Modern Plus Sign Quilts + Candy Plus Pillow Tutorial Link

The much anticipated wait is over and the book, Modern Plus Sign Quilts, is out in the real world.  Cheryl and I hope you enjoy making the 16 projects in the book as much as we did.

We started tossing around ideas back in the spring of 2015 and I'm happy to share a couple of projects which include traditional piecing...

Bear Claw Plus was designed by Cheryl, pieced by me and beautifully quilted by Johellen George.  I just love the secondary pattern formed when the blocks are joined together.

Foundation paper piecing... like Kaleidoscope Plus designed, pieced and quilted by Cheryl.

And, of course, my favorite... applique.  This is Cute as a Button which was designed and made by me.

Signed copies of Modern Plus sign quilts are available from...

+  Quilted Blooms Designs Esty Shop

+  Meadow Mist Designs Etsy Shop

And unsigned copies from the following retailers...

+  Poor Richard's Booksellers in Easley, SC

+  Bernina, We're in Stitches in Greenville, SC in Easley, SC

+  Amazon (affiliate link)

+  C&T Publishing (Stash Books) where you will find the Ebook version too

+  Indigo in Canada

+  Booktopia in Austrailia

Candy Plus Block and Pillow

Until you can get your copy of Modern Plus Sign Quilts, head on over to the C&T Publishing Blog where you will find a free tutorial for Candy Plus, a 20" block design which can be made into a pillow, mini quilt, or incorporated several blocks into a quilt.

My version is made from Cotton and Steel prints and two solids, Kona Snow and Michael Miller Cotton Couture in Cream.  The plus sign is made from my cherished Indigo dyed fabric from the class I took with Maura of Folk Fibers at QuiltCon 2017 in the Savannah at SCAD.

The tutorial can be found here and Cheryl's original Candy Plus can be found here. Cheryl is offering two more plus sign designs when you sign up for the Meadow Mist Designs newsletter here.

Modern Plus Sign Quilts Book Hop

And stay tuned because on Monday, March the 12th, the Modern Plus Sign Quilts Book Hop will be kicking off.  We have 40+ bloggers joining us! Each of the bloggers will be sharing a version of a book quilt they made and there will be prizes for each day of the 10 day hop. I hope that you will follow along!

Sundae Plus Baby Quilt

I sure am glad to finally finish this baby quilt!  When I posted a picture of the finished top on my Instagram feed, Vicki said it looked like ice cream and she is right, thus the name Sundae Plus.

Sundae Plus in the pines with farm implements

Back on January 10th in my blog post when I declared finishing this plus sign baby quilt as my One Monthly Goal for January, I had 3 weeks to finish and, at the time, that seemed reasonable.  It seems like I ran into one obstacle or another along the way but I managed to finish on time.

I was working with limited fabric and I miss cut the border fabric.  You can see the finished top in the measure twice, cut once blog post.  By adding the border and using the same border  fabric for some of the squares along the outside edge, I tried to make it appear as though the plus signs were floating.

I found this great backing fabric on the flat fold table.  But once I brought it home and washed it, I noticed this visible faded line along the fold.  I got a really good deal on the fabric and could not be upset.

Faded Gypsy Girl fabric  along fold line due to exposure to light

I knew I could not use the fabric as the backing in one piece and was not about to go buy more fabric. What could I do?  I remembered a pattern I reviewed for Cheryl @ Meadow Mist Designs called Check Plus which was published in the Nov/Dec 2014 issue of Quilty Magazine.  It is really two patterns in one.  Since my quilt was much smaller, I reduced the scale of the back to fit to the baby quilt. The pattern can be purchased on the Fons and Porter website here.

Nested plus sign block from Check Plus pattern by Cheryl Brickey

Here is the pieced back where I still used the fabric, avoiding the fade line and still kept the pattern in check.

Pieced back from Check Plus pattern by Cheryl Brickey

Now I was ready to layer it and get to quilting.  I struggled with a quilting design and decided on an all over echoing leaf design.  You can see the quilting more from the back.  Here is a picture when I was sewing on the binding.

Sewing on the binding by machine and quiting detail

Since this quilt was for a baby and would be washed more often, I decided to sew the binding on by machine. I followed the machine stitched binding tutorial by Rita @ Red Pepper Quilts.  She suggests 2 1/4" binding strips, but, again, I was short on fabric and had to cut mine 2 1/8".  I did not have any problems except for one corner where I missed a few stitches and went back and resewed that one spot.

Small place where I missed catching the binding on the back

I went slowly and used lots of pins as Rita suggests.  As I went along, I realized I could place the pins perpendicular to the binding rather than parallel and that way I could see the pin heads, pull them out as I approached them and was able to go much faster.

Machine sewing down the binding and pins placed perpendicular to binding

Parting shot of Sundae Plus back and me (taken by uncooperative photographer/husband)

Quilt Stats:

• Finished size:  33" x 37"
• Pattern: top from 2 1/2" squares with a 3" border
• Backing:  Check Plus by Cheryl Brickey of Meadow Mist Designs             
• Fabrics: various prints and solids
• Batting: Warm & White by the Warm Company
• Thread: Aurifil 2310 for piecing and quilting
• Completed: January 28, 2016

I am very excited to have met my One Monthly Goal for January 2016. Head on over to see the other goals met at Red Letter Quilts.  Thanks Heidi for a great link party.

Also linking up to Finish It Up Friday, Whoop Whoop Friday,  Busy Hands Quilts hosting Thank Goodness Its Finished Friday this week, Fabric Frenzy Friday, Whomp! There IT Is and Show Off Saturday.