Sister's Choice Quilts

My interests are quilting, reading, cooking, family, decorating, and matters of style. I post regular quilting tutorials and book reviews of current fiction.

Blueberry Mocha Trails

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I am very happy with my version of Mocha Trails, a great pattern by Denise Sheehan.  The best thing about this project is that it was a sew along with my friend Thelma (Cupcakes 'n' Daisies).  Go on over and see Thelma's gorgeous quilt.  Nancy Near Philadelphia just finished a Mocha Trails quilt also, and I have put her picture below.  Isn't it fabulous?  She calls hers Huehuetenango, which is a mouthful for sure.  Whatever she calls it, it sure is purty.

Huehuetenango

Isn't it fun to see three different verisons of the same pattern?  Amazing how different they each turned out, isn't it?  This pattern was fun to make (combining all sorts of different fabrics is so enjoyable), and was pretty easy piecing.

I used a variety of fabrics.  Originally, I had planned to make my quilt in just browns and tans and creams.  I had dozens of fabrics in each color and was ready to go.  However, when Thelma began her red and brown version, I got to thinking that I could add another color and maybe make things even more interesting.  I had made three brown and tan blocks already, and was reluctant to give up entirely on that color scheme.  One day I was gazing into the depths of my stash closet and spied a bundle of Pure by Sweetwater.  The colors in that collection are dark brown, tan, cream and a lovely aqua blue.  The wheels started turning, and I added in some of the blues and tans to what I already had going and went to town.

What really pleased me was that there was a caramel fabric in the Pure group that they called "Bubbles" that went perfectly with the caramel that I had already cut out for my alternate double nine patch blocks.  It seemed like a good choice for my outer border.

Bubbles

When I went to lay out the blocks, I played around with a random arrangement of the blue blocks and the tan blocks, but that didn't please me for some reason.  I settled on placing all the tan blocks in a diagonal row to play up the strong diagonal line that the tiny nine patch blocks make as they march across the quilt.  I also liked how the blue blocks were evenly divided on each side of the tan row.

I highly recommend doing a sew along with a friend.  The companionship of making a project along with a pal is very motivating, especially if you set deadlines for completion.  Doing a blog sew along is even more fun, and getting a group going to make versions of the same quilt is the ultimate!

Happy Friday, Friends!

 

60 responses to “Blueberry Mocha Trails”

  1. Oh so pretty. I really love the soft blues, and I love the other versions too. Amazing how different fabrics change a quilt. Thanks for sharing.

  2. Oh so pretty. I really love the soft blues, and I love the other versions too. Amazing how different fabrics change a quilt. Thanks for sharing.

  5. I love everything about this quilt–the colors, the bubbly border, and your diagonal placement of the tan blocks. Very creative!
    Great job, as always!

  6. I love everything about this quilt–the colors, the bubbly border, and your diagonal placement of the tan blocks. Very creative!
    Great job, as always!

  9. Stunning Nichole! What a great pattern and your colour choices are perfect. I am using a layer cake of PURE to make my little grandson a quilt, its a great collection.

  10. Stunning Nichole! What a great pattern and your colour choices are perfect. I am using a layer cake of PURE to make my little grandson a quilt, its a great collection.

  11. It’s beautiful, Nicole. It’s a very soothing quilt. Each of the three turned out beautiful. This quilt reminds me a little of the quilt you made that kind of looked like a Mackenzie-Childs pattern. I think it’s the 9-patches. I love it. Great choice to add the Pure Collection.

  12. It’s beautiful, Nicole. It’s a very soothing quilt. Each of the three turned out beautiful. This quilt reminds me a little of the quilt you made that kind of looked like a Mackenzie-Childs pattern. I think it’s the 9-patches. I love it. Great choice to add the Pure Collection.

  13. OH!!! I love all three quilts in their different color ways! Well done all!!!!!!! I really like the strong diagonal line the little 9 patches make.
    I do love seeing quilts all from the same basic pattern but that have been made with different fabrics and perhaps different block layouts. As I may have written here before, once at a quilt show I stepped out of the traffic into a bay with 3 quilts displayed. Only after a few minutes of looking did I realize they were made by the same quiltmaker from the same pattern. She’d used Christmas fabric for one, Halloween fabric for the 2nd, and summery fabrics for the 3rd and the quilts looked amazingly different.
    Thanks for sharing!!
    Hugs!

  14. OH!!! I love all three quilts in their different color ways! Well done all!!!!!!! I really like the strong diagonal line the little 9 patches make.
    I do love seeing quilts all from the same basic pattern but that have been made with different fabrics and perhaps different block layouts. As I may have written here before, once at a quilt show I stepped out of the traffic into a bay with 3 quilts displayed. Only after a few minutes of looking did I realize they were made by the same quiltmaker from the same pattern. She’d used Christmas fabric for one, Halloween fabric for the 2nd, and summery fabrics for the 3rd and the quilts looked amazingly different.
    Thanks for sharing!!
    Hugs!

  15. That turned out gorgeous – I have to admit, when I saw the first blocks you and Thelma put together, I was skeptical of that solid border that didn’t go around each block, but put together it’s beautiful and visually very interesting. Love it in the blues & caramels, those are the colors of my bedroom! Well done!

  16. That turned out gorgeous – I have to admit, when I saw the first blocks you and Thelma put together, I was skeptical of that solid border that didn’t go around each block, but put together it’s beautiful and visually very interesting. Love it in the blues & caramels, those are the colors of my bedroom! Well done!

  25. Nicole, your quilt is beautiful! I am so glad you went with adding the blue to the tans and browns. It’s just gorgeous. I love seeing the same pattern done by different gals. Each is unique.

  26. Nicole, your quilt is beautiful! I am so glad you went with adding the blue to the tans and browns. It’s just gorgeous. I love seeing the same pattern done by different gals. Each is unique.

  29. Another beautiful quilt. You certainly have an “eye” for color and placement. It’s gorgeous.

  30. Another beautiful quilt. You certainly have an “eye” for color and placement. It’s gorgeous.

  33. Gorgeous pattern, and nice color way choice mom. That would make a nice living room quilt for a couch in Ireland, perhaps….

  34. Gorgeous pattern, and nice color way choice mom. That would make a nice living room quilt for a couch in Ireland, perhaps….

  35. The diagonal line of tan and brown blocks was the first thing I noticed, before I read your post–very very pleasing to the eye. This is just gorgeous, Nicole, and a fun quilting journey with a friend. What could be better? Oh, I know, sleeping under a quilt!

  36. The diagonal line of tan and brown blocks was the first thing I noticed, before I read your post–very very pleasing to the eye. This is just gorgeous, Nicole, and a fun quilting journey with a friend. What could be better? Oh, I know, sleeping under a quilt!

  37. All three quilts are beautiful in their own way. I’d proudly display each and every one of them in my home. ROFL. I especially like the diagonal effect of your caramel blocks. As Abby said above, the alternate 9-patch blocks confused me at first, but now I see the light! Kudos to all three of you for your finished quilts!

  38. All three quilts are beautiful in their own way. I’d proudly display each and every one of them in my home. ROFL. I especially like the diagonal effect of your caramel blocks. As Abby said above, the alternate 9-patch blocks confused me at first, but now I see the light! Kudos to all three of you for your finished quilts!