Color Options from American Patchwork & Quilting April 2011

Pieced blocks surround an Irish Chain embellished with rings of flowers. Learn the secret to flawless appliqué by machine.

Stars and Chain Wall Hanging

Quilt tester Laura Boehnke re-created Posey Patch sans appliqués so the navy and red stars would shine. By using the same tan tone-on-tone for the block backgrounds, she made the Irish Chain pop. Fabrics are from the Artisan collection for Timeless Treasures.

Go to the free wall hanging quilt pattern.

Framed with Flying Geese, a scrappy vertical-row quilt is joined with skinny sashing strips for a uniform finish.

Buy this quilt pattern here.

Avian Table Topper

A new look takes flight on quilt tester Laura Boehnke's tabletop version. Inspired by the Flying Geese borders of the original quilt, Laura took the feathered theme on step further by using fabrics from the Skylark collection for Red Rooster Fabrics. She fussy-cut bird designs to showcase in the centers of three blocks, which she arranged horizontally and separated with short sashing strips.

Go to the free tabletop quilt pattern.

Oh say, can you see stars hidden in the quilt? Two simple units-a two-patch and an hourglass-set side by side create the intricate design.

All-Season Baby Quilt

For a sweet baby quilt, remake Stars and Bars using Aunt Martha's Busy Kitties collection by Mary Ann Henderson for Henry Glass & Co. The 6-1/2-inch center squares are a good size for fussy-cutting the seasonal designs from the panel print. She used the most saturated prints for the star points so they'd stand out against the soft pastels.

Go to the free baby quilt pattern.

Encircle a one-of-a-kind village with stunning hand appliqué.

Row Houses Wall Quilt

For a welcoming wall hanging, quilt tester Laura Boehnke pieced and appliquéd a row of seven houses. A variety of small-scale prints from the Bread & Butter collection by Kaye England for Wilmington Prints gives each house personality.

Go to the free wall quilt pattern.

In the reversal of nature's color palette, dark stars twinkle across a light background on a scrappy throw.

Twinkling Stars Table Runner

Quilt tester Laura Boehnke reversed the placement of lights and darks to give Shining Light a more traditional star quality. She turned the center star block so it's no longer on point and flanked it with floating star blocks for a balanced look. To unify the design, she added a pieced border to all sides. Fabrics are from the Etchings collection by Studio E Fabrics.

Go to the free table runner quilt pattern.

Two fabrics set apart by strip sets meet in the middle in a contemporary twist on a classic bargello design.

Rectangle Bargello Quilt

Blue meets blue on quilt tester Laura Boehnke's under-the-sea interpretation of Caramel & Cocoa. She chose two blue tone-on-tones from P&B Textiles-a large-scale dot from the Gems of the Sea collection by Janet Broxon and a small-scale dot from the Fizz collection. She interspersed strip sets containing colorful novelty prints to set the two blues apart.

Go to the free quilt pattern.

Hand-stitch the first blooms of spring from easy-to-work-with wool.

Get the free pattern here.

Fussy-Cut Flowers Pillow

Quilt tester Laura Boehnke swapped fabric for wool and machine-stitching for hand-stitching to craft the appliquéd circles on her round pillow. She fussy-cut delicate floral designs from the Abigail collection by Sara Morgan for Blue Hill Fabrics to showcase in the circles. Flat piping cut from the same fabric as the pattern A circles mimics the layered circle look on a larger scale.

Go to the free pillow pattern.