American Patchwork & Quilting April 2014

The April 2014 issue of American Patchwork & Quilting is on sale from February 4--April 1.

Missed it? Order a digital issue here.

Readers from 25 states entered our 2013 challenge to commemorate a landmark building turning 100.

See the winners and finalists here.

In stitching up success, designer Bonnie Sullivan of All Through the Night Designs uses nearly every room in her house. 

Get the digital issue here.

Angles With Ease book and Triangler ruler
$17 (book) and $14.95 (ruler); ankastreasures.com

Fabric book panels from Quilting Treasures
quiltingtreasures.com for nearest retailer

Quilt It with Love: The Project Linus Story
$19.95; sterlingpublishing.com

Quiltspirations “playing” cards from LoveBug Studios
$14.95; quiltspirations.com

Designer: Tonya Alexander

Inspired by a Postage Stamp quilt, a designer creates a springtime beauty from a scrappy assortment of prints.
Get the digital issue here.

Scrappy Squares

A sophisticated and subdued palette of Japanese taupe fabrics form scrappy squares. A dark outer border grounds the quilt and allows the blocks to take center stage.

Get the free quilt pattern here.

Designer: Kristyne Czepuryk of Pretty By Hand

Fabrics: Scrumptious collection by Bonnie & Camille for Moda Fabrics

A pair of hand-embroidered projects uses sweet stitched flowers to make gifts that are pretty as a picture.
Get the digital issue here.

Designer: Laurel Keith

Build imaginative floral blocks one piece at a time to showcase your hand-applique skills. A Sawtooth border provides the perfect frame.
Get the digital issue here.

Hanging Tapestry

Surround an appliquéd block with a sawtooth inner border and a floral outer border for a look reminiscent of Jacobean embroideries and other fanciful tapestries.

Get the free quilt pattern here.

Designer: Sandy Klop of American Jane

Fabrics: Pot Luck collection by American Jane for Moda Fabrics

Learn your A-B-C's and quilt block 1-2-3's with a wall hanging that uses fussy-cut panel print letters to frame a variety of pieced blocks.
Get the digital issue here.

Designer: Laura Boehnke

Fabrics: Almost Amish collection by Debbie Beaves and Cotton Supreme solids, both for RJR Fabrics

Instead of using the dot/check multiprint found in the original quilt, Laura fussy-cut classic quilt blocks from a panel. She used coordinating solids to allow the prints and fussy-cut classic quilt blocks to be the center of attention.

Get the digital issue here.

Designer: Bonnie Sullivan of All Through The Night

Fabrics: Folk Art Home collection by Bonnie Sullivan for Maywood Studio

No, it's not applique! Surround squares of a favorite fabric with clever sashing that puts the squares front and center and forms the look of a two-block quilt.
Get the digital issue here.

Striking Stars

Sashing units become the star of this wall hanging. Four Square-in-a-Square blocks provide the perfect foil for the five stars formed by the sashing.

Get the free quilt pattern here.

Designer: Sherri McConnell

Like gusts of wind, swirl quilting spins bright pinwheels across a crisp white quilt top.

Buy this pattern here.

Girly Swirls

Purple, coral, navy, and gray team up for a snappy wall hanging. Use the same coral or purple print in each block’s corners, then alternate the blocks for an interesting secondary pattern when the blocks are set side by side. 

Get the free quilt pattern here.

Designer: Janet Nesbitt of The Buggy Barn

Most fabrics: Love to Garden collection by Anni Downs for Henry Glass & Co.

Basket units frame your favorite motifs fussy-cut from a panel print. Subdued hues transition perfectly from a long winter to early spring, as hints of color begin to emerge. 
Get the digital issue here.

Framed Flowers

Sew a flowery springtime wall hanging by fussy-cutting a detail from your favorite big floral print. Fabrics in rich green and red hues add plenty of texture and bright color. A bold print border serves as a modern frame.

Get the free quilt pattern here.

Designer: Laurie Simpson of Minick and Simpson

Fabrics: Midwinter Reds collection by Minick and Simpson for Moda Fabrics

Find pattern ideas in unexpected places, such as an antique game board, which comes to life here in a geometric table topper of bold reds and warm neutrals.
Get the digital issue here.

Designer: Laura Boehnke

Fabrics: Enchantment collection by Lonni Rossi for Andover Fabrics

With careful placement of a deep orange fabric, Laura brought the square formed by the A and B blocks to the forefront. Her table topper was an experiment in blending light and dark prints and in creative the look of transparency and layers.

Get the digital issue here.

Designer: Sue Spargo

Consider these beyond-the-basics stitches when you're ready to embellish a project. Get the first five 2014 issues to learn 10 embroidery stitches. A project in the December 2014 issue will incorporate the year's stitches.

Get the digital issue here.