Laundry Day Quilt!

I have big news to share today! My latest quilt to be published is out in the wild. I am very proud to introduce you to my Laundry Day quilt, which you can find in “Let’s Get Scrappy” by Annie’s Publishing. This is my first time being included in an Annie’s publication (but it won’t be the last!). It is a softcover book, rather than a magazine. Without further ado, check this out!

It has taken me a while to build up the courage to reach out to another publisher, other than Golden Peak Media, because others often require designers to generate piecing diagrams. Annie’s actually has you write the entire pattern, including diagrams, which I had found to be very intimidating. There is a pretty specific skillset involved in creating diagrams, and it has taken me a while to build up those skills. Enough about that, though. Let’s talk about the quilt itself.

Laundry Day was designed to be a stash busting quilt. It is the perfect way to show off a favorite jelly roll. For my version, I used Linen Texture II by Edyta Sitar of Laundry Basket Quilts. The fabric is not quite solid – there is just enough texture to give it some additional dimension, but the print doesn’t take away from my own design. That has become more important recently – I want my voice to be the primary impact of my quilts.

*The fabric used in this quilt top was generously provided to me by Andover Fabrics. They are wonderful to work with.

Why Laundry Day? I called this quilt Laundry Day to honor the fabric designer’s company – Laundry Basket Quilts. I certainly hold no fondness for laundry myself. I had a couple of other name ideas, but they seemed lame and Laundry Day stuck. Naming quilts is a mysterious business – luckily mine usually name themselves, so I don’t have to feel lame. They did it, not me. I really appreciate that the publisher took the main quilt photo hanging on a line with clothespins. They were feeling the name, too.

I did make this quilt using my favorite hand sewing technique – English Paper Piecing. EPP is the perfect way to sit and enjoy a favorite fabric collection. Just by its nature, you need to sit and really pay attention to your fabric. So, make sure it is a fabric you love, and one that feels good in your hands. This isn’t a good project fabric with thick dies or a lot of sizing.

Another tip for English Paper Piecing is to consider investing in Accuquilt’s new EPP Qube. You can use it to cut both papers and fabric to the correct sizes. I love mine and would have been happy to use it with this project if it had been released in time. It cut’s a series of shapes with 1″ sides that will all work together. For this quilt you will only need the hexagon.

I hope you have a chance to pick up the book. It is a beautiful publication – there are eight other designers, including my friend Denise Looney, who also used hexagons, but uses foundation paper piecing to make them.

For those who are curious – here is my project timeline.

• Dec 14, 2020 – Project submitted with Jan 12 due date
• Jan 19 – Project acceptance (7 days after due date. Very fast.)
• Jan 19 – Fabric request submitted to manufacturer
• Feb 3 – Fabric received
• Mar 23 – quilt and pattern due to Annie’s
• Apr 13 – payment received (unbelievably fast)
• Sep 14 – quilt returned, along with copy of book

Got leftover hexies? Use them as your label! Always label your quilts. It helps when someone asks when you made it, and you don’t even recognize it. You can also use them to make mini quilts, then teach others to do EPP, like I do.