Color Options from American Patchwork & Quilting June 2010

Little 3"-square Sawtooth Star blocks shine on a patriotic table topper. Learn how to make them using a traditional piecing method. Or, if you prefer, use the foundation-piecing pattern.

Get this free quilt pattern here.

Mini Sawtooth Stars

Twinkle, Twinkle goes from patriotic to pastel in quilt tester Laura Boehnke's low-contrast version that uses prints from Fairy Story by Becky Kelly for Timeless Treasures Fabrics.

"You can use a novelty print for tiny blocks, but look for one with a small scale to avoid too many awkward cuts," Laura says. "Consider rotary-cutting more pieces than you need so you can choose your favorites for the quilt."

Download instructions to make this table topper.

Link red and pink to create a high-contrast chain design inspired by the picket fences surrounding cottage gardens.

Irish Chain Table Topper

In her version, quilt tester Laura Boehnke alternated A and B blocks to change the original quilt's medallion-style setting. Showcase your fussy-cutting skills in the B blocks by trimming stripes and bold blooms from the Jacobean Jewels collection from Red Rooster Fabrics. In the border, narrow strips of green tone-on-tone nearly contain a large floral.

Download instructions to make this table topper.

Use assorted reproduction fabrics for a scrappy quilt that feels positively pulled from the past. A Shoofly Variation block within a Sawtooth Star block makes the final look doubly intriguing.

Buy this quilt pattern here.

Shoofly Stars Tabletop Quilt

Give Odds & Ends contemporary flair with prints from Jennifer Young's Modern Mix collection for Benartex. For a less scrappy version of the original, quilt tester Laura Boehnke used the same tan floral for the rectangles in the 16 Flying Geese units and the corner squares of her four blocks. Piecing some of the Shoofly units with large-scale prints add to the table topper's abstract look.

Download instructions to make this table topper.

Green may be the color of luck, but this quilt is the result of planned color placement and precise intersections. Monochromatic style and skinny sashing meet to produce dimensional gridwork.

Window Pane Wall Hanging

Center your attention by using a bold multicolor print to create a medallion-style middle on a small, wall-hanging version of Crossing. To get the look, quilt tester Laura Boehnke chose fabrics from the Floral Vignettes collection by Paintbrush Studio for Fabri-Quilt. Solid black sashing creates crisp gridlines between the blocks.

Download instructions to make this wall hanging.

Take a break from tradition. These cottages, framed in a Log Cabin style, bring back carefree memories of lake getaways.

Get the free quilt pattern here.

Harvest Log Cabins

Watch Summer Cabins change with the seasons when made in small-scale, harvest-color prints from Thimbleberries' Village Green collection for RJR Fabrics. Quilt tester Laura Boehnke added the illusion of a fourth border by placing the same dark brown floral in the outer two "logs" of each block. She varied the color of the pieced cabins but kept the windows, chimneys, and roofs the same to create a coordinated look.

Download instructions to make this wall hanging.

Create appliqués with a little extra pop using batting and freezer paper for a trapunto effect. Before you set the table for spring, whip up coordinating napkins.

Get the free quilt pattern here.

Quickly decorate the band of a pillowcase with fusible leaf appliqués. Choose your favorite floral-ours are from Meadowsweet, top right, by Sandi Henderson for Michael Miller Fabrics and Gypsy Rose, bottom right, by Keri Schneider for Blank Quilting. Use this easy idea to embellish pillowcases for charity as part of the 1 Million Pillowcase Challenge.

Download instructions to make the pink floral pillowcase.

Download instructions to make the orange floral pillowcase.

Hidden in a honeycomb patter that was inspired by a vintage quilt, dainty Six-Pointed Stars sweeten the design of this hand-pieced table topper.

Six-Pointed Stars Table Runner

Condense the Honeycomb Stars pattern to create a table runner as quilt tester Laura Boehnke did using bright prints from Laurel Burch Basics for Clothworks. If hand stitching is not your forte, take a cue from Laura and carefully machine-piece.

Download instructions to make this table runner.

Hard lines and soft curves make perfect partners when stitched together. Learn how to appliqué with plastic templates and spray starch for a flawless performance.

Southwestern Circles Throw

Turn down the contrast of Dancing Dots by working with hand-dyes batiks from the Enchanted Journey Batiks collection by Patricia Leuker and Southwest Decoratives for Avlyn. Although quilt tester Laura Boehnke used 24 different batiks in her throw-size version, the fabrics all fit within four distinct colorways. She reserved certain colorways for various appliqués and planned her positioning to keep the quilt from looking chaotic.

Download instructions to make this throw.

Whether you call it Churn Dash, Monkey Wrench, or another of the 25 names we've seen for this block, we know it's a fan favorite. A simple setting of sashing and cornerstones highlights the scrappy blocks and their varying degrees of contrast.

Churn Dash Baby Quilt

Turn Sash and Dash into a baby quilt or small picnic throw by stitching up a dozen blocks and going bold and bright.

Quilt tester Laura Boehnke combined Designer Solids and a range of small to large prints from Jenean Morrison's California Dreamin' collection, both for FreeSpirit Fabrics.

Download instructions to make this baby quilt.