Old Mill Path Pattern in Safari Life

I enjoy video tutorials from the Missouri Star Quilt Co. and when I saw the Old Mill Path pattern I couldn't wait to try it. Shortly after the video aired the holiday sales began at Green Fairy Quilts ... and all I needed was one layer cake to make a lap quilt ... SOLD!

Yes, there are curves.  Yes, Jenny from MSQC gives you lots of good advice to sew a perfect curve ... but my blocks came out a wonky 8.5" x 8.5'.   No worries - I love to trim and came up with a way to get a block that's almost perfect (my curves will never be perfect but almost is just fine).

Let's start.  I used the MSQC drunkards path template that is shown in the video. By folding the fabric I made a mid-point crease in all pieces (left pix), and marked that center spot with a pencil. Sew as the video explains and try to match the pencil marks in the center to keep you on track.  

Here's a wonky block with a 8.5" square ruler positioned on top.  Looks horrible but not to worry.  On both the horizontal and vertical measurements on the grid I put pink Post-It paper on the 4" line.  

Here is a close up of the top and right side. The left side and bottom also align on the 4" mark.  

Ideally it would be 'perfect' to have all the 'channels' measure the same width, but they didn't.  What is important is that when you trim your block 8.5" x 8.5" this way the 'star' feature and the curves will all be centered.  Your quilt will look consistent - even if on closer inspection some of the seams don't totally match.

The pix above shows how the 'star' seams (or 'channels') don't totally match up - but look how those curves create "almost perfect" arcs! Nothing screams 'mistake' as everything look pretty centered. I will never be able to create perfect curves but being able to trim a block to get that illusion means patterns like this are in my reach! If anyone has a different method or suggestions I would love to hear what you do.

I did 2 layouts - the left has similar background colors in columns. The right layout was random and the one I picked.  When I made this quilt I paired contrasting colors together, cut everything and sewed them together.  Layout was the last phase.

Next time I make this quilt pattern I will cut out everything and then do the layout before any sewing.  It may make color balancing a little easier. 

Safari Life by Stacy Iest Hsu had all the colors, images and contrast I needed for this pattern. A beautiful minky called Stone from Hawthorne Supply Co. is the backing.  Lastly, Aurifil 50wt. thread #6730 matched perfectly for the front and back.

Six blocks across and 7 rows down - one block for every 10" square in this Moda layer cake.  

Quilting was straight stitching on either side of the seams and through the middle of the 'star'.  

Materials:
Safari Life layer cake /  Stacy Iest Hsu for Moda
Stone minky / Hawthorne Supply Co.
Warm & White batting
Aurifil 50wt. #6730
Old Mill Path pattern from Missouri Star Quilt Company 
Drunkard's Path Circle Template Set - Small from MSQC

Size: 47" x 54.5"
February 2020