Big Prints Go Wild

I love large scale prints. I never chop them into little, tiny pieces! That's why fabric companies like to work with me because I make BIG blocks that sell more of their fabric! You've seen these blocks before, but I now have some border fabrics for a glorious finish. Did I say there are NO y-seams in this block?!!

Granny's Garden with Japanese Chrysanthemum and Fossil Ferns

These use some Kaffe Fassett fabrics with Fossil Ferns. This first one is my favorite! It is 18" x 18" unfinished. I added those top and bottom strips of Fossil Fern background fabric to "square" it up. Remember, a hexagon is wider than it is high and I wanted these to be square.

And another one in pinks:

Single block in Pinks with light yellow Fossil Fern background

I wasn't able to fussy cut the flowers, but I did need to use my window template of freezer paper because I was really close to being short of fabric!

My freezer paper window template for fussy cutting (sort of)

I'll show the rest, but first my new stack of prints my sister Janet sent when she cleaned out her stash! I honestly can't believe she could part with these 1/2 yard cuts. I'm going to make a pieced border on the quilt I'm showing today.

I'll probably choose 4-5 prints and cut the strips so they are the same size (length) as the blocks. And corner squares. Not sure if I'll cut 6-1/2" or 7" width. With such big blocks, I can go really large.

How about a really bright pink block?

What do you think of this sassy blue one? I could center the flower in only 5 of the 6 hexagons; it's all the fabric I had! I think it's a bit more organic looking and not all "matchey-matchey."

And one more in yellows and browns:

Single block with bold flowers and light gold Fossil Ferns

I made a total of 8 blocks and I was able to put them into a square quilt center using an innovative (and very easy) assembly trick. These blocks will finish to 17-1/2" square. Here is how I set the 8 blocks. Notice the "half blocks" at the top and bottom of the center row. That's how it works! Clever, huh?

Scrappy GFG Quilt using 8 blocks: 52" x 52"

This began as a ho-hum pattern I designed for Windham Fabrics to go with their reproduction print called Jamestown. My Etsy pattern has the original 4 block quilt I made using this technique and very traditional fabrics. I added the pattern for making these scrappy blocks which really showcases fabulous, large scale prints. It's an 11 page pdf with lots of illustrations and templates (though you really will want to use your 60 degree triangle ruler).

Here's that 4 Block quilt which was published in the Keepsake Quilting catalog in 2017. Looks a lot different in those 1800s reproduction prints!

Granny's Garden 4 Block quilt: 65" x 65"

Hope you enjoyed seeing how to make a traditional Grandmother's Flower Garden block by machine!