Color Options from American Patchwork & Quilting December 2011

Designer: Anna GriffinPleats and ruching dress up a festive pair of Christmas-theme pillows just in time for a season of good cheer.Get the free patterns here.

By simply switching to wallpaper-inspired cottons from The Good Life collection by Wooster u0026amp; Prince Papers for Robert Kaufman, quilt tester Laura Boehnke created a seasonless pair of sophisticated pillows.

Executive editor Jennifer Keltner utilized a portion of the pleated pillow and the Kumari Garden collection by Dena Designs for FreeSpirit to dress up a purchased 25u0022-wide tea towel. To embellish your own towel, cut a 5-1/2x26u0022 band and a 2-1/2x48-1/2u0022 strip. Hem short edges and one long edge of strip with 1/4u0022 double-fold hems. Form 15 pleats in the strip and attach pleated strip to towel 2-1/4u0022 from lower edge. Press all edges of the band under 1/2u0022 and position band on towel, covering raw edges of pleats; topstitch band in place. Stitch a few parallel lines on the band to secure it for laundering.

Designer: Betsy ChutchianUsing an abundance ofs prints in fall hues, whip up a Logu0026nbsp;Cabin table topper that has a Straight Furrows setting.Get this free quilt pattern here.

Floral Strips Log Cabin QuiltQuilt tester Laura Boehnke trimmed large-scale florals and geometric prints from the Happy Together Corduroy collection from Timeless Treasures Fabrics into strips to create a playful Log Cabin quilt. For best results, cut strips for the blocks lengthwise (with the wale of the corduroy parallel to each strip's long edge).Go to the free quilt pattern.

In each Log Cabin block in her 27x13-1/2u0022 pillow, assistant editor Jodyu0026nbsp;Sanders used the same five prints from Karen Tusinski's Gallery Fiori collection for Pu0026amp;B Textiles. One block radiates from brown out to red, while the other radiates from red to brown. She finished the pillow top by adding a 14u0022 square and 7-1/4x14u0022 rectangle of larger-scale prints to the pair of blocks.

Designer: Karen Witt of Reproduction QuiltsCross and Crown blocks take center stage on a scrappy two-color throw.Get this free quilt pattern here.

Using Mrs. March's Basic collection from Lecien, design director Nancy Wiles stitched a knitting needle roll-up. To construct the outside of the roll-up, she layered a Cross and Crown block with batting and dark tan print 14-1/2u0022 squares. For the pockets (which will hold knitting and crochet needles up to 14u0022 long), she sewed a half block to a 6-1/2x14-1/2u0022 lining rectangle, then pressed it open so the seam is at the top of the half block. She positioned the half block on the layered outside, lining up raw edges. She quilted 1-1/2u0022 apart through all layers to create pockets, then she added a tie and bound the edges.Get the free quilt pattern here.u0026nbsp;

Designer: Natalia Bonner of Piece N QuiltRibbon curls and stars reveal themselves as you unwrap the mystery of this two-color quilt featuring a simplifying stitch-and-flip method.Buy this quilt pattern here.

Starry Square-in-a-Square QuiltTwo colors of stars emerge on quilt tester Laura Boehnke's version of Wrapped in Red. Laura carefully placed navy, green, rust, and beige reproduction prints from Jeanne Horton's American Spirit 1880u20131910 collection for Windham Fabrics to create the effect.Go to the free wall quilt pattern.

Big Block Table RunnerTo feature a large novelty print, such as the Fruit Punch collection from Timeless Treasures, replace block centers with 12-1/2u0022 squares. Surround three blocks with a border of more rectangle units and 2-1/2u0022 squares for a 20-1/2x52-1/2u0022 table runner.Go to the free table runner pattern.

Designer: Maggie Bonanomi from A Design From the Butternutu0026nbsp;HouseHen, penny, and flower appliquu00e9s become lead characters on a primitive table runner made from hand-dyed felted wool.

Hen and Flowers Wall HangingInstead of freezer paper and wool, quilt tester Laura Boehnke used fusible web and coordinating fabrics from Blank Quilting, including from the Calista collection, to create a wall-hanging version of Henny Penny. While the quilt still has folk art flair, Laura amped up the color palette with tone-on-tones, stripes, and dots that add depth to the farmyard scene.Go to the free wall hanging quilt pattern.

Graphic designer Jann Williams appliquu00e9d Henny Penny motifs to a pieced wool 4-1/2x9-1/2u0022 rectangle, then embellished it with beads, rickrack, and stem, fly, and couching stitches. She sewed the adorned rectangle to a backing rectangle, turned the unit right side out, and stuffed it with a same-size muslin insert filled with crushed walnut shells for a gift-ready pincushion.

Editor Jill Abeloe Mead needle-turn-appliquu00e9d a batik and shot cotton chicken to a 17u0022 square of Mad for Madras-a two-sided cotton fabric woven to look like patchwork-from Robert Kaufman Fabrics. She wrapped the background fabric around a 13u0022 square frame made from stretcher bars (available at art supply stores) and attached it with a staple gun for a funky chicken wall hanging.

Designer: Lissa Alexander Experiment with unlikely fabric combinations and quilting styles to craft a Logu0026nbsp;Cabin stunner that gives equal play to lights and darks.

Light and Dark Log Cabin QuiltUsing fabrics from the Bittersweet collection by Nancy Halvorsen for Benartex, quilt tester Laura Boehnke rotated her finished blocks to create an alternate version of the Light and Dark setting. Centers in a berry hue give a nod to the red centers of traditional Logu0026nbsp;Cabin blocks.Go to the free wall quilt pattern.

Log Cabin Tote BagDesign director Nancy Wiles cut scrappy strips from assorted Bali Batiks from Hoffman California Fabrics to make two mirror-image Log Cabin blocks. She featured one block on each side of her pieced handbag, adding two extra 1-1/2x12-1/2u0022 strips at the bottom of each block to allow for the bag's depth. Au0026nbsp;wide band (cut 3u0022 wide) at the bag top and matching handles incorporate both of the colors used in the blocks.Go to the free tote bag pattern.

Designer: Sue Spargo of Sue Spargo Folk-Art QuiltsIncrease your hand-embroidery know-how as you embellish holiday motifs on a set of stuffed wool ornaments.Get the free ornament patterns here.

The whimsical animals on these Japanese prints from Toy Poodle by Kinkame for Clothworks inspired interactive editor Lisa Schumacher to create easy-sew baby bibs. After fusing solid-color A and B bird shapes to the bib top, Lisa satin-stitched around them with variegated thread and drew eyes with a permanent fabric marker. She sewed together the bib front and a coordinating solid color bib back with batting in between.

Graphic designer Maggie Goldsmith went no-sew to create a fun, seasonal garland. Using heavyweight fusible web, she fused together two matching blue print 4u0022 squares, then used a light box to trace patterns E and M on the fused rectangles. After cutting them out, she cut a slit in the center of each and strung them on braided baker's twine.

Designer: Pat Sloan of Pat Sloan u0026amp; Co.Connect Courthouse Steps blocks by corresponding color and watch new shapes emerge. Then frame it all in with a chevron-style border.

Stacked Lanterns Log Cabin QuiltString of Lanterns gets a garden makeover when made in florals from the Moonlit Sonata collection by Paintbrush Studio for Fabri-Quilt. Quilt tester Laura Boehnke chose a bold floral print for the outer border to draw attention to the flowerlike shapes in the quilt center.Go to the free quilt pattern.

For a cozy reversible scarf, graphic designer Jann Williams utilized two flannel collections-Winter Four All Seasons and Tic Tac-by Kim Schaefer for Andover Fabrics. One side features eight Log Cabin blocks, while the other features a fussy-cut snowman print.

Quilt collector: Miriam KujacMake history by re-creating a glorious vintage quilt that incorporates 50 years of fabric-including gray and black mourning prints-in its Nine- and 25-Patch blocks.

Batik Patches QuiltTo stay true to Mourning Glory's scrappy roots, quilt tester Laura Boehnke used dozens of batiks in a rainbow palette from the Batik Paradise collection by Connecting Threads for her 25-Patch blocks. After randomly placing lights and darks in the 25-Patch blocks, she brought in a little order by using just two batiks in each Nine-Patch block.Go to the free quilt pattern.

To fashion the tops of her stylish oven mitts, assistant art director Elizabeth Stumbo stitched together four 25-Patch blocks and cut two oven mitt shapes from the patchwork. She interlined the oven mitts using layers of cotton batting and heat-resistant batting. Unpieced backs show off larger sections of the prints, which are from the Bazaar Style and Bohemian Soul collections by Patricia Bravo of Art Gallery Fabrics.Go to the free oven mitts pattern.