Quilt-achusetts

When I was in grade school it was still popular to go to the roller rink, rent a pair of skates and do the chicken dance!  Before the Hokey Pokey I frequently re-energized with a licorice rope that would be tied to my belt loop if not finished. So when I saw  Melody Miller's print, Roller Rink, for Cotton and Steel's Black and White 2017 fabric line I was instantly inspired to design a roller skate themed quilt.

I also had hidden away in my stash 1 yard of Riley Blake neon pink form a couple years ago.  It was just enough for the quilt top and binding.  The white and black are also from my stash and the background fabric is another Cotton and Steel print, Sprinkles in Jelly Bracelet designed by Sarah Watt.  The roller skate theme and the neon pink kept me motivated.  I finished this quilt from design to blocking in 16 days!

I wanted to keep the retro theme in the quilting so I thought of the circles and stars.  Fortunately I found a star in my stock Photoshop shapes that I could…

Late last year, when people began sharing the quilts they had entered into Quiltcon, I noticed there were several quilts that used 3D blocks.  I fell in love with all of them and decided to give 3D quilt design a try.
After designing this quilt I submitted it to Modern Patchwork magazine and it was accepted for publication in the May/June 2017 issue, out now!

This is my second quilt pattern published in Modern Patchwork, which still blows me away.  I've also had two rejections from Quiltcon magazine but it's all part of the process.  Most importantly I love making quilts and enjoy writing patterns so for now I'll keep plugging away at both.
As I stated in the title of the post I was following a trend which is a great way to challenge yourself to break out of a design rut.  I started with a simple 3D block that I placed in a grid.  Then used an offset border in a unique way to add more depth.   The end effect created the appearance of an aerial view of a downtown.
When quilting…