Is there anyone out there who doesn’t just love Liberty of London fabric? Their florals are classic and so amazing. Within the last year or so, Riley Blake Designs has been printing some of their classic florals on quilting cotton! Normally Liberty is printed on Tana lawn, which is oh-so-soft, but also oh-so-expensive. It has been so fun to finally add some Liberty into my quilting life at a fraction of the cost and in a quilting cotton weight with which I am confident sewing.
I used 3 prints from their latest collection, Winterbourne, to make this fun Gingham Pillow (free pattern by Meg of Monograms for Makers). Meg has written a clever way to use strip piecing and very little yardage to come up with a modern spin on a classic gingham pattern. The Liberty florals are allowed to shine in this configuration and pattern.
Are you a Liberty fan? Look for the Winterbourne collection in your favorite local and online quilt shops!
When I designed my Half Dash pattern, I knew I wanted to make it in a variety of ways to showcase how versatile the pattern really is. No matter your personal quilting style, this pattern works. I promise! Today I am so excited to share a version I made using Riley Blake Confetti Cottons.
I LOVE LOVE LOVE making quilts using solids. They are one of the best fabrics to use, in my opinion. They can be the star, or they can be a supporting role. You can add in a fun basic (like Swiss Dots, Blossom, Pin Drop) or just go for all solids. You can use solids with a funky print and add a different dimension. If you haven’t been using solids much in your quilts, start and I promise it’ll change your quilting life.
Confetti Cottons by Riley Blake Designs are among the softest solids out there. They are so soft, yet they have a wonderful feel to them and they provide a heft that other solids don’t. I’ve used almost every single brand of solid that is out there and Confetti Cottons are among my very, very favorites.
Riley Blake has been really smart as they’ve introduced different basics. Often you can find a basic that is the exact same color and has the same color name as one of their Confetti Cottons. This makes pairing a basic with a solid really foolproof.
This particular version of Half Dash uses 1/3 yard cuts of a confetti cotton plus a coordinating swiss dot in 10 different pairings. I loved this quilt so much that my good friend Jessica of Simply Love Fabrics is offering kits! You can find her kit HERE.
As always, the Riley Blake 1/4″ black + white stripe is a perfect binding choice for this quilt. (Is it ever NOT the perfect binding choice? I don’t honestly think so!) I hand quilted this quilt using Aurifil 12 wt thread in color 2024 and it added the perfect softness I was going for.
If you are interested in purchasing my pattern, you can find it HERE and once again, Jessica’s kits for this quilt are available HERE.
It’s here!!! My next pattern (and probably my favorite… don’t tell the others!) is available now in my Etsy shop!
This quilt pattern came about because of a graphic my husband made for the Dashalong that Kairle Oaks and I hosted almost 2 years ago.
Kairle was making her Churn Dash quilt with crossweave and Swell Christmas fabric by Urban Chicks. I was making my quilt with white fabric and Panorama by Cotton + Steel. He took our finished blocks and made this awesome mashup graphic for our promotional materials. I could not get it out of my head. I LOVED the dark and light backgrounds coming together. I LOVED how different the main fabric looked together.
I have since made 3 different versions of Half Dash, trying to showcase a few different ways this quilt can be made. It literally works for ANY quilting style. Modern. Traditional. Two toned. Funky. Whatever style of quilter you consider yourself to be, this quilt will work.
My husband and I have worked hard to make sure this pattern is consumable. For that reason, it is literally two separate patterns in one. When you download it from my Etsy shop, do not panic. Yes, it is 19 pages. However, once you choose your own adventure (Two Color blocks or Four Color blocks in either throw size or twin size), you don’t have to flip back and forth and read needless information. You get to stay within the context of only thinking in Two Colors or Four Colors.
If you are choosing to make the Four Color Version (which is patterned after the photo mashup above), it will only work if follow my one main suggestion:
Throw the notion to make things “match” out the window.
This might sound simple, but trust me, it is something you must truly decide to do with every single block. I almost feel like the pairings that were the funkier are the ones I like most.
I have one more version I’ve hinted at on Instagram and I will be giving it its own blog post tomorrow! I also will have kits for this rainbow version available via Simply Love Fabrics and I can’t wait for you to see it all!
In the meantime, please head to my Etsy shop and use the coupon code HALFDASH for 20% off any PDF pattern from my shop from now (3/2) through Saturday (3/7)!
