Reflection - Modern Quilt Tutorial for Oakshott Lipari Blog Hop

Welcome to my stop on the Oakshott Lipari blog hop! Thank you to Lynne of Lily's Quilts and Oakshott Fabrics for this opportunity. This simple, graphic quilt design had been sitting in my sketchbook for at least a year, and when I saw Lynne's call for makers, it automatically popped into my mind as the perfect quilt to show off Oakshott shot cottons.

Negative space and alternate gridwork - my favorite!

I made two other projects with Oakshott before {Scandinavia Table Topper} {Star Within Table Runner + Tutorial}, and I've always been dazzled by the fabric itself. The Lipari line features 18 shot cottons interwoven with black. Shot cottons always look different depending on how you turn them, because the warp and weft threads are different colors. I love that!

Ooh, shiny. Photo courtesy of Oakshott Fabrics.

"Reflection" is a play on repeating blocks, combined with negative space and a diagonal layout. Every block is in the same place on either side of the quilt, and each side is quilted identically.

I quilted Reflection with the overall design in mind - I wanted that to be the star. Quilting can be the perfect way to emphasize a design element, don't you think? For example, an all-over design like spirals or pebbles would have been okay, but it wouldn't have been a spectacular choice to emphasize how each block is reflected across the diagonal (I demonstrate more of that below in the tutorial, if you are curious).

I quilted on my domestic machine (my beloved Janome Memory Craft 6300, Elsa), using my walking foot for the lines and my free motion foot for the purposefully wonky boxes and lines in the gray background. I used Aurifil thread #1158, a beautiful Medium Gray/bluish gray to achieve the background texture. Doesn't it look gorgeous?! The straight lines were quilted with #2024 (White) and a dash of #2745 (Midnight). I do love when my quilting shows! Why hide all that hard work? :)

Isn't it amazing how beautiful the shot cottons shine? I chose Stromboli (Lipari #12) for the backing and it did NOT disappoint. I've developed a bit of a soft spot for red!

 

If you'd like to make your own Reflection quilt, read on!

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Reflection Quilt Tutorial 

This pattern is the perfect one to showcase large prints or beautiful shot cottons! You will create (2) blocks each of contrasting fabrics (small square and large square) to set opposite from each other in an alternate gridwork layout.

Level: Beginner and up!

Finished size: 54.5 x 54.5

Materials:
-Colored squares: 14 Oakshott shot cotton fat eighths - each should pair with another that contrasts (I recommend first splitting into darker and lighter colors, and pair up from there)

*A note: Oakshott fat eighths are 10" x 27", slightly larger than a typical quilting cotton 9" x 21" fat eighth. If you are using quilting cotton, you will need to use fat quarters (18" x 22").

-Background fabric: 1.5 yards (sample:  Lipari #1 Pollara or gray)

-Backing and binding: 2 yards (sample: Lipari #12 Stromboli or red)

Cut:
From 7 small square fabrics:
(1) - 5" x 10" strip from each - subcut into (2) - 5" squares

From each of the contrasting 7 large square fabrics:
(1) - 5" x 10" strip - subcut into (2) - 5" squares
(2) - 5" x 9.5" strips

From background fabric:
(12) - 9.5" squares
(2) - 9.5" x 18.5"
(2) - 9.5" x 27.5"  

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Directions

*Sew all seams using a scant 1/4 inch seam.

1. Sew (1) - 5" small square to (1) - 5" contrasting square.

2. Press seam allowances to the large square fabric. This will make the smaller squares stand out!

3. Sew a strip of coordinating large square fabric (5" x 9.5") to any side of the block. Press to large square. You should have a 9.5" square.

4. Repeat Steps #1-3 for all 14 square blocks.

5. Lay out rows as pictured in the diagram below. Each block that you just sewed should sit in the same place - opposite the other across the quilt's diagonal (see picture).

Reflection Quilt Top Row Assembly

6. Sew blocks together in rows. Press seams open.

7. Match up the seams of the 9.5" blocks with pins to sew the rows to each other. Press seams open.

8. Baste, quilt, and bind as desired! Enjoy!

Please let me know if you make a Reflection quilt! Thank you again to Oakshott for providing the fabrics for this project! Make sure to check out the rest of the amazing Lipari projects:

5 May     Allison Dutton       allison-sews.blogspot.com
10 May   Nicholas Ball         quiltsfromtheattic.wordpress.com 
12 May   Helen Purvis          archiethewonderdog.blogspot.com
17 May   Lynn Harris            thelittleredhen.typepad.com
19 May   Kitty Wilkin           nightquilter.com (now moved to 2 June)
24 May   Jessica Skultety      www.quiltyhabit.com 
26 May   Karin Jordan           www.leighlaurelstudios.com
31 May   Elisabeth Vaughan  sharksdinner.com

Linking up to Needle and Thread Thursday, TGIFF, Crazy Mom Quilts