Color Options from American Patchwork & Quilting August 2010

Stitch up Nine-Patch blocks and combine them with setting squares for an easy checkerboard-style quilt.

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Checkerboard Nine-Patch

Kick Summer Salsa up another notch with a bold expanded color palette. The large-scale prints of Berkeley by Alice Kennedy for Timeless Treasures fit well within the large setting squares. For a smaller version that maintains symmetry, quilt tester Laura Boehnke used only the center portion of the original design. Learn more about this fabric collection.

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It's hip to be square when you stitch simple blocks from Japanese prints and yarn-dyed woven fabrics in a range of muted shades reminiscent of moss, bark, stone, and sky.

Scrappy Charm Squares

Like shortcuts? A charm pack is perfect for this pattern's 2-1/2" squares and narrow strips. Quilt tester Laura Boehnke used 1930s reproduction prints from Judie Rothermel's Aunt Grace collection for Marcus Fabrics. The result is a scrappy table topper with more pronounced color variations than the original.

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Foundation and curved piecing pay off on a star-studded bed quilt. Our tips and tricks prove it's possible to master these easier-than-they-look techniques.

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Foundation-Pieced Arcs

Points of Pride goes global with Asian-inspired prints from Imperial Collection 6 by Robert Kaufman Fabrics. Quilt tester Laura Boehnke created blocks in four colorways to add interest. A 4-inch-wide border gives the medallion-style wall hanging a polished appearance.

"I used one gold tone-on-tone for all of the points in the blocks, and I like how the blocks look like sun rays when placed together," Laura says.

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Grab two bundles of precut 2-1/2x42" strips in your favorite fabrics to devise an interesting illusion of interlocking squares and strips.

Batik Squares and Strips

Watch new shapes emerge as you tweak the color placement of Linked Together. By using the same batik for the rectangles in the diagonal units and the 2-1/2" squares in the block segments, quilt tester Laura Boehnke made the spinning pinwheels prominent. A tan batik in the inner border and each block corner unifies the design.

Bali Pop (precut 2-1/2"-wide strips) batiks in Berry Bliss from Hoffman California Fabrics help achieve the look. "The mottled prints blend when you piece them together, resulting in a seamless appearance," Laura says.

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Six rows of 16-Patch blocks plus calculated color placement equals a head-turning quilt whose sum is greater than its simple square parts.

Blooming Borders 16-Patch Throw and Flannel Furrows 16-Patch Throw

Piece the same 16-Patch block using bright prints or holiday flannels. Bright colors from the Garden Whimsy collection by Kim Schaefer for Andover fabrics radiate from the center in Blooming Borders 16-Patch Throw. Quilt tester Laura Boehnke rotated the same 16-Patch block to diagonal rows in the Flannel Furrow variation.

Go to the free quilt pattern for Flannel Furrows 16-Patch Throw (left).

Go to the free quilt pattern for Blooming Borders 16-Patch Throw (right).

Take creative license with textured materials-velvet, linen, and hand-dyed wool-and appliqué an artistic bloom on a pillow that's appealing to the eyes and soothing to the touch.

Wool Flower Pillow

A purple wool 18-1/2" square makes a bold background for executive editor Jennifer Keltner's version of Coneflower Pillow. She embellished some of the petals and leaves, which are all cotton, with rows of long running stitches.

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Spruce up your surroundings with a quilt that radiates fearless fun. Don't be fooled by what looks like blocks set on point. This clever design is really blocks set side by side.

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Warm up Color Your World with harvest-inspired hues. To create a harmonious look, quilt tester Laura Boehnke pieced four identical blocks using fabrics from the Olivia collection by Gudrun Erla of G.E. Designs for Red Rooster Fabrics. Geometric prints in the border and star points frame the soft florals featured in the center of the Snowball units.

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Like a happy memory, this vintage blue-and-pink Churn Dash quilt will have you yearning for yesteryear. Craft a modern-day version with scraps of prints, stripes, plaids, and checks.

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Twisted Churn Dashes

A chocolate brown border contrasts with the light blue background on this contemporary wall hanging. As a nod to the original quilt's mix of plaids, stripes, and checks, quilt tester Laura Boehnke chose a dotty "stripe" from the Color Defined collection by Faye Burgos for Marcus Fabrics for the setting squares and triangles. For a less scrappy look, Laura used similar color placement in each Churn Dash block.

Go to the free quilt pattern.