Sister Sampler Quilts

*the giveaway has ended*

My dear friend AnneMarie Chany has a brand new book out and boy is it pretty!!  It is full of great block patterns to make the most interesting samplers.  I think my favorite blocks might be her inverse pattern blocks.  You can see an example of those in the bottom pictures of the picture below.  She’s played with color placement to change how you see a block pattern and it’s completely genius.  I’ve done that on occasion but she’s been playing with the concept for a couple years now.

Fons & Porter/F+W; $19.99

Her color schemes in the book are bright and juicy, so there is lots of eye candy.  But for my stop on the blog hop I wanted to try something a little different.  It’s actually totally out of MY comfort zone.  I’m more familiar with choosing colors like AnneMarie did. But life is about growing right?  So I tackled her Moon & Star block with some different fabrics.

And I wanted to try a new to me way to trimming HSTs!  Someone mentioned it on Instagram, that instead of trimming the square while it was pressed open.  To instead, trim it while it is still in triangle shape (before you press it open).

Sister sampler quilt

I’m not sure I got the best picture of exact measurements here, but this is what it looked like while I trimming.  You can see the seam along the diagonal side.  It is sewn together there.  And I am trimming the side and top edges to square it up BEFORE I press it open.

It worked like a charm!  I think I’ll do that from now on.  Only two sides to trim instead of four!!

Sister sampler quilt

And didn’t the colors and patterns turn out fun?!  Definitely a departure for me.  I’m working on using prints for the background rather than a solid.  And this tiny beautiful floral by Kim Kight from Cotton and Steel was too pretty to ignore.  I picked my other fabrics around that.

If I’m being totally honest then I would say that I *might* change the coral color to a lighter one to better balance with the light pink.  But that is part of my learning curve here.  I’m still struggling to find balance with a block of all prints and wanting to really see the beautiful design of the block.  It’s such a great design AnneMarie!

Sister sampler quilt

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And if you’ve read along so far, then now is your chance to get in on the giveaway.  One lucky reader will have a chance to own their very own copy of AnneMarie’s book Sister Sampler Quilts.
To enter, simply leave a comment below.  I’d love to know what your feelings are on samplers.  I personally struggle with them and my only UFO’s left are all Sampler Quilts.  I just cannot figure out what to do!  I get tired of a typical sashing and all the blocks square.  I’d love something different.  Do you love them? hate them?  Never tried one?  Have a great finish you can share?  Let me know!!
Congratulations to the Lucky Winner!
#120
I’ve only made one quilt so far – for my son’s 18th birthday but I think a sampler quilt would be a good way to try new techniques.

134 thoughts on “Sister Sampler Quilts”

  1. I'm pleased to have found you on the hop! Here is my opinion, I love to LOOK at samplers and feel its a great way to experiment but who really wants a quilt of experiments. So I have chosen to drool at someone elses sampler accomplishments. If I were stuck I would have to cut up my blocks and try to modernize the design, using a grid system and see what I can do to make it more interesting.

  2. Have never done a Sampler quilt..yet lol This book makes it verrry tempting to start one tho! iggle… Do love Your block! Thanks for chance to win the book! 🙂

  3. I have made one sampler about 6 years ago for my MIL – 12 stars, all different, set on-point. It is pretty but I really love the great settings on these quilts so much better!!!

  4. Thank you so much for the giveaway! I love the challenge of samplers, but I always struggle to find an appealing layout. I really love some of the suggested layouts in this book though, the author definitely a great job adding a modern twist to these classics!

  5. I have made a few samplers, over the years, but it has been some time. This book has a refreshing new approach to setting the blocks vs traditional sashing. To clarify, I feel like I've grown tired of the traditional sashing of sampler blocks, so this new approach definitely inspires me to create. Plus sampler quilts are a great way to try new block designs and perfect our piecing skills.

    QuiltShopGal
    http://www.quiltshopgal.com

  6. I have wanted to try a sampler quilt for the longest time. I think it would be a great opportunity for me to try many different blocks instead of making a full size quilt with one or a few blocks.
    Love your interpretation in your pillow!

  7. I am not a huge lover of sampler quilts…kind of picky 😉 but this book looks interesting… I may just end up making a different quilt with each block pattern.

  8. I have never tried one, but I am very new to quilting. I probably will try making one at some point. I am still working on just getting squares all lined up and picking out fabrics to look nice together. This book looks lovely!

    determineddebby at gmail dot com

  9. I enjoy looking at samplers, but usually end up making baby sized blankets with wide sashing. 🙂 I love making blocks and turning them into mini quilts, too.

  10. I enjoy looking at samplers, but usually end up making baby sized blankets with wide sashing. 🙂 I love making blocks and turning them into mini quilts, too.

  11. I've only made a couple of samplers, because they were different. One was all Japanese blocks and the other was the Vice Versa quilt, but with all Halloween fabrics. That was a lot of fun but still sits as a quilt top. Thanks for the chance to win.

  12. My first QAL was a sampler and it was a good way to learn piecing skills. The look of a sampler seems too busy too me. I used my sampler to practice FMQ and it was great for that because I didn't really love it. I might like them better if I used fewer different fabrics or a limited colour scheme. I would probably select the blocks I liked from this book.

  13. I have never made a sampler; having given it some thought I don't think I'd really wish to right now. BUT! I was thinking I'd like to make a quilt using sister blocks in contrasting colors and juxtapose them to fill a whole top.

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