Two Retro Drunkard's Path Quilts

Some of my favorite fabrics have been the Japanese quilting cotton from Lecien, which sadly closed in 2020.  Luckily I had enough of their Retro 30's Child Smile 2016 to make two identical quilts for two sweet sisters.  

All the information on how to make these quilts: the AccuQuilt die, the sewing, trimming - as well as the diagram I made to assemble the blocks are HERE in February's post:  Modern Layout of a Drunkard's Path Quilt.

Today's post shows the pretty finished pictures to maybe inspire you to make a smaller Drunkard's Path Quilt using either the AccuQuilt die or any of the other methods available. 

There are many different sizes of plastic templates and lots of tutorials on how to make your own template out of cardboard and how to sew curves.

If you are hesitant to try curves - start with a larger curve and know you can trim down a block smaller to 'erase' edges that come out wonky.  (That's what I do.) 

While I am not buying much fabric and using my saved stash -  I do enjoy picking different color minkys and bindings to match my current projects.   Hawthorne Supply Co.  is my go-to shop as they have a wealth of minky colors and samples that make the whole process a lot of fun!

An added bonus is that Hawthorne Supply Co. has oodles of coordinating designs printed in these very colors to match their minky.  While these little quilts have just a white minky backing -  Hazel likes purple so her binding is Lilac, while Mia likes pink, so her binding is Begonia -- both in the collection called "Candy Stripe."

All quilting was done with a walking foot in a wavy line stitch.  The joining seams are quilted with either a pink or purple color - and white thread for the lines in between.  

I learned something making these quilts.  Usually a universal #14 needle worked out great for most of my minky quilts - but this time I had lots of skipped stitches.  My sewing machine repairman (and many quilt bloggers as well) suggested trying a top stitch needle - it worked out perfectly.

So that's it for April - sewing up pretty fabric, learning about a new needle - and sending these little beauties to their new home 

Materials:

Retro 30's Child Smile 2016 / Lecien

AccuQuilt large Drunkards Path 7" Finished Die (#55034)

Hawthorne Supply Co. - binding in Candy Stripe Begonia & Lilac printed on quilting cotton 56" wide and white minky

Aurifil 50wt. thread #2425 (pink) #2526 (lavender) & #2024 (white)

Warm & White batting

Size: 45.5" x 45.5"

April 2021

Modern Layout of a Drunkard's Path Quilt

On the layout board is the first of two identical Drunkard's Path quilts being made for a pair of little girls. It's so much fun making pretty quilts!  My garage lighting isn't the best for pictures but Lecien Retro 30's Child Smile 2016 fabrics never disappoint in color or pattern.

Nicely ironed and starched fabrics work like a breeze with the AccuQuilt large Drunkards Path die - but hand cutting with templates would work just as well. The most important part for me is the ability to trim after sewing.  No matter how many times I have sewn curves - they never come out consistent.  So, rather than fight a losing battle - I trim to a smaller, but consistent size. 

 This loosey goosey method will not work when following a rigid pattern.  But success is within your reach if you have a consistent sized block and make the layout any way you like.  I chose to trim all blocks to 7" x 7" - putting the ruler on the 6.5" marks of the curve (shown by the red arrows). 

That way all curves will match when everything is sewn together. 

Below is a very rough layout of how I made this 49 block / 7 blocks across by 7 rows down quilt which measures 46" x 46" finished.

Ready to iron and trim the blocks for quilt #2 and then assemble with white minky on the back, lavender binding for one, pink for the other - and matching threads!

Materials:

Lecien Retro 30's Child Smile

Hawthorne Supply Co. binding in candy stripe/ Begonia & Lilac

White dimple dot minky from Hawthorne Supply Co.

Warm & White batting

Aurifil 50wt. #2425 (pink) & #2526 (lavender)

AccuQuilt large Drunkards Path 7" Finished Die (#55034)

February 2021

Old Mill Path Quilt - Halloween Style

A bright and happy quilt made just in time for Halloween and best of all, it uses just one layer cake for the main design.  

The fabric:  Ghouls & Goodies by Stacy Iest Hsu for Moda.  One layer cake with some scrap black fabric for the border.  

The Pattern:  Old Mill Path by Missouri Star Quilt Co.  Their video shows in detail how to sew and assemble this pattern using their Drunkards Path ruler (small size).  Link to the video is HERE. 

This pattern is perfect for novelty designs, and I have made it before using another of Stacy's fabric lines called Safari Life.  

The blog post HERE explains how I made this block with lots of pictures if you are interested in more step by step details.  There is one difference between these two quilts.  The original pattern calls for the blocks to be made with two colors ...  the center 'star' and similar colored circles surrounding it (picture on the right).  In this Halloween quilt I mixed up all the circle pieces to balance all the colors (picture on the left).  

I try my best with circles and often end up seams not lining up as shown in the picture above. The reason why this can happen is two-fold.  Sewing curves is challenging and it's easy to stretch the fabric since everything is on the bias.  

But, it can also be because after you FOLD one 10" fabric square and cut through four layers of fabric to get your shapes ... the rotary cutter can shift a little on the curve.   This picture shows how uneven some of my cuts were.   I am merely mentioning this because it helps explain why, even if you think your sewing is pretty accurate on the curved parts - things can be a little off.  But bottom line, this is not something to stress or worry about.  NO ONE WILL NOTICE. 

I always trim my blocks and the previous post HERE shows how I line up the ruler to get this 8.5" x 8.5" square.  

Some soft minky from Hawthorne Supply Co.  in Aubergine ( purple eggplant) and some of their in-house printed Candy Stripe for the binding,  also in Aubergine, completes the picture. 

 Royal purple thread from Connecting Threads in straight lines on either side of the seams, and then on the diagonal in a 3.5 stitch length is simple and easy.  

That's it for this Halloween ... may your day be filled with Ghouls & Goodies! 

Materials:

Ghouls & Goodies by Stacy Iest Hsu for Moda

Missouri Star Quilt Co. Old Mill Path video / Drunkards Path ruler (small)

Hawthorne Supply Co. Minky & Candy Strip in Aubergine 

Warm & White batting

Royal Purple thread 50wt. Connecting Threads

Border: Chillingsworth Deadly Damask in Shadow from Echo Park

Size: 52" x 61"

Date: October 2020

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

Drunkards Path in Avantgarde (#97)

"A simultaneous explosion of color & geometric shapes" is how Art Gallery Fabrics describe their collection AvantGarde by Katarina Roccella.  Boy are they right!
20 artistic patterns and the Accuquilt large Drunkard's Path was the best way to showcase all the different geometric designs.  

I put into piles 8 pieces that looked good together (4 'pie' shapes and 4 "L" shapes) to make one big 'circle' block'.  A structured look was better for this quilt since there is a lot going on ... graphic angles, color, flowers, arrows, strips, dots ... it's all here.

Eack block is supposed to be 7.5" but since there are curves I always trim down to 7" in case of wonky sewing.

This Art Gallery Fabrics is beautiful and thin and a #10 needle worked nicely.  A small border all around brings this quilt to 59" x 73" - perfect for a minky/batting blanket.

Straight line stitching with a really pretty 50wt. mint thread by Aurifil on both the top & bottom... yes, even on the black back ... it's an AvantGarde quilt after all.

Lastly, if your fabric has an image that is too good to lose,  cut it the same size as a pieced block and squeeze it in.

Materials:
AvantGarde / Katarina Roccella / Art Gallery
Warm & White batting
Aurifil 50 wt. #2835 (medium mint) / #2692 (black)
Dimple dot minky / black
Accuquilt large Drunkards Path
Size: 59" x 73"
April 2018

Quick Curve Ruler Drunkards Path Quilt (#89)

Lots of scraps from Kate Spain's Terrain collection makes this beautiful bright quilt.

The strong pink & orange colors really stand out against Kona white and luckily I had enough dark blue from the same collection to add some balance.

Every unit in the flower block and the small drunkards path pieces were trimmed to 4" x 4".

The flower curves were made with the Quick Curved Ruler and the smaller drunkard's path were cut with an Accuquilt die.

The Quick Curved Ruler was developed by the ladies at Sew Kind of Wonderful, and on their web site or YouTube you can find patterns and tutorials.  The free pattern they have that is very similar to these 'flower' blocks is called Spring Fling.

There are so many places to learn how to do this wonderful curved piecing - here were my sources:

1) the video on how to use your Quick Curve Mini Ruler from Jenny Pedigo (from Sew Kind of Wonderful) here
2) Canoe Ridge Creations
3) She Can Quilt

Each flower block includes:
(8) curved Quick Curved Ruler pieces beginning with a 5" square (like in the video tutorial above by Jenny)  
(8) squares cut at 4x4"

Made for an artist friend who would't balk at something non-traditional, I used lots of color and made up my own the design. First came the 'flower' blocks and small circles using what fabric I had.  The layout came last, more like a puzzle ... but sometimes a quilt can evolve from what you have, not from what a pattern tells you.  

For a large block with plenty of interest this 'flower' or 'butterfly' motif is perfect - and it's good for scraps as well.

Materials:
Terrain / Kate Spain / Moda
Kona white
Mini Quick Curved Ruler (from Sew Kind of Wonderful)
Warm & White Batting
Aurifil 50wt. #2740 (dark blue), #2040 (white)
Dimple dot minky / Midnight Blue
Accuquilt Drunkard's Path 4" finished *(I trimmed these small Drunkard's Path pieces to 4"x4" like everything else)

Size: 60" x 73.5"
Date: December 2017