly quilt. And so did Michelle.

We decided we would share ugly fabrics with each other to make our own quilts. A blending of our friendship so to speak. We would have Thing 1 and Thing 2. We had a quilting day together at her house and it was sew much fun! 

Thing 2

This will be a good camping quilt when I get it quilted. 

Karen Brown mentioned light and dark fabrics a few times in her video that Michelle and I watched more than once for instructions on the quilt. As I was sewing this free pattern together, I repeatedly kept thinking about light and dark. I was intriqued by doing another ugly quilt...one that was not so ugly but purposeful.  

Over the new couple of weeks, a not-so-ugly quilt plan formulated in my thoughts. Light, dark, white, black. Hmmm, I should have enough in my stash to do this. When the forecast this weekend called for snow, I got to work. I pulled 12 fabrics - 6 with a white background and 6 with black. 

Fabric Selection

In short order, my ugly quilt blocks were finished. In case you are wondering, these blocks are also called Wonky Nine Patch or Crazy Nine Patch blocks. 

Twelve Not-So-Ugly Blocks

I was quite pleased with what I had but I wanted a little more. I wanted to add white sashing with colored cornerstones but what color? This is where the beauty of my EQ8 program comes in. It allowed me to play with color and border changes quickly. Do I stay with the black and white theme? How would a bright blue look? A pop of lime? Maybe a more traditional red. Decisions, decisions! 

Playing With Options in EQ8

In the end, I went with the lime and here's why. Several years I ago, I was in a quilt shop up in Chilliwack, BC. There was a group of fabrics that were black, white and lime. They really caught my eye and while I do not remember the maker or designer of the fabrics, they stuck with me and were the inspiration for my not-so-ugly quilt.

I will quilt this with a meandering pattern and bind in one of the black background fabrics. Finished size should be about 63" wide by 77" long.

"Lime Pop"

I had a lot of fun making this quilt top. Ugly quilt, wonky nine patch, crazy nine patch - whatever you want to call it is easy and quick to make. Karen Brown has some great videos and ideas on her YouTube channel and blog.

What's in your stash?