The release of Modern Plus Sign Quilts, written by Paige Alexander and Cheryl Brickey is being celebrated with a blog hop this week and next. I am so happy to take part in celebrating this book. I have long been a fan of plus quilts and made one a while back. I called it Positively Floating and you can see it here. Adding a book devoted to modern interpretations of plus quilts is the perfect thing for my collection of quilting books.
There are a couple of things I really appreciate about this book. One is the ease of most of the patterns Paige and Cheryl designed. I am not usually one for fussy quilts with tons of pieces to cut and points to match up. While there are some advanced, challenging patterns in the book, there are also lots of options for simpler designs. Also, there is a nice write up on the history of plus quilts which I really enjoyed. Finally, with many of the patterns, the authors included an illustration of a suggested layout for cutting the pieces such that you get the most out of the fabric needed. This is really helpful for me as I just don’t have a strong ability to see spatial relationships and often (more often than you’d think) will cut my pieces and find I don’t have quite enough fabric. This is because I don’t always choose the most efficient cutting plan. Part of me attributes this to the fact that for years I sewed clothing, not quilts. Clothing patterns always show the best way to lay out the pieces on the fabric – so I never had to figure this out for myself. Anyway, I think this was a great addition to the quilt book and you don’t see it in many books that are published.
Let’s move on to the quilt I made. This is the pattern called Postage Plus. It is based on a postage stamp quilt (basically small patchwork) used to build the plus. The oversized plus is set into a bold pattern of stripes. This gives a very modern result. The book shows a quilt with a gray and white background which is looked really clean. When I chose to make this pattern, it was so I could use up an older Moda jelly roll that I purchased from a destash last year over at Academic Quilter. Using strip piecing with a jelly roll made this quilt a very simple project to assemble.
The quilt came together so quickly. I love using the stripes to bring out the brown and green shades in the patchwork. The colors make me think of ice cream for some reason. Lime sherbet or coffee ice cream, which would you choose? I would go for coffee ice cream every time!
You might notice I am sharing a quilt top, not a finished quilt. If you are a fan of Instagram, you probably saw the posts where I was unhappily removing a large amount of long arm quilting gone bad. Ugh! I took this quilt top and loaded it on a long arm at my friend’s house. For whatever reason, I couldn’t use her machine and obtain a good result. It just looked horrid. I am far from a perfectionist and will often leave issues such as wobbles, mistakes, or points that don’t quite work out in the quilt. (Maybe I am too lazy to fix things like this). But this was bad. Even the lazy quilter in me couldn’t just ignore it. So I stopped, after quilting about 25% of the top, removed it from the frame, took it home and unpicked it. Really, it wasn’t too awful a task and I am happy I fixed this.
I am eager to load it on the machine at the same shop where I have been renting time. I have an appointment on Friday of this week and will be able to quilt this up then. Off topic here, but take a look at the blue skies we enjoyed yesterday. It was a gorgeous day and I am lucky to have taken photos then. Today it is fierce, pouring rain – not a day to be outside. Sure changed dramatically over night!
In closing, I strongly recommend Modern Plus Quilts. The book is top notch with creative patterns of varied complexity , nice tips and clear information – a book well done. The blog hop goes on all of this week and through next week. Paige and Cheryl are offering giveaways each day so be sure to hop over there and enter the giveaways. Lots of fun happening in blogland these days!
Linking to my favorites. Find them at the top of the page, under Link Ups.
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Oh! Lovely combination of pinks and off whites! Once you said icecream I immediately thought of mint which I love if it’s coated in dark chocolate – yum!
Yum, Mint Chocolate Chip – another good combination. 🙂 Thank you for stopping by Sue!
What a striking quilt! I’m with you, coffee ice cream. That’s my Mom’s favorite as well. How frustrating it must have been having to “un-sew”.Think of the story you’ll have once it’s finished, hehe.
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Haha, yes, it was a bit frustrating. But worth it (now that I am done with the unpicking!) I am really looking forward to quilting it again and achieving a better result. Have a nice day!!
Bernie, your version of Postage Plus is beautiful! What a great idea using a jelly roll. It has such a good variety of lights and darks. So sorry to hear about your longarming woes. And yes, your quilt reminds me of strawberries and chocolate! Thank you so much for contributing to the book hop!
Thank you Paige. Kudos to you and Cheryl for this wonderful book. Really love the variety of projects you both designed. I hope it is a quilting best seller!! Congratulations!
This is a lovely soft version of this quilt Bernie. It is like Ice cream and I’m with you on the coffee flavour, although I do like lime as well.
Thank you Lisa. I am happy with it and it was nice to use the jelly roll fabric. Maybe we can have a scoop of coffee ice cream next time we meet!
Beautiful quilt! The background does remind me of ice cream, I love the mint and brownie color combo. I am so sorry you had longarm issues. Thanks so much for being part of the hop!!
No worries about the long arm issue. It was a learning experience so I am fine with it. Tomorrow I will quilt it again and it will soon be finished! Cheryl, congrats to you and Paige for this wonderful book. The quilt designs are just wonderful – I look forward to making something more with the book!
Hi Bernie – love your pretty quilt top. I would definitely go for the coffee ice cream! I have that book on my Kindle and am looking forward to reading it. I love plus quilts also and have one featured in my blog header, so I can’t wait to read that book. Hope you are feeling good with all that rainy weather!
Hi Linda! You are going to enjoy the book. I look forward to hearing which one you decide to make. The rain is wonderful – makes me a little anxious when Julia is driving to and from school. I had her take the back roads home to avoid the highway the other day because it was raining so hard. Nervous mom, I suppose. 😉
It’s a beauty! And when it’s quilted up, it will be delicious! Well done, Bernie! Your quilt is just one more reason why this book tops my wish list!
Hi Karen, Thanks for the note. Tomorrow is quilting day and then I need to figure out what to do for a binding. I have enough of the green and brown solids to bind it – I haven’t ever done a binding where the colors match the stripes. Have you? I kind of want to try that.
Beautiful quilt top! Seeing all these versions of that quilt is quite inspiring.
Thank you Patty. I need to catch up on the blog hop. I didn’t have a chance to look at yesterdays quilts. It is really fun to see what each quilter came up with.
Your version is really pretty, Bernie, especially so close to St. Patrick’s Day, with that lime strip in there! I’ll join you for ice cream, but I’ll have the chocolate 🙂 Glad you were able to pick out the problem and that you can get it quilted soon. I’m sure it will be lovely!
Thanks Wendy. I am pleased with it. I hope we get to meet at some point, ice cream or not!
Bernie, this is beautiful! And don’t you just love a pattern that lets you use up your precuts?? I’m always on the look out for them. I’m like you and usually do not pick out quilting, but sometimes you just have to. We work so hard on these tops and you know when the time is right to pick. Sorry you had to do this on this quilt, but I’m sure it will be worth it.
Yep, I agree. It isn’t worth leaving something you aren’t happy with. It would just irritate me each time I looked at it. I am happy to take another shot at quilting this and finishing it up. Have a wonderful day Tish!
Mint Chocolate Chip! What a wonderful combination! Sometimes the best laid plans don’t always go as planned! I hope the next time you quilt this…it goes smoothly!
Tomorrow – I will be quilting it tomorrow! Fingers crossed. I am sure it will be fine. Right????
I can definitely get a Napoleon ice cream vibe from your quilt, too! Yum! This is a delightful version and I hope that your second quilting experience goes smoother.
Thank you Yvonne. Quilting this again will be fine – I am looking forward to finishing it up.
I love seeing all the different color versions of this quilt. I am so inspired.
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Me too! It is amazing how a pattern will take on so many different looks based on fabric choices. Really fun to see all of these during the hop.
What a great quilt Bernie! I can’t imagine have to unpick that much longarm quilting – rather you than me! I hope all goes well this Friday and you can get this quilted. I love the colours you have used – not one I would have picked myself but that’s why these blog hops are such good fun because you see so many different variations. I am now thinking of a coffee ice cream quilt and dreaming of summer!
I agree with you – the inspiration from looking at many interpretations of the same pattern(s) is wonderful. I really enjoy hops for that reason.
The unpicking wasn’t awful because the tension was good and the stitches were not tiny and tight. Not a huge deal! Have a lovely weekend Abigail!
Your quilt top looks great! I have sometimes had an issue with a quilt and sometimes been given the advice, “oh just leave it, nobody will notice”. I don’t take that advice. I’m always happier once I fix the issue –because I notice. And coffee ice cream for me, preferably with chocolate on top!
Isn’t coffee and chocolate the perfect combination?? Yum.
Sometimes I will leave a mistake. Mainly if it is small, like a chopped off point or two blocks that don’t totally line up. Because washing the quilt usually minimizes the mistake. But not something large – this was too much! Take care Lisa and enjoy the weekend!
Oh I felt your pain at your quilting mishap Bernie, but you surely did the right thing, it is too pretty a quilt to live with quilting you dislike. A great way to use up your jelly roll, I have several and can never decide what to do with them. Love ice cream, but it would have to be vanilla for me, or vanilla with cherries, and I once had two fantastic flavours in France, Rose, and Lavender, they were wonderful. Coffee? I had coffee with ice cream in on holiday, I can’t remember what it’s called now, but I do remember it was wonderful, oh I could talk about ice cream all day…………
Your comment made me smile! All sorts of wonderful flavors. 🙂
I have only used two jelly rolls and both times for strip quilting. It makes for a very quick project. I just hate the pinked edges tho. Enough so, it deters me from buying them. Have a wonderful weekend Kate!
Fair play to you for unpicking quilting. I’ve done it twice and it was a chose but I’ve never regretted taking out quilting I didn’t like. And I would go for a light chocoalte ice cream or maybe vanilla!
It isn’t so bad. When I first started and looked at the entire amount that needed to be removed, it was daunting but really, once I started it went quickly!
I’ve been down the “un-quilting” road recently so I can relate to both the disappointment and the realization that it isn’t that horrible a task. I’m glad you decided to correct what you didn’t like so you’ll be happy with your finish. I hardly noticed the blue sky for the beautiful pink buds on the trees! So similar to the beautiful pinks in your plus.
Those pink blossoms are stunning and signal spring for us each year. Of course the downside is the messy, tiny (inedible) plums that drop all over each summer. What can you do??? 😉
Cool concepts with the striped background, Great quilt! Thanks for sharing Bernie.
I love the bold stripes too. Paige and Cheryl really outdid themselves with this book. 🙂
I love the quilt. I love shades of brown… coffee, latte, cinnamon, etc.
Yum! I do too Cindy. It is a warm, comforting color. Have a great weekend!!
It is great to see the creativity used in the quilts I have seen in this blog hop. I would choose coffee ice cream any day. I love the colors you used as your background, they set off the plus sign perfectly.
Thanks Sherry. It was a hard choice for me because I kept thinking I ‘should’ use the brown and a salmon pink shade. But I am so partial to shades of green. So, I went with what I really like best. It worked out well. Have a great Saturday1
LOL, I love your coffee ice cream (me too!) reference. What a sweet pink postage stamp plus in the middle! Yes, I think sometimes it is worth it to unpick, much as I detest it and little as I do it too, leaving the imperfections as I’m not a robot and proud of it! Will be looking forward to seeing this all quilted up!
I agree – Stuff happens and every once in a while, it is worth starting over. Hope you have a great weekend!
I love that quilt!! I’ll have to check out that book. Postage stamp quilts are on my list of things to try.
It is such a fun book Erin. I love postage stamp quilts – really, anything with basic patchwork appeals to me. Thanks for your note!
Love your colors – how different!
Thank you Susan. 🙂
I agree with the others that the colors look most like mint chocolate chip. Yum! But if I had to choose between lime and coffee, it would be lime! What a wonderful jelly roll you used! So sorry to hear about the unpicking, but it sounds like it was best to remove it and start over.
Such a pretty quilt! It reminds me of chocolate and mint – a favorite combo of mine!
Coffee ice cream fan here! What a sweet quilt. It’s so fun to see everyone’s version.
I thought of ice cream the minute I saw your top, even before you mentioned it! Like Mint Chocolate Chip, maybe with strawberry sauce for the pinks. Yummy, just like your quilt!
Thanks Emily – the colors are soft and pretty — and the jelly roll was perfect for these colors. Enjoy the hop – There have been some really amazing quilts made from this book.
lovely quilt Bernie, I definitely feel a postage stamp coming up in my future.
Thanks Helen. It was my first but I am so happy with it!
Great job in your quilt. It’s beautiful. I, too, liked the cutting diagram.
Thanks Anja – this hop has been a lot of fun. 🙂
I love your version of this super fun quilt, Bernie! I definitely agree with the ice cream vibe goin on here! Neopolitan, mint choc chip, choc n pistachio….yummm!
Thanks Sarah. I am sure you are just itching for some spring weather and enough heat to melt some snow. Hope it comes your way soon. Definitely not ice cream season just yet!