New Project- Quilt in Browns (1 of 4)

New Project  (1 of 4)

It started with a friend’s gift: several lengths of brown fabrics carefully folded and neatly tied with a ribbon. I didn’t have much to add from my stash, so I began picking up the odd fat quarter when something caught my eye. Before I knew it, I had a small plastic storage box packed with fabrics waiting for a quilt pattern. So, after reaching one dead end after another on my quest to finish up projects in the last couple of months, I decided to tackle the “box of brown.”

I was looking for a simple pattern that would come together quickly, so I could finally complete something. But I also wanted to show off the varied patterns and wide range of browns I’d collected. My quilt pattern of choice is called Melon Patch in several quilt books, but like so many quilt designs it has many aliases. (A quick online search shows Snowball is it's current favorite name, as another design is also titled Melon Patch.) 

Patterns that play with optical illusions really catch my attention, particularly when straight seam lines combine to create curves when viewed from a distance. This one reminded me of large polka dots. Our basic block is constructed with a large 4.5 inch square and four 1.5 inch squares. With the “quick sew” method, the small squares are placed in each corner and sewn diagonally.

The extra point is then trimmed away to create a ¼ inch seam allowance. Because these seams are so short, I chose to press them toward the darkest color, rather than opening the seams to press them flat. 

And now you have the basic block in this quilt pattern.