Wednesday 27 August 2014

Zig Zag / Chevron Quilt - Kaffe Fassett, Philip Jacobs Fabrics

Zig Zag / Chevron Quilt - Kaffe Fassett Philip Jacobs, Westminster fabrics
Zig Zag / Chevron Quilt - Kaffe Fassett Philip Jacobs, Westminster fabrics
A few weeks ago I shared my purchases from the Festival of Quilt 2014.  It included a bundle of Kaffe Fassett fabrics for 'a quilt' which I felt I needed to get out of my system.   Having seen the display of Kaffe Fassett quilts in Lampeter, Wales, last summer, I realised that his fabrics do most of the talking and piecing and quilting take a bit of a backseat. On closer inspection of the fabrics - not all the fabrics are Kaffe Fassett, some are by the fabric designer, Philip Jacobs, but all of them are the same style and tones, all produced by Westminster Fabrics.
8 inch squares for half square triangles
8 inch squares for half square triangles
With all that in mind I opted for a simple strong design using just half square triangles in a zig zag layout.  No pattern, just a few rough calculations on the back of an envelope and off I went.  As you know, I usually work with quite small pieces, but for this Chevron Quilt I cut 'huge' 8 inch squares (50 blue, 50 pink), to make 100 half square triangles (HSTs).  I had about 9 different fabrics for each colour.  I had some fat quarters, some long quarters and some half metres.  I managed 4 squares from a fat quarter and 5 from a long quarter, with some smaller bits left over.  I did my best to straighten the fabric before I cut the squares, which I managed to do to my *own* standards.  Once cut I paired up the pink / blue squares and marked a diagonal as a guide for stitching. 
Half Square Triangles - Kaffe Fassett fabric
Half Square Triangles - Kaffe Fassett fabric
Stitching on the machine, I took my time to pin the pieces thoroughly to make sure the points met.  I even resisted giving each block a good press with the steam iron, which is my usual approach, allowing the blocks to ease into place. It all came together very quickly, which is in contrast to my Nearly Insane quilt which I have been working on since February 2013! 
Zig Zag / Chevron Quilt - Kaffe Fassett Philip Jacobs, Westminster fabrics
Zig Zag / Chevron Quilt - Kaffe Fassett Philip Jacobs, Westminster fabrics

The finished quilt top is 72" x 72", and I think this has to be a first - I have actually made a quilt top in the same month as purchasing the fabric!  As you reach for your sunglasses, you can see the colours are quite exuberant, but with signs of autumn on the way a bit of exuberance maybe just what we all need.

Linking up with Freshly Pieced WIP Wednesday and Crazy Mom Quilts

8 comments:

  1. I love your Zig Zag / Chevron Quilt, This is definitely on my list!
    Well done!

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  2. What an amazing change from your EPP but beautiful! I do like the chevron pattern - always stunning, and you can't go past Kaffe for magnificent colour and print!

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  3. I have also mistaken Philip Jacobs fabric for Kaffe. However, Kaffe's fabric has a nicer feel. Striking chevrons.

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  4. Seriously, the most beautiful Chevron quilt I've seen so far. Brilliant!

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  5. Admittedly, Kaffe's fabrics aren't my thing, but this is just lovely. The simple lines of the piecing allow the fabrics to be in the spotlight, and the contrast between the blue and pink is nothing short of striking. : )

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  6. Your chevron quilt is just lovely. The fabrics really do do the talking. I really like the chevron pattern, but in those fabrics it's just SO vibrant! Lovely.

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  7. a beautiful pattern showing the Kaffe Fassett fabrics and colors.

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