Phyllis' quilt

Many years ago when I was in my early 20's my mother and I had the pleasure of working with a very special woman names Phyllis. What made her so special wasn't what she had or didn't have but it was her spirit.

She was born in the 1930's and upon her emergence into the world the prognosis was grim. The doctors at the time only gave her 3 years to live because she had Cerebral Palsy. I guess at the time little was known about it and the doctors didn't hold out hope for her to have a decent quality of life. How wrong they were! I guess they hadn't ever encountered people like her parents who were determined to raise Phyllis as a strong and  independent woman. Although non-verbal Phyllis had a voice as loud and in your face as her personality. While Phyllis couldn't care for herself she lived a full life writing copious letters with the assistance of a special shoe and typewriter her father and engineered, she traveled, she was an advocate for herself and others with physical disabilities, and above all else she was an amazing friend. Sadly Phyllis passed away some years ago but she is still with us in so many ways. What does this story have to do with quilting? Read on.......

A while back I purchased some fabric with a cream background and a gray and orange design.

Usually orange is one of those colors I rarely use but for some reason I had to have this fabric. I stashed it away as quilters are wont to do and didn't give it another thought. Just last weekend my husband and I were having a lazy weekend around the house and I got the itch to quilt. I went through my fabrics and found that weird orange fabric that I had forgotten about along with a complimentary fabric I had the foresight to purchase at the same time.

I wanted a simple pattern to showcase the fabric and because I truly wasn't in the mood to worry about precise corners, or perfect points I decided on a snowball block.

When I was finished I sent my mother a photo of my latest creation. She asked me what I was calling this quilt and I had no answer until she reminded me of something that made me smile. Phyllis' favorite color was orange.My mother has since claimed the quilt as hers upon completion. So now I present to you a quilt with a personality as bold as Phyllis was. "Phyllis' Quilt"

I started by cutting squares of the patterned fabric 6 1/2'' and squares of the orange fabric 2 1/2'' You will need 4 small squares for each larger square. For this tedious task I used one of my favorite tools the Shape Cut by June Tailor. If you do not have one of these, get one!

Once you have all of your squares cut it is time to mark and assemble.  I use a very light colored pencil for this step but you can use a disappearing fabric marker like this one made by Dritz.
Take your ruler and mark corner to corner with your fabric pen on each of the 2 1/2' blocks.

 Once marked you are ready to sew. Place the smaller square flush in the corner of the larger square with right sides together and sew corner to corner along your diagonal line.

I really should have used a thread with more contrast so it is easier to see but hopefully you get the idea. You will then add small squares to each corner of the larger squares until you have a bunch of blocks that look like this 

Now it is time for some cutting. I use a 1/4'' seam allowance and place my ruler along the diagonal stitched seam

As you can see the ruler is placed so that once cut you will keep that 1/4' seam. Do not cut on the seam itself or you will end up with a big old fabric mess. Now it is time to cut off the corners

You will have a bunch of small triangles left over like I did but I have saved mine for a project I have yet to think up.

You will now have a stack of blocks that look like this and it is time to press them. I always run my iron over each of the seams to set them prior to pressing the fabric open.

Once you've set your seam fold back each corner triangle and give it a good run with the iron. This is what you will end up with

At this stage you will square up the block using a 6 1/2'' ruler. Sadly at this stage I forgot to take photos since I was so excited to see the finished product. Once all of your blocks are squared you can sew your blocks together into strips and sew those strips together to make your quilt.

I have yet to have this piece quilted up but when I do I will be sure to post pics. 

Choose your own fabrics and make this quilt for yourself. If you have any questions at all feel free to leave a comment or shoot me an email.

Happy Quilting!
Key