Color Options from American Patchwork & Quilting October 2012

Designer: Bobbie Ashley

Cultivate a trio of techniques--hand and machine appliqué and hand embroidery--on a throw that has a harvest theme.

Get the free quilt pattern here.

Winter Wonderland

Blue and green combine perfectly in quilt tester Laura Boehnke's quilt. This color pairing--beyond traditional holiday colors--allows you to display your quilt longer so you can get more mileage out of your seasonal decor. Fabrics are from the Winter Menagerie collection by Jason Yenter for In the Beginning Fabrics.

Go to the free quilt pattern.

Sometimes busy prints can produce rich color rewards, as was the case in senior editor Elizabeth Beese's version, which uses a collage print as its focal point. The variety of scale and colors in the main print belies the simplicity of the piecing in this elegant, easy throw. Fabrics are from the Explorer collection by Punch Studio for Hoffman California Fabrics.

Designer: Sandy Klop of American Jane PatternsNeed a recipe for chevron success? Mix bright solids with a secret ingredient--a single print in several colorways. Sweet!

Retro Zigzags

For her version quilt tester Laura Boehnke took a different slant, placing like fabric pieces in horizontal, rather than vertical, rows. She aimed for contrast in colors and patterns between rows, even when you had adjacent pink rows. Fabrics are from the Veranda collection by Verna Mosquera for FreeSpirit.

Go to the free quilt pattern.

Deliberate placement and minimal contrast were editor Jill Abeloe Mead's color goals for her watercolor-inspired version. She used her design wall to plan the waves of color. The natural variations in batiks lend themselves well to blending colors effortlessly. Fabrics are from the Artisan Batiks: Dotty Dot roll-up (precut 21⁄2"-wide strips) by Lunn Studios for Robert Kaufman Fabrics.

Designer: Carrie Nelson of Miss Rosie's Quilt Co.Head in the right direction by employing basic tools--an acrylic ruler in this case. Cutting corners simplifies the piecing of what appears to be a complex block.

Designer Carrie Nelson so enjoyed making Back on Track that she created a second version with a few differences. In the original quilt, Carrie used a single background to unify the scrappy blocks. Because the second color palette was a bit more controlled, she opted to make the background and border scrappy instead. Carrie also added pink sashing squares and limited the sashing strips to browns and tans.After making blocks for the original quilt, Carrie decided she wanted the Xs to "float" inside the blocks so she gave each block a separate border of the background fabric.

Crossing Paths

Repeating a color in every phase of your quiltmaking provides continuity. For that reason, quilt tester Laura Boehnke used black print sashing in her version. Repeating the black print coordinates from the blocks unifies the quilt center overall, and the black in the paisley border print ties it all together. Fabrics are from the Vintage Vibe collection by Faye Burgos for Marcus Fabrics.

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Designer: Scott Hansen of Blue Nickel StudiosIt may be difficult to see at first glance, but a single block--alternating in light and dark colorways--forms the basis for a stunning quilt.

Tropical Twist

Quilt tester Laura Boehnke's version of Crack the Code emphasizes the sashing. Her choice of bright blue corrals the mix of vibrant batiks within each block of her color-infused quilt. Fabrics are from the Gumdrop Tonga Batiks collection from Timeless Treasures Fabrics.

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Design director Nancy Wiles used her favorite print in multiple places on her single-block version. The repetition of a fabric in any quilt design helps unify the overall look. Fabrics are from the Bukhara collection from Dear Stella.

Designer: Jennifer Bosworth of Shabby FabricsA hint of appliqué, including scalloped "doilies" and three-dimensional buds, highlight a patchwork of pieced blocks.

Flower appliqués are most often rendered in realistic colors, but quilt tester Laura Boehnke didn't let realism stop her from choosing a palette that better matches her decor. Laura's decision to use a large-scale abstract print for the setting squares makes the resulting throw appear more intricate than it actually is.

Fabrics are from the Earthtones collection by Norman Wyatt, Jr., for P&B Textiles.Go to the free quilt pattern.

In intern Ivy Christianson's interpretation of How Sweet It Is, the stars recede and pinwheel centers pop around an hourglass square on point that forms where the four blocks come together. The faded look of the lighter prints minimizes the distinction between the pieces that form the background. Fabrics are from the Gentle Flowers Vintage Bloom collection from Quilt Gate.

Designer: Betsy Chutchian

Halloween hues and striped sashing set the tone for a scrappy quilt composed of vertical strips.

Get the free quilt pattern here.

Southwestern Plains

Fussy-cutting and deliberate placement of a directional print, such as the stripe quilt tester Laura Boehnke used for the sashing of her version, directs your focus to the quilt center. Fabrics are from the Desert Dreams collection by Kensington Studio for Quilting Treasures.

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Assistant editor Jody Sanders pulled from a stash of 1930s reproduction prints to make a straight-set interpretation of Harvest Rows. In addition to making four Big Dipper blocks (each one with four matching hourglass units rotated to form a pinwheel), Jody made five additional hourglass units--four for the border and one she trimmed to 2" square and used as a sashing square in the center of the quilt.

Designer: Tamara Barfels of Daisy Ridge Quilting and Design

Step right up and use a circus of colorful pieces to put on quite a show. It's easier than it looks! Keep your curves smooth with a combination of fusible web and rickrack.

Buy this quilt pattern here.

Wheel of Fortune

Tame the riot of color by narrowing the palette to just a couple of colors and adding a neutral, like in quilt tester Laura Boehnke's quilt. With the addition of brown as a neutral to the green-and-blue palette, her single-block version does just that. Fabrics are from the Robin collection by Erin Ries and the Impressions Moire collection, both from Clothworks.

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Executive editor Jennifer Keltner flipped the script for her monochromatic wool version, using a stripe for the background and tone-on-tones for the appliqués. She whipstitched each piece in place with matching-color threads so the stitching would show as little as possible.

Designer: Lisa DeBee Schiller

Add a whimsical touch to your decor with pillows more likely to charm your guests than spook them.

Get the free pattern here.

Ornate Floral Pillow

For even quicker home decor, fussy-cut a beautiful large-print fabric to use in place of the center appliqué. If you can't locate matching ribbon, use a strip of coordinating fabric (bias-cut so it won't fray). Fabrics are from the Ruby collection from Timeless Treasures Fabrics.

Go to the free pillow pattern.