Color Options from American Patchwork & Quilting April 2010

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Colorful sashing unlocks a subtle pattern of stars in blocks pieced from low-contrast fabrics. Fabrics are from the Summer Soireé collection by Paula Prass for Michael Miller Fabrics.

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Floral prints put a fresh spin on a classic Irish Chain. Alternate floral Irish Chain blocks with tone-on-tone print star blocks to create a sense of movement.

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Starry Irish Chain

Quilt tester Laura Boehnke used a mottled dark brown background in both the Irish Chain and star blocks, causing them to bled rather than stand out as separate unites. "A consistent background allows the stars and Irish Chain ‘paths' to really pop," she says. The retro-inspired prints are from the Penny Lane collection from Hoffman California Fabrics.

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Hop to it! Learn an easy spray-starch method to appliqué a cute critter on an egg-shape foundation.

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Bunny Appliqué Folk Art

Muted greens, tans, and browns from Harvest Town by Jacqueline Paton for Red Rooster Fabrics transform Bunny Patch from seasonal decor to folk art, extending its shelf life.

Quilt tester Laura Boehnke decreased the number of borders to save time. She blanket-stitched around her oval appliqué foundation with contrasting thread to help it stand out in the background.

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An assortment of Civil War Era reproduction fabrics combined in a graphic design results in a stunning, scrappy bed quilt.

Playful Pastel Throw

Youthful fabrics from Simply Sweet by Barbara Jones of QuiltSoup for Henry Glass & Co. and a tic-tac-toe-style setting give quilt tester Laura Boehnke's nine-block version of At the Crossroads a game-board vibe. Follower her lead and take advantage of the X blocks' large rectangles to showcase fussy-cut designs and directional patterns. For a coordinated look, Laura used scraps leftover from the larger blocks to make identical Broken Dishes blocks.

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Playing with color doesn't have to be a major production. Audition an array of saturated solids to star in the framed rectangles of this easy-to-piece throw.

Bright Rectangles Wall Hanging

Reverse the roles of light and dark found in Color Cues (try light sashing and dark block borders) to create another high-contrast quilt but with the opposite effect. If solids aren't your style, pair tone-on-tones with a bold floral from Christine Graf's Folk Dance collection for Clothworks to create blocks similar to quilt tester Laura Boehnke's.

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This seemingly complex quilt may turn heads, but putting it together won't leave you scratching yours. Take a closer look and you'll discover it's made of just two blocks: a star block in two colorways and an hourglass block that's rotated.

Floating Stars Wall Hanging

Just two blocks-a star block in two colorways and an hourglass block that gets rotated-team up in a wall hanging. Florals, prints, and a stripe from Floral Melody by Ro Gregg for Northcott Silks provide a soft color palette.

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Mix and match fabric scraps in the triangle-squares filling these piled-high baskets. A light background of cream setting squares and triangles adds to the lighthearted look.

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Batik Baskets Wall Hanging

Give Scrap Basket exotic flair with Tonga Batiks from Timeless Treasures. Instead of creating a sea of milky white, quilt tester Laura Boehnke spiced up her rendition with mustard-color setting squares and triangles and contrasting green borders.

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Your eyes aren't playing tricks on you: Sunset-inspired batiks artfully arranged in Kaleidoscope blocks create the illusion of interlocking rings.

Scrappy Kaleidoscope Table Topper

Marry past and present by piecing Seeing Circles with Civil War reproduction fabrics from the Stafford County collection by Jo Morton for Andover Fabrics. Quilt tester Laura Boehnke used an unlikely plaid to create an abstract circular illusion around her center Kaleidescope block. Look for high-contrast prints for the asymmetrical borders to give your quilt a scrappy quality.

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Orderly rows of Flying Geese units take flight amid meandering vine appliqués for a stunning play on opposites. Unify the look with an easy-to-make scalloped edge.

Fast Flying Geese Wall Hanging

Opulent fabrics and stately rows of Flying Geese units set apart quilt tester Laura Boehnke's version of Fly Into Spring. Choose a bold, tapestrylike floral, such as this one from the Road to Marrakech collection from Studio E Fabrics (studioefabrics.com), for the 8"-wide sashing to achieve a similar effect.

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