Baby Jacks Quilt from ‘Paper Pieced Modern’

I’m so happy to share this recent finish! This quilt was a gift for a
new baby in the family, and it’s also my first quilt that is made
entirely from paper piecing.

I’ve made a mini quilt or single block using this method of piecing, but never considered making a whole quilt until I picked up my friend’s new book “Paper Pieced Modern: 13 Stunning Quilts – Step-by-Step Visual Guide“ by Amy Garro (Stash Books).

When you see this book and the stunning quilts in it, you’ll realize
that there’s something awesome about the design possibilities you can get by sewing on paper templates. I didn’t find it all that hard, and I actually feel like my technique has improved by sewing the same paper pieced block several times!

This quilt features a scrappy background of low-volume fabrics (crosshatch, dots, white, grey, woodgrain) and the colorful bits are mostly Kona solids and Ann Kelle Remix prints. The binding is Carolyn Friedlander, and though you can’t see it, I used Ann Kelle flannel Flotologie for the back.

I used my Tiara II and quilted a meandering free-motion pattern for all of the quilting except for the yellow and orange sections, which I filled in with radiating lines.

Of course you do! I thought it would be fun to ask Amy about the inspiration behind this pattern, so read on for what she has to say.

“I wish I could say I have this great, inspired design process for every quilt, but the truth is, that’s not always the case! I came up with this design after fiddling with a pinwheel-star shape. I wanted a way to “cheat” a little bit, to make it easier to match all of the points, and came up with the little bow tie shapes. It makes it a little quicker to put this quilt together, while still keeping the fun look of the pinwheels, which remind me of jacks, hence the name!” – Amy Garro

I thought this was a really fun photo of the quilt
that Amy took before shipping it off to be photographed for the book. I love how
Amy’s piecing looks next to this reflective glass installation. It
reminds me of her cover quilt (seen below), which has a glacial, shards
of glass feel. I love it! 

Baby Jacks is a 36″ x 36″crib-sized quilt made from 9 paper-pieced blocks. Each block is formed in two different sections (so I copied 18 total pattern pieces). The patterns in the book are full-size, so no need to scale them. This pattern is perfect for using large scraps, fat eighths or fat quarters (you’ll have leftovers)!

“Paper Pieced Modern” is an outstanding value, with 13 patterns and full-size paper piecing templates. If you are nervous to give foundation piecing a try, don’t be! The quilts look complex, but Amy’s clear instructions make it easy and fun to learn. I highly recommend this book.

Feb 5th – Lindsay @ Lindsay Sews
Feb 6th – Charlotte @ Displacement Activity
Feb 7th – Molli @ Molli Sparkles
Feb 8th – Elise @ Lovelea Designs
Feb 9th – Amy guest posting @ C&T Publishing
Feb 10th – Darcie @ The Seam Allowance
Feb 11th – Christa @ Christa Quilts
Feb 12th – Amy guest posting @ Craft Buds
Feb 13th – Amy @ 13 Spools
Feb 14th – Chelsea @ Patch the Giraffe
Feb 15th – Amy @ During Quiet Time
Feb 16th – Wrap-up post back at 13 Spools