Today I get to share with you a very special quilt I made in collaboration with the Fat Quarter Shop using their exclusive 5″x10″ Jolly Bar pre-cuts!
The range I was given to play and create with was the beautiful Polka Dots & Paisleys by Minick & Simpson for Moda Fabrics. Full of gorgeous florals, paisleys, polka dots and rich Americana colours, it was such a lovely range to work with and discover all of the intricate patterns and shapes within the prints.
One of the things I found working with the Jolly Bars is just how versitile they are to work with! I found it so hard to narrow down the perfect block to show off how effortless they are to design and sew with! My thoughts were; ‘Do I cut them half and do a simple strip-piece quilt?’ ‘Should I cut the Jolly Bar into rectangles and make it into a tumbler block?’ ‘Do I stick with a simple HST?’ The list was endless! Also, one of the other great things I love about the Jolly Bars is that each range featured comes with an exclusive pattern to make with it! All of the hard parts of wondering what to make from them has all been taken care of! Yay! So all you need to do is pick the range you love the most, make the super-easy pattern inside and you’ve got a beautiful quilt that you’ll love forever!
The quilt I chose to design and make features a very simple variation of the Open Window block. To make it, I simply cut the 42 Jolly Bars in half, paired them with a white solid fabric, then stitched and trimmed the 5″ squares into 84 4.5″ half-square triangles. I then pieced together three matching HSTs of four different prints around an 8.5″ white centre square to complete the block. I made twelve blocks all together, with a few HSTs left over and then added a 4.5″ sashing around the edges to complete the quilt top.
I used a beautifully soft and luscious bamboo/cotton blend batting (a new favourite!) and a creamy blender fabric for the backing. I then quilted it by stitching two lines either side of all of the seam lines, creating an echo type pattern within the open spaces of the blocks. To finish it up, I used a matching red solid fabric to bind the edges.
The finished size of the quilt measures: 57″x73″ or 145cmx185cm.
+++
If you’re curious to know how to piece an Open Window block together, then feel free to check out the following tutorial I made for my YouTube channel!
Measurement & cutting info…
From the white solid fabric cut –
x1: 8.5″ square for the centre of the block
x8: 5″ squares to be made into HSTs
From four print fabrics cut –
x2: 5″ squares from each one to be made into HSTs
Follow the steps in the video to learn how to piece together this block! All seams are a 1/4″.
FINAL BLOCK SIZE: 16.5″x16.5″ (42cmx42cm)
+++
I would like to extend a big thank you to the team at the Fat Quarter Shop for inviting me to join this blog hop and to be given the opportunity to work with such a beautifully rich fabric range! It was an absolute pleasure!
Happy Sewing, Friends!
xx
3and3quarters 
19 responses to “Fat Quarter Shop Jolly Bar Blog Hop!”
[…] So hop on over to see! Heidi of Buttons and Butterflies Michelle of From Bolt to Beauty Amanda of 3 and 3 Quarters Brooke of Silly Mama […]
LikeLike
[…] may remember me doing this block quite recently for this quilt (accompanied with this tutorial). The block we’re making this time has a few elements that […]
LikeLike
[…] variation of the Open Window block we’ll be making is somewhat different to the one I’ve shown before – this one involves more colours and a slightly different layout that could get confusing […]
LikeLike
[…] second Blog Hop that I was invited to join in on was one hosted by the Fat Quarter Shop celebrating the versatility […]
LikeLike
I bought it . It will be loved and enjoyed . I got it for my birthday I’ll be 69 on December 20 I’m learning to quilt from you . Your quilt will be mind as long as I live
and I am very healthy but the quilt has a waiting list my daughter and granddaughter will be on. I can hardly wait to touch it I’ll keep in touch. Thanks ,
love Tutu Albert
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yay!! Thank you so much for buying this beautiful quilt! I’m so glad that it’ll be going to a home where it will be loved and cherished! (Especially as your winter months roll on!)
After sewing on the label, I’ll send it out to you as soon as I can!
PS. Happy (early) Birthday celebrations to you! 🙂
LikeLike
[…] my Open Window Quilt I made for the Fat Quarter Shop Blog Hop last week is looking for a new home! It so deserves a place where it can be loved, used and […]
LikeLike
Love Love Looove your Quilt!! Great Tutorial & video..thanks for sharing! 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you!! I’m so glad you like it! 🙂
LikeLike
Really effective design! The colours you’ve picked work really well together. Great tutorial 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you so much!! 🙂
LikeLike
Great quilt! Nice use of the Jolly Bars!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you!! 🙂
LikeLike
I love love love this quilt! And so easy to complete! I have been searching for a block to use on my upcoming Christmas quilt! I think I’m going to fussy cut little Santa Clauses for the middle block! Cannot wait to get started and share it with you! Lovely tutorial as always!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Ooo!! I can’t wait to see how you interpret the block! As well as to see those little fussy cut Santas!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Well done Amanda! Your YouTube videos are a cut above the rest. You are big time now-in a FQS blog hop! Congrats! Your quilt is stunning!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you so much!!!
LikeLike
What a beautiful quilt! I love the pictures and the video! Are you adding it to your collection of quilts or are you gifting it to someone?
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you! To be honest, I’m pretty sure I’ll put it up in my Etsy Shop. Sadly, it’s come to a point where our house has been taken over by too many quilts! 😂
LikeLike