Welcome to my stop on Pat Sloan‘s Morrison Park Tour! If you are new to Quilting Jetgirl, I’m a former aerospace engineer (the highlight of my 15 year career was working on the small design, build, and test team for the prototype SpaceShipTwo) turned quilt pattern designer, teacher, and technical editor. I lean toward modern, graphic designs and have recently branched out from transparency quilts to explore curved piecing.
I have a lot to talk about today, so let’s dive in and take a look at some of the prints in Pat’s new Morrison Park line for Benartex.
Morrison Park Fabric
I selected a subset of the prints from Morrison Park (affiliate link) to work with. Starting on the left at the bottom and working up / clockwise:
- Benches in Red
- Ponds in Rose
- Ponds in Yellow
- Benches in Green
- The Meadow in Green
- Benches in Blue
- Ponds in Blue
- Ponds in Cream
It is not pictured here, but I also used Master Garden in Navy for the binding. I was clearly attracted to the tone on tone prints in the Morrison Park line and I love how the flowers in the Ponds print reads like another polka dot to compliment the Benches print.
As my long time readers might remember me mentioning a few weeks ago, when Pat asked if there was anything I might want to consider making with Morrison Park, I was just starting my curve piecing exploration and I jumped at the opportunity to design something new to try. When the fabric arrived, I took a closer look at my design and realized it wasn’t something that could really be pieced using the methods I intended. Oops! I was able to change the design to still use the yardages I requested and in the end, the design is better for the refinement; instead of a 60″ square quilt, the design finishes at a great lap size of 60″ x 72″.
Pistils & Pollen
Pistils & Pollen continues my exploration of curve star blocks and inset curve stars (both of the links go to free online tutorials), which create beautiful curve stars from a single piece of fabric. The methods are perfect for highlighting favorite prints, and I really like how it allows Pat’s Morrison Park prints to shine.
The design reminded me of the center of a flower with its cluster of stamen around a pistil, and for the quilt / design name, I opted for the slightly more alliterative name of Pistils & Pollen.
Pistils and Pollen Detail
The Master Garden in Navy print is a wonderful binding and frame for the quilt. In addition to framing the quilt nicely, I really like that it has touches of red in the print which you can see, along with other fun details, as you get closer.
Pistils & Pollen Detail
I used 50wt Aurifil 2000 (Light Sand) for the piecing and quilting, which blends in perfectly with the background Ponds in Cream print. I quilted a meandering stipple with an occasional loop in the background to represent the pollinators necessary to get the pollen to the flower pistil. I used the same 50wt Aurifil 2000 thread to quilt each curve star with a 1″ echo, and then I added a star burst at the center of each star.
Bonus Quilt
What’s even better than one quilt? Two! The curve star blocks and inset curve stars create scraps that are perfect for squaring up and creating drunkard’s path blocks, so I designed a second quilt using an additional background fabric to showcase how Morrison Park looks against a darker background.
Bonus Bouquet
The Bonus Bouquet quilt finishes at 50″ x 60″, and I’ll be sharing more details about that quilt tomorrow.
Many thanks to Pat Sloan and Benartex for supplying the fabric for Pistils & Pollen and asking me to participate in the Morrison Park Tour. To celebrate the Pistils & Pollen pattern release, which includes instructions for a baby (48″ x 48″) and lap (60″ x 72″) quilt along with the Bonus Bouquet pattern for each (40″ x 50″ or 50″ x 60″, respectively), the pattern will be on sale through October 5th.
Giveaway!
Pat, Benartex, and Aurifil have teamed up to offer a daily giveaway for the Morrison Park Tour. If you are in the US, you will win a layer cake of Morrison Park and a Benartex Fat Quarterly club newsletter with a charm pack. If you are not in the US, you will win Pat Sloan’s curated Aurifil thread Perfect Box of Neutrals. Use the rafflecopter widget below to enter to win. By entering, you acknowledge that you are at least 18 years old. The giveaway is open through midnight Eastern on Monday, October 5th. A winner will be randomly selected, and you must reply via email with your mailing address within 48 hours to claim your prize. All prizes will be shipped on October 15th.
Pat Sloan‘s Morrison Park Tour
Be sure to visit all the other people participating in the Morrison Park Tour to see more of the fabric line and enter to win more giveaways!
Pistils & Pollen Backing Outtake
Outdoor photography of quilts can be a challenge. The air quality in our town has been poor for 5+ weeks, and while not a blue sky, this gray is the best we’ve had in weeks. Special thanks to my husband for his patience with the wind, but I do love how you can see the quilt backing nicely in this outtake photograph. The backing is from Pat’s Bonnie Lane line and is the Apron Prints in Blue which has a delightful metallic shimmer!
Linking up with Beauties Pageant 100, TGIFF, and Finished Friday.
Beautiful quilts. I have avoided curved piecing so far
I love curved piecing. I did a Judy Neimyer quilt with curves and a Sew Kind of Wonderful Sunflower quilrb I love what you did with these fabrics!
I love the patterns and colors for both quilts–thank you!
I have a curved piecing project in process–all the blocks are sewn and need to be put together. I love the way you made 2 quilts out of the pieces. The gray background of the bonus quilt is beautiful!
Love your quilt!!
Refreshing design!
I think curved piecing looks incredible on quilts, but I have never been brave enough to try it. Thanks!
Yvonne, the outtake photo of your quilt is perfect. Don’t think you could have a better shot showcasing the front and back together.
I’m making a temperature quilt for this year with curved piecing and its going quite fine. Love your colorful quilts.
I love the look of curved piecing. I am a newer quilter and have not tackled curves… yet! Lovely quilt! Beautiful line of fabric – I just love the Benches!
I have done curved piecing, and I love it! It really is easy, and the more you do, the better you become at sewing curves. I made a Double Wedding Ring quilt top.. one of my favorites.
I love your patterns and quilts!
I made a wedding ring quilt for my neice. It was a real challenge. Would I do it again? Your pattern is really tempting me.
I have made a table runner using the curved piecing and it was a lot of fun. Love your quilts, thanks for sharing.
Great quilts! I love your monicker and now I understand why you picked it.
what a great quilt – well two quilts – that is a cool way to use curves . the graphicness and boldness of it is cool!!
Beautiful quilts! I love how you find ways to use the leftovers from one quilt to make a second one.
I really like your projects! Thanks for sharing. I have not done curved piecing, though I’ve sewn plenty of curves in garment sewing.
I have done some curved piecing. Your work has inspired me!
Thank you for sharing your beautiful quilt.
Beautiful curved piecing and a lovely use of the colors
I would like to try your pattern as it has a modern and fresh design. I have only tried curved piecing once at a demo although I have yet to try it in a quilt.
Like both designs very much. Especially like the dark background….something I’ve been wanting to challenge myself to try.
I have wanted to try the “Drunkards Path” block–bought a pattern book, but haven’t attempted it yet!
barbkaup(at)(yahoo)(dot)(com)
I have only done cathedral windows with a couple of different methods and love anything with curves in it!
Lovely quilt.
I haven’t done curved piecing yet. But I’m loving yours!
I have done a few curves,,, mostly with paper piecing. Nice job, yours is beautiful. Thanks for sharing.
I don’t do curves. But I’m willing to try.
Totally scared of curved piecing!
hi – great pattern for such beautiful fabric. perfect quilting.
Perfect match: Pat’s fabrics and your pattern! Lovely!
I have never tried curved piecing YET, but I see so many quilts, such as these two, that are absolutely stunning using curved pieces. Maybe I should try it! I really like your designs and they show off Morrison Park fabric spectacularly. I’m partial to dark backgrounds, so I have to say that is my favorite.
I love curved piecing though I have never tried it. Your designs for the Morrison Park fabric really showcased the colors well. Being partial to dark backgrounds, I really love that quilt!
Both quilts are beautiful! But I really am drawn to the dark background and tulip quilt.
I really love the dark background, and how it makes the colors pop!
I have made a couple quilts with curved piecing. They aren’t that hard when you take your time. Love your quilts!
I am a rookie, always found quilting so intimidating, but i joined a group right before COVID hit us. I have watched a ton of YouTube tutorials, and i’ve been making patchwork tops like crazy. I have yet to try curves! It’s straight lines for me for now, but some day i hope to widen my repertoire!
Reminds me of the Steelers logo. You can take the girl out of Pittsburgh, but you can’t take Pittsburgh out of the girl. ☺️
I like sewing curves, and love your results making the curved star blocks. I shall be following your tutorials very soon.
I love curvy blocks, and your quilt is beautiful! With a bit of practice, I’ve learned to sew curves. I wish I could be faster though! Thanks for sharing your beautiful work, and for all the inspiration you provide on your blog.
I’ve done a little curved piecing but I haven’t mastered it yet! Love your quilts!
This is height of sewing with scraps, when one project’s leftovers set you up perfectly for another project. Well done!
I enjoy curved piecing. I am also an engineer-turned-quilter, so I appreciate your approach to design!
I haven’t done any curved piecing yet, but your patterns look fun!
I really like the tulip quilt.
I love the look of curved piecing, but have only attempted one project. I am embarrassed to admit that I gave up on my hand-pieced Drunkerd’s Path after 4 blocks. Seeing your quilt makes me want to try again.
The quilt with the dark background provides us with a new way to think about using Morrison Park fabric. It isn’t something we have seen yet with the other designers. The fabrics look great contrasting with that background.
I have followed your blog for some time now and I love your openness to try new to you quilting roads. Thanks for sharing how cool Pat’s fabric looks in modern new patterns!
thank you ever so much for including tutorials to mastering curves . such a fun project
I don’t sew curves often but I do love New York Beauty blocks and have made several of them. They went together pretty easily.