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Nor’easter Schmor’easter mini quilt – free pattern

It may say that it’s now Spring on the calendar and it may be gloriously sunny for the moment, but baby, it’s cold outside!  And with a nor’easter headed for New England (although maybe not quite as far inland as central New Hampshire), the colorful flowers that I’m longing to see still seem a long way off.  Once again, quilting comes to the rescue…

Here’s a fast and fun little mini quilt that’s charming hanging from a door knob or any place you’d like to see a bit of color.

I’m calling it my “Nor’easter Schmor’easter mini quilt” and here’s the pattern:
You’ll need:
Pink batik:  4 — 2¼” x 2¼” squares
Yellow batik:  2 — 2½” x 2½” squares, further cut once diagonally to form 4 triangles
Green batik:  2 — 1½” x 2″ rectangles
     1 — 1½” x 3½” rectangle
     2 — 2½” x 2½” squares
     1 strip 2¼” x 40″ for binding
Ivory batik:  6 — 1½” x 1½” squares
     2 — 1½” x 2½” rectangle
     5 — 2½” x 2½” squares, further cut once diagonally to form 10 triangles
First we’ll tackle the stem and leaf portion of the quilt:

1.  On the back of 4 of the ivory batik 1½” x 1½” squares use a pencil to lightly draw a line diagonally from one corner to the other.
2.  Layer the 4 ivory batik 1½” x 1½” squares atop the 2 green batik 2½” x 2½” squares with right sides together as follows and stitch on the drawn lines.
3.  Press seams open towards the ivory batik and trim seam allowances to ¼”.

4.  Stitch 1 ivory batik 1½” x 2½” to each of the units created in step 1-3 above.  Press seams open towards the ivory batik.

5.  Stitch together the units created in step 4 above and the green batik 1½” x 3½” rectangle as follows.  Press seams open towards the green batik “stem”.

Now onto the flower portion of the quilt:
1.  Paper piece 4 petal units as follows using the remaining pink, yellow, green, and ivory patches.  Here’s the link for petal unit 1 (bottom left); and the link for petal unit 2 (bottom right); and finally the link for petal unit 3 (top — you’ll make two of these units).  It might help to color the sections with colored pencils before starting to stay organized.  And if you’re new to paper piecing, here’s a link to a basic paper piecing tutorial on Craftsy.
2.  Stitch the 4 petal units together as follows:

3.  Finally stitch the flower unit to the stem/leaf unit, quilt as desired and bind.  I machine quilted just outside the edge of the flower, stem, and leaves using ivory thread.  I also quilted a diamond about ½” inside the yellow flower center to help it lie flat.
And that’s it!  Make one flower or a garden of them!  No need to wait for Mother Nature!
Happy Spring!

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  • Katherine March 21, 2016, 6:52 am

    Love this sweet spring flower. Thank you so much for sharing! Happy Easter.������

  • Esther Grimes April 18, 2016, 6:50 am

    Just what I was looking for for Mother's Day gifts…and I still have enough time to make and mail them. I love how you randomly throw out super cute little projects. I'm making your seasonal framed quilts from last year as this year progresses. Thanks!