Modern Plus Sign Quilts Book Blog Hop - Intertwined

Hello! Welcome to my stop on the Modern Plus Signs book hop! I’m so excited for Cheryl of Meadow Mist Designs and Paige of Quilted Blooms as they launch their new book, "Modern Plus Sign Quilts!"

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If you're new here, hello! I'm Laura! I design quilt patterns, and I'm a self-proclaimed deal hunter! Be sure to join the popular Quilting & Sewing Deals Facebook group where I post sales, deals, and coupon codes from all around the web!

For the blog hop, I chose the pattern "Intertwined." The quilt is bed sized (about 68" x 88"), but more of a traditional plus sign layout.

The quilt in the book is made with Grafic fabric by Latifah Saafir. I was immediately drawn to the print fabrics with a lighter color background fabric. (Remember this quilt I made with Latifah's Double Dutch fabric??)

Photo credit C+T Publishing

Back in January, I won a giveaway of "scraps" from Susan Emory of Swirly Girls Design. The scraps were all from Susan's new fabric line "Hank & Clementine" for Michael Miller fabrics. However, when I received them, I was blown away by what Susan considered scraps! It was an entire medium flat rate box STUFFED with fabric! There were many fat quarters and fat eighths in the box! I knew it would be perfect for making the Intertwined quilt!

The Intertwined pattern uses fat quarters, but I was easily able to find enough fabric in the "scraps" to use.

Well, all except for one print that I had to work a little magic on.

Once all the pieces were cut, I laid them all out on my design wall. (And by "design wall," I mean cheap vinyl table cloth tacked up in my dining room with push pins.)

When sewing quilts that have rows, I love using numbered pins in the first fabric piece of each row to mark the rows. It helps me so much to know which row is which once I get sewing! (The white fabric is Moda Bella 98 White. I keep a bolt or two on hand at all times!)

This quilt came together really quickly! (My favorite kind!)

Once I finish a quilt top, I usually grab whatever wide backing fabric or yardage I have laying around and just go with it for the back. But after cutting all the print fabrics needed for the quilt, I still had a huge pile of "scraps!" I just couldn't let them linger in my stash! They were begging to be used for the back!

I first cut all the binding strips I would need, then started cutting all the rest of the scraps into 2 1/2" strips. I decided to also make sure none were longer than about 20" (definitely just guessed on the length though, I never measured).

Based on my calculations, I would need 88 yards of strips to cover the back!! I didn't want to measure and add every single piece though, so I just cut all the scraps and hoped for the best!

I wanted to sew the strips randomly (a concept I have yet to come close to mastering), so I decided to try a new-to-me technique: I put all the strips in the dryer for five minutes.

I pulled each strip out of the laundry basket without any thought except to ensure the same fabric wasn't sewn next to each other. After all the strips were sewn together, I used my cutting mat to measure how long the strip was - 95 yards!!

I just had to take it to my local football field to mark the occasion. Although a neat idea, the reality wasn't so great. It was crazy windy, so my strip blew across the field, twisting it. Dragging it along the ground caused the fabric to fray quite a bit. And obviously they don't maintain our local football field during the off-season. I'd still do it again though! It was cool to see the little pile of fabric reach all the way across the field!

Back home, I grabbed the two ends of the 95-yard strip and started sewing them together. One seam, 47 1/2 yards long! Once that seam was finished, I sewed the two ends together again to create a 23 3/4 yard long piece that was four strips wide. (Similar to a Jelly Roll Race quilt.) I kept going until it was just wider than my quilt top.

I cut the width I needed, then pieced the remaining bit together and added it to get the necessary height. I ended with just over an inch extra on all four sides! (Fine since I'd be quilting it on my Juki TL 2010-Q, but it wouldn't have been enough for a long-arm!)

After a good pressing, I made the quilt sandwich using Warm & Natural batting and pin basted.

I decided to use a large meander/stipple using Aurifil 50wt thread in White #2024 (I pieced both the front and back using the same thread).

I bound the quilt by machine, as usual.

This was my 12th quilt finish for the year!

I love the contrast of the pluses on the front and the minuses on the back! Once a math teacher, always a math geek!

Be sure to stop by Cheryl's and/or Paige's blog to enter today's giveaway! (There are giveaways for every day of the blog hop!)

I highly recommend getting a copy of the book too! The patterns are very well written and there are several designs worth making more than once! You can get a signed copy from Cheryl or Paige, request it at your local quilt shop, or order it on Amazon.

Be sure to visit all the bloggers on the hop to see their versions of the book quilts!

Tuesday, March 13th

Signature Plus

Soma @ Whims and Fancies

Ann @ Brown Paws Quilting

Kitty @ Night Quilter

Tribal Plus

Sophie @ Luna Lovequilts

Afton @ Quilting Mod

Shelley @ The Carpenters Daughter Who Quilts

Wednesday, March 14th

Plus Surround

Jayne @ Twiggy and Opal

Jen @ A Dream and a Stitch

Abigail @ Cut & Alter

Kaleidoscope Plus

Yvonne @ Quilting Jetgirl

Sandra @ mmm! quilts

Karen @ Run Sew Fun

Thursday, March 15th

Postage Plus

Linda @ Flourishing Palms

Bernie @ Needle and Foot

Liz @ Savor Every Stitch

Stacey @ Stacey In Stitches

Rick Rack Runner

Michelle @ From Bolt to Beauty

Patty @ Elm Street Quilts

Melanie @ A Bit of Scrap Stuff Blog

Friday, March 16th

Row Addition

Myra @ Busy Hands Quilts

Izzy @ Dizzy Quilts

Transparency Chains

Ruth @ Charly and Ben's Crafty Corner

Christa @ Christa Quilts

Monday, March 19th

Faceted Rings Jessica @ Quilty Habit

Cindy @ Hyacinth Quilt Designs
Jennifer @ The Inquiring Quilter

Petal Plus

Julie @ The Crafty Quilter

Tuesday, March 20th

Message in a Bottle Tish @ Tish N Wonderland
Judy @ Sew Some Sunshine
Emily @ The Darling Dogwood

Cute as a Button

Wanda @ Wanda's Life Sampler
Karen @ Tu-Na Quilts, Travels, and Eats
Katherine @ Sew Me Something Good

Wednesday, March 21st

Celestial

Anja @ Anja Quilts
Kate @ Smiles from Kate
Sue @ Seven Oak Street Quilts

Pinwheel Plus

Carole @ From my Carolina Home
Alison @ Little Bunny Quilts

Thursday, March 22nd

Intertwined

Debbie @ Esch House Quilts
Laura @ Slice of Pi Quilts <--- That's me!
Beth @ Cooking Up Quilts

Bear Claw Plus

Janice @ Color Creating and Quilting
Joanne @ Quilts by Joanne

Friday, March 23rd

Cheryl @ Meadow Mist Designs
Paige @ Quilted Blooms

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