Take a Hike!

Here at Yellow Umbrella Quilts, we have been trying some new styles of quilt patterns! It has been happenstance, really. My mom and I have been finding cute fabric, but it has either been very busy or large print. Sometimes both! I find it difficult to find patterns that showcase large print fabrics, so I decided I wanted to design some patterns specifically for large scale/busy fabric.

While shopping at our favorite quilt shop, Larson’s Mercantile, my mom and I came across Cathe Holden’s Outdoorsy fabric line. Right away, it was apparent that we needed to purchase some! Initially, we thought it would be used for backing. My mom wasn’t entirely sold on that idea because she has a love of Minky and Fireside, most likely due to the harsh Minnesota winters! So, I went to work to design a quilt pattern that would showcase the busyness of the Outdoorsy fabric.

 

Designing Take a Hike!

Since I have made quite a few quilts with stars or the use of half-square triangles, I was ready to design a quilt that had seams that I didn’t need to trim after stitching. The first type of block that came to mind was a log cabin.

Due to the horizontal design of the Outdoorsy fabric, I decided to make rows of the log cabin blocks in between rows of the main fabric. This kept the design of the large print fabric from being broken up, as well as keeping it a quick and easy project.

 

Fabric Requirements

Take a Hike! measures at 63 in. x 78 in., a one size only quilt pattern. Quilters have the option to use either 14 Fat Eighths or 7 Fat Quarters for the log cabin blocks. 3 yards of fabric will be needed for the main, large print fabric. Sashing requires 1/2 yard and 5 yards for backing.

 

The log cabin blocks aid in the masculinity of design of the fabric. I enjoy seeing different versions of quilts because I think it can change the look of a pattern. Nancy, one of the ladies who test my patterns, stitched up this cute version of Take a Hike. She used  Imagine This! by Linda Carson and Diana Henage for Paintbrush Studio. This version almost looks like a completely different pattern!

Long-arm Quilting

The Outdoorsy version of Take a hike was stitched on a long-arm machine using Bear, Moose, & Pines from Urban Elementz. If you send your quilts to someone for quilting, you might ask if they have a digital machine with USB capabilities. If they do, it opens the door to more personalized/detailed quilting. Urban Elements has thousands of quilting designs, most of which are around $13-$15. Typically, my mom and I look for edge to edge quilting designs that match the fabric we use in each quilt. Once we purchase a design, we copy it to a flash drive and give it to our long arm quilter, along with our quilt.

 

Take a Hike is available in the Yellow Umbrella Quilts shop!

More Large Print Patterns

Last month, we released Neck of the Woods, another quilt pattern designed for panels or large print quilts. Charlie Harper’s bear and loon fabric was the main focus fabric. We also added Art Gallery’s Decostitch for the flying geese and big bearpaw block. Neck of the Woods PDF is available here in the Yellow Umbrella Quilts shop.

Keep an eye out for future large print quilt patterns!