Hello Quilty Friends!

Happy Thursday to you!

Are you ready for our Small Project Summer Challenge? I know I am! I can’t wait to see what everyone is making for Week 1 – a quilt under 50″ square. I’ll be checking Facebook out eagerly to see everyone’s projects, so make sure you get a photo of your completed Week 1 project onto the VRD Facebook page before Friday, June 26th midnight EST. Or you can email me your photo at tricia@villarosadesigns.com.

Colorful promotional graphic for the VRD Small Project Summer Challenge featuring sewing themes. It lists six weeks of projects with due dates: Week 1 - Quilt smaller than 50" x 50", Week 2 - Tote Bag, Week 3 - Pillow, Week 4 - Scarf, Week 5 - Table Runner, Week 6 - Snack Mat Duo.

A colorful promotional graphic for the VRD Small Project Summer Challenge, featuring sewing-themed illustrations and details on how to join, including weekly photo submissions and prize eligibility.

So far I have 34 folks signed up for our Summer Challenge. I am thrilled and welcome each and every one of you with a great big hug! A BIG high-five to those of you who already participated in one of the 6 Quilts in 6 Weeks Challenges…and a super special welcome to those of you signing up for a VRD Challenge for the first time. Be prepared to laugh a lot and be inspired by everyone’s projects for the next 6 weeks. Not only are you creating some fun small projects that make great gifts for yourself or someone else on your gift giving list, each week that you complete the weekly challenge, your name goes into a random weekly drawing. Prizes will be shipped after the Challenge is over.

Wanna see my Week 1 Project???

Tricia’s Summer Challenge Week 1 Make

I’ve always wanted to make Cabin Fever by Running Doe Quilts for VRD. Log Cabin quilts are some of my many favs so when I hatched the Summer Challenge, I just knew I had to make Cabin Fever……finally.

A woman holds a colorful quilt titled 'Cabin Fever' in front of a rustic wooden backdrop, showcasing its vibrant patterns and designs.

Get your digital pattern HERE or your print pattern HERE

And since it’s summertime as well as the 250th birthday of the USA, I simply had to use patriotic fabrics, of course. LOL!

Sooooooo, here’s my Patriotic Cabin Fever!

A colorful patchwork quilt featuring red, blue, and white fabrics with floral and star patterns, displayed outdoors against a grassy field with trees in the background.

I think it turned out really cute and I plan to hang it in the living room over the sofa just as soon as I get a chance to do it.

And here’s a fun photo I just had to take on my cute little red Jeep Compass. It was a perfect day with the gorgeous summer sky and fluffy clouds, about 75 degrees. And all the green in the background. Welcome to NW PA!

A colorful quilt displayed on the hood of a red car under a blue sky with fluffy clouds and green trees in the background.

I used a 100% cotton variegated red, white, and blue Aurifil thread to quilt it in my usual loopy design. The binding is a navy blue solid and I machine stitched it on. I think I’ve finally gotten the hang of that now – it saves me so much time these days, although I still like the look of hand-stitched binding better.

You might notice that my blue strips at the top and bottom are actually 2 similar blue prints sewn together in the center of the strip. I was using a collection of fat quarters and a couple pieces of coordinating yardage to make my Cabin Fever quilt. I didn’t plan out the fabric very well and then I ended up not having enough of 1 blue fabric to use for the top and bottom, so I improvised. I ended up piecing 2 very similar fabrics to make the strips long enough for the top and bottom of the quilt. But, you know what? I think it turned out pretty well and it looks intentional, not random.

How about a tutorial for Cabin Fever?

VRD Cabin Fever Quilt Tutorial

I started with a leftover collection of Moda Star Spangled FQs plus a few coordinates as you can see here. But my blue FQs weren’t complete as I’d used some of them in another porject.

A collection of folded fabric pieces featuring various patterns, including polka dots and stars, in red, white, and blue colors, arranged on a cutting mat.

I started with the center square. I cut my pieces as I sewed, do likewise of you want. Or you can cut everything out at once before you begin sewing. You could even cut multiple quilts out at once.

I chose this really pretty light floral print for the center because I didn’t want it to be a quilt that necessarily screamed patriotic, but I wanted my quilt to be patriotic. Does this make any sense at all?

A square piece of fabric with a floral pattern featuring red, blue, and white flowers on a light background, placed on a cutting mat.

A rotary cutter positioned on a red polka dot fabric square, with a transparent ruler placed over it, resting on a cutting mat with grid lines.

Then I sewed the red strips to the top and bottom of my floral square.

A patchwork fabric piece featuring a floral pattern with red and blue flowers on a cream background, bordered at the top and bottom with solid red fabric with white polka dots.

Time to cut and add the side strips next.

An arrangement of red, white, and blue fabric pieces, featuring floral patterns and star designs, placed on a cutting mat.

A quilt square featuring a floral print center surrounded by red and blue patterned borders with polka dots and stars.

Next up are top and bottom strips. You’ll notice that the strips get wider for each top/bottom or sides round. I think that’s part of the magic in this pattern. Going bigger means less strips and less piecing to get to the desired size which translates into a faster project. Yay!

A patchwork of colorful fabrics, including red, blue, and white patterns, showcasing floral designs and polka dots arranged on a cutting mat.

A patchwork quilt design featuring red, white, and blue fabrics with floral patterns and stars, arranged in a rectangular layout.

Side strips again. This quilt is coming together really fast!

A close-up of colorful fabric squares, featuring a mix of red and blue patterns including checks, floral designs, and stars, laid out on a cutting mat.

A colorful quilt block featuring a mix of red, white, and blue fabrics with various patterns including polka dots and floral designs.

Last, but not least are the final top/bottom strips. This is where I ran into trouble. LOL! I wanted dark blue at the top and bottom, but I didn’t have enough of a single fabric. So, I improvised by piecing 2 similar fabrics together for the top/bottom strips. I took a few extra minutes to line up the center seams so they matched and looked intentional. And I flipped the bottom strip so the same fabric wasn’t on the same side. I think it turned out pretty well in the end.

A close-up view of three fabric pieces, featuring a blue fabric with white stars, a solid blue patch, and a floral print in red and white, arranged on a cutting mat.

A colorful quilt top featuring a central floral pattern, surrounded by varying patterns of red, blue, and pink fabric.

Voila! The finished quilt top!

A colorful quilt featuring red, white, and blue fabrics with various patterns, displayed on a white wooden wall. A vase of fresh flowers and a decorative star are placed on a wooden table in front.

I hope you’ll give this fast and fun small quilt a try sometime. It really is a great summer make. It is a super wall quilt (I’ll show you when I actually get it up on the wall) or a wonderful table quilt – perhaps for a summer picnic – or as a lovely quick baby quilt. Use your stash or use it as an excuse to go shopping at your local quilt shop.

Next week for Week 2 of our Summer Challenge is a TOTE BAG. We have 2 different VRD tote bag patterns to chose from: Olivia Jane or Tabitha Jane. Olivia Jane uses 5″ Charm squares while Tabitha Jane uses FQs.

Here’s a fun tutorial for Olivia Jane where I show you some of the adaptations you can add to your Olivia Jane tote.