The “Umbrellas” Quilt

Boy do I like this one!

Rachel LaBour of Stitched in Color designed this block and called it “Spinny.” But my longtime friend in Colorado said it looked like umbrellas to her, so that instantly became its name. I used solids for the block edges rather than prints, and I like how that worked.

Rachel’s “rule” for her first quilt was cool inside strips with warm outside edges, but she left open the idea of reversing to warm insides and cool outsides. Earlier, I made a trial block with warm strips and cool edges, and Im still intrigued with that idea–and with maybe using ONE solid color for the edges.

The quilt top is busy, so I thought a plain gingham backing would work well, and I chose this lime green. It’s Riley Blake Designs, C440 @2013. The binding is Kona Cantaloupe, and the quilting thread is Signature “lime.” The pantograph is “New Wave” by Willow Leaf Designs. The block size is 16 inches and the quilt size is 64 by 64.

I put a hanging sleeve on “Umbrellas” and may replace a quilt hanging in my quilt studio gallery with it. Time will tell. I love the star that forms in the center of 4 blocks.

Here’s a picture of the trial block I did before Rachel released her pattern, which had the right measurements.

Note that the block is made by sewing on to a cut fabric underlayer, so it is…heavy. But not too heavy for a cold winter night.

Thanks Rachel LaBour for this fun pattern.