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.

Chain, Chain, Chain

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Excuse me Ozzie!  I am trying to take a picture here.  That's better.

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This is Licorice Twist, a pattern by Joe Wood (of ThimbleCreek), made with the Dandelion Girl collection by Joanna Figuera (Fig Tree) for Moda.  I did all the pattern directed, but you know what?  I do not think this quilt is finished.  What it needs is a big blowzy floral border.  I just ordered two and half yards of the Dandelion Girl pale yellow rose print (on sale!) that I think will be the perfect touch.  Besides, this quilt is so darn pretty I want it bigger so I can put it on a bed!

I do love a quilt pattern where the blocks form a chain.  These pinwheel blocks are beautifully set off by the alternate block with the dark brown squares.  When designing a quilt top, keep in mind how a simple alternate block such as a snowball block or the one shown above can form wonderful secondary patterns.

There are a couple of advantages to buying your border fabric after you have the main body of the quilt top completed.  First, sometimes what you originally have in mind for the border isn't the color that "speaks" to you once you have the top together.  Once the top is done, you have a much better idea of what would work best as your border.  This is often the case with scrappy quilts or quilts made from a specific fabric collection.

Second, for me, by the time I get around to using a fabric collection, many many months have typically gone by and none of my local stores have the fabric anymore.  No selection.  You might think that this is a big disadvantage, but I beg to differ.  It has hardly ever happened to me that I have not been able to locate a fabric from a collection that is long gone from the stores.  My secret?  www.quiltshops.com  This fantastic website has hundreds of quilt shops all across the country linked to it.  You do a simple search, using the fabric collection's name is usually all you need, and you are supplied a list of links to shops that have the fabric you are looking for.  And the big bonus is, if the fabric is from an older group, it is often at a bargain price.  If you know of a similar website that is a link to lots of stores, please share in the comments section.

Now, if you know in your heart from the start of making your quilt what exact border you are using, then by all means, buy it at the time you get all your other fabrics.  You sure don't want to risk not being able to get a crucial element to your quilt.   I know many times we plan an entire quilt around the fabrics in a border, and actually that fabric is our starting point.  Just as often though, I don't make up my mind about the border until the quilt top is complete.  In those cases, I wait and see what my quilt wants!  Make sense?

60 responses to “Chain, Chain, Chain”

  9. Glad to see you got over your dislike of pinwheels! Love the way this turned out and I think you’re right about it needing a floral border. I’m with you about waiting sometimes to pick the border. I used to always buy the fabric ahead of time, but sometimes it’s not what the quilt wants, so now I let it speak to me, too. Same with the binding.

  10. Glad to see you got over your dislike of pinwheels! Love the way this turned out and I think you’re right about it needing a floral border. I’m with you about waiting sometimes to pick the border. I used to always buy the fabric ahead of time, but sometimes it’s not what the quilt wants, so now I let it speak to me, too. Same with the binding.

  13. Nicole, you are quilting up a storm. Wish I could keep up with you!!! Beautiful quilts, just beautiful. Though I do hope to finish up my friends ‘Prayer Quilt’ this morning and get it to the quilter. She was released from the hospital after 64 days…finally…totally paralyzed on her right side, but is outside telling her hubby what flowers she wants planted where and how to rearrange the house to best suit her needs. Seems she on her way back to a great recovery. Now, back to the the quilt borders. I usually wait to purchase borders and backing until the quilt top has taken on it’s personality…then I feel I make better choices.

  14. Nicole, you are quilting up a storm. Wish I could keep up with you!!! Beautiful quilts, just beautiful. Though I do hope to finish up my friends ‘Prayer Quilt’ this morning and get it to the quilter. She was released from the hospital after 64 days…finally…totally paralyzed on her right side, but is outside telling her hubby what flowers she wants planted where and how to rearrange the house to best suit her needs. Seems she on her way back to a great recovery. Now, back to the the quilt borders. I usually wait to purchase borders and backing until the quilt top has taken on it’s personality…then I feel I make better choices.

  15. I like doggie pics on quilts. I’ve got several pictures of my cat and dog and granddog on quilts that I lay out for pictures or block arrangement. They’re almost always cute pictures. Oh yeah…the quilt it beautiful, too. 🙂

  16. I like doggie pics on quilts. I’ve got several pictures of my cat and dog and granddog on quilts that I lay out for pictures or block arrangement. They’re almost always cute pictures. Oh yeah…the quilt it beautiful, too. 🙂

  17. very nice quilt… i made one with this collection too. and thank you soooo much for the website link… i often need to find fabric once the collection is out and this is going to make my search process much faster!

  18. very nice quilt… i made one with this collection too. and thank you soooo much for the website link… i often need to find fabric once the collection is out and this is going to make my search process much faster!

  23. Beautiful quilt and I agree, it needs another border! I will be gorgeous then! I love that website, I have found many, many fabrics and notions by using that website. In fact, I just used it the other day to find some fabric I needed for a project.

  24. Beautiful quilt and I agree, it needs another border! I will be gorgeous then! I love that website, I have found many, many fabrics and notions by using that website. In fact, I just used it the other day to find some fabric I needed for a project.

  25. You are a Sewing Machine! I love your new quilt. Looking forward to seeing it with the border.
    Sew long,
    Melody

  26. You are a Sewing Machine! I love your new quilt. Looking forward to seeing it with the border.
    Sew long,
    Melody

  27. you are right about http://www.quiltshops.com . . . I actually found those blue fabrics I asked you about several weeks ago by going to that site . . . and . . . they were reduced to $4.79 a yard . . . woohoo . . .
    I love this quilt too . . .

  28. you are right about http://www.quiltshops.com . . . I actually found those blue fabrics I asked you about several weeks ago by going to that site . . . and . . . they were reduced to $4.79 a yard . . . woohoo . . .
    I love this quilt too . . .

  29. Really great quilt! I love your fabrics and the layout. I am really eager to see it once you put on your borders!
    Cute little Ozzie…loves your quilt, too!
    Hugs

  30. Really great quilt! I love your fabrics and the layout. I am really eager to see it once you put on your borders!
    Cute little Ozzie…loves your quilt, too!
    Hugs

  35. I love this quilt, Nicole! Thanks for the great advice as well – I always feel guilty when I don’t buy all the fabric at the get-go – now, thanks to you, all my troubles are gone!
    Cheers!

  36. I love this quilt, Nicole! Thanks for the great advice as well – I always feel guilty when I don’t buy all the fabric at the get-go – now, thanks to you, all my troubles are gone!
    Cheers!

  37. I guess it’s not just cats that like quilts. Whenever I set a quilt down, whether it’s done or not, one of my furry friends always finds it. And I have used Quiltshops.com many times. I needed Rhubard and Ginger backing and border fabric once and found it for $4 a yard! I had the fabric on hand for a while and finally got to making someting with it and was thrilled to find it still out there.

  38. I guess it’s not just cats that like quilts. Whenever I set a quilt down, whether it’s done or not, one of my furry friends always finds it. And I have used Quiltshops.com many times. I needed Rhubard and Ginger backing and border fabric once and found it for $4 a yard! I had the fabric on hand for a while and finally got to making someting with it and was thrilled to find it still out there.

  39. I love your quilt. The dark brown chain really makes to look great. I think you’re right this quilt will look great with a floral border. Ozzie is a great help to you.

  40. I love your quilt. The dark brown chain really makes to look great. I think you’re right this quilt will look great with a floral border. Ozzie is a great help to you.

  43. Your pieced triangle border came out very well. I’ve been afraid to try one because they require such accuracy to fit well. I agree about adding another border; I think it will look even better. And thanks for the tip about finding fabric online – certain to be useful!

  44. Your pieced triangle border came out very well. I’ve been afraid to try one because they require such accuracy to fit well. I agree about adding another border; I think it will look even better. And thanks for the tip about finding fabric online – certain to be useful!

  45. Beautiful quilt, I love that collection! and about that website wow, that could be very dangerous! but then again I could be saving money too right 🙂

  46. Beautiful quilt, I love that collection! and about that website wow, that could be very dangerous! but then again I could be saving money too right 🙂

  47. You are my role model for quilting. You do beautiful work and you’re so fast!!! I use quiltshops.com all of the time. It is a great website.Peggy

  48. You are my role model for quilting. You do beautiful work and you’re so fast!!! I use quiltshops.com all of the time. It is a great website.Peggy

  49. I agree. It needs a larger outer border. It doesn’t look finished. It sure is a winner. I like the contrast with the light pastels and dark brown.

  50. I agree. It needs a larger outer border. It doesn’t look finished. It sure is a winner. I like the contrast with the light pastels and dark brown.

  51. I have been following your blog for quite a while and enjoy reading it very much. You amaze me with the number of quilts you make, wish I could do the same. I love this new one and yes, I agree with most of the comments above, an extra border will make it look even better. Thanks for sharing your tips, any suggestions to make life easier are always welcome. Cheers for now.

  52. I have been following your blog for quite a while and enjoy reading it very much. You amaze me with the number of quilts you make, wish I could do the same. I love this new one and yes, I agree with most of the comments above, an extra border will make it look even better. Thanks for sharing your tips, any suggestions to make life easier are always welcome. Cheers for now.

  53. This has worked out beautifully – I think you’re so right about another border – the dark chains lift the quilt to another level, I have to say I find some of these pastel collections a bit too sugary and the dark squares give it just the right amount of attitude. If it were me I’d use the dark to bind it too

  54. This has worked out beautifully – I think you’re so right about another border – the dark chains lift the quilt to another level, I have to say I find some of these pastel collections a bit too sugary and the dark squares give it just the right amount of attitude. If it were me I’d use the dark to bind it too

  57. i use quiltshops too. last week I got fabric for backing on sale for $3.50 a yard. & they had only 6 yards perfect for backing
    Your quilt looks great. I usually do more primitive quilts.
    Kim

  58. i use quiltshops too. last week I got fabric for backing on sale for $3.50 a yard. & they had only 6 yards perfect for backing
    Your quilt looks great. I usually do more primitive quilts.
    Kim

  59. The quilt looks great, even without a border! I can’t wait to see it once you have the border on too. And thanks for the quilt shops link. I have some fabric I need a couple more yards of and I haven’t been able to find it in my area at all – will give it a try!

  60. The quilt looks great, even without a border! I can’t wait to see it once you have the border on too. And thanks for the quilt shops link. I have some fabric I need a couple more yards of and I haven’t been able to find it in my area at all – will give it a try!