Quick, Easy, Yet Stunning??
 

Howdy y'all :c)

WHEW!!! The past couple of months have been overwhelming! Since Thanksgiving, my daughter (19 years old and autistic) had to have major surgery, I bought AND wrapped all of the Christmas presents, went to three Christmas dinners, plus made it though four (FOUR!!) birthdays, with two more to go in the next week! Oh.....and I also made a quilt for my nephew!

Here's my problem.....I'm still trying to finish up a quilt I started for my niece for her birthday (which was October 23). I have a quilt in mind I'm going to make for my oldest sister for her birthday in March, and I think it will go together fairly quickly. The problem is, my other sister's birthday is in June. I want to make a quilt for her as well, but I'm obviously pressed for time. Do any of you have any suggestions for a quilt that will go together fast, that's fairly easy, but doesn't look like it's quick and easy? I don't want her to feel like I've just thrown something together, even though that's pretty much what I'll probably have to do. Any and all help would be very much appreciated! :c)

Donna

I like the disappearing 9-patch.

I have found that Debbie Maddy's designs go together fast and easy but are quite stunning.

Ditto Tartan! The one I made made quit an impression at a baby shower! They thought I'd spent weeks at it but really I pieced it in one sitting.

Ten minute block

This one is very easy....if I can do it anyone can

http://www.quiltingboard.com/picture...t163761-4.html

Ditto on the disappearing nine patch. If you pay attention to the corner blocks and pick a large print (even fussy cut it), the result is nothing short of amazing. Draw a nine patch (5 - 6" squares) out on butcher paper, colouring in the squares and then cut and reassemble to get the uncut squares heading in the right direction. I've seen one done with pictures that was really fascinating.

I agree with the others....the D9P is an easy one that looks complicated.
I also like the BQ, BQ2 & BQ3 patterns from Maple Island Quilts.

http://www.mapleislandquilts.com/quiltpatterns.asp

http://www.google.ca/search?hl=en&q=...HMeP0QGC7YCIAw

How about the Double Slice on Missouri Quit Co? It's quick and easy and looks fantastic.

How about Missouri Star Quilt Co's 5 minute quilt block?

I forgot to add that when I pick a quick and easy pattern but want it stunning,
I try to go for the nicest fabrics because that's what will make a break the quilt.
Just my humble opinion. :)

Quick and easy quilts
 

I just finished a quilt this week end. This can be done with 2 or 3 or 4 different fabrics. Cut 2.5 x wof (width of fabric) sew 3 of the strips together. Once they are together cut them into squares. Now cut your main color into the same size square as your strips are. Now sew them in strips alternating the squares. I did 6 across and 8 down then added borders.
Both were done fast and look great.

french braids go together quite quickly- i generally get them done in a weekend & they always look stunning & very (individual)
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Quick quilts, I will be watching this post. Sorry I always pick the complicated and if it's not complicated I add something and then it takes more time. I do enjoy what I do and pleased with the finished product but my family has to wait and wait

It's all in the selection of fabrics. Some of the quick and easy look like they were made for the dog's bed and some look stunning and they are the same pattern. Select your fabrics carefully.

I agree on largeer blocks, less cutting & less sewing. do something fun that you like. Do not attempt a new technique thast will stress you out. you do not need any additional stress now.

Warm Wishes is an easy quilt that can be dressed up or down depending on the fabric chosen.

How about Labryinth - its looks really nice and is very easy.

cakewalk is a fast one too

That is what I was going to suggest. I can do a lap size in a weekend.

I just found the pattern for a disappearing 16 patch. If you've got lots of different fabrics you want to get used up. Make up a bunch of 16 patch blocks - doesn't matter what size - if you've got a five inch charm pack, that would work. After you make the 16 patch blocks, cut them on the diagonal twice, then take two and sew the side seams together, which becomes the center seam. Creates a very interesting affect. Soon as I get a picture of the one I made I will post it.

I like the 9-patch pizzazz quilts from the book by Judy Sisneros. While I haven't done a disappearing 9-patch, it looks like a lot of cutting to me. The 9-patch pizzazz mixes 9-patches with larger pieces of a focus fabric, the kind that's so pretty you hate to cut it. Here's an example:

I believe the triple rail fence pattern is the quickest to make because after you've sewn strips together, you've made the blocks....all you have to do is cut the strips into segments and you're done. Color choice and placement can make this quilt dramatic and difficult looking. Here's a graphic of one I make.

Jan in VA

I use 3 color families, with 3 values in each family. Use a busy, wonderful print for the outer border; a narrow inner border of a color different from those used in the rails.

Cut your strips at 2.5".
Sew into sets of 3.
Measure across your sewn strips first to determine exactly how wide they are before cutting the segments.....probably near 6".
If you set 7 blocks across, 9 blocks down and make your borders finished at 1.5" and 6", your quilt will be approx. 57" wide x 69" long

Using a layer cake, stack 9 squares of fabric and using your long ruler and a rotary cutter, make a random, single slice through all layers. It's thick so you will need to be careful. Take the top piece of fabric on the right side, and put it on the bottom of the right side. Now sew the left side to the right side and press the seams. Keep them in the same sequence. Now stack them up and make another slice but going through a different direction. (for instance, the first time you did a vertical cut, now this time do a horizontal cut) Now take off the top two layers on one side and put on the bottom, and sew them together. You can keep repeating this until you are satisfied with the look of the crazy block.
The blocks will be very wonky when you are done, just pick the smallest one and square it up and square up the others to match it.
When quilting, you can use your decorative stitches on your machine.
This goes together surprisingly fast. When I took a class, a lady next to me had enough blocks done to do a twin size quilt for her granddaughter. It was only a 3 hour class!

You can sew the blocks together or separate them with sashing and cornerstones.

Here's the technique that I'm talking about but she uses fat quarters which would make it even faster!
http://bighornquilts.com/inspiration/strip/sns.html

Jan is right about the Triple Rail fence pattern - its super easy. I also like the 5 minute block - it isn't as picky as the 10 minute one. You can leave the edges as is or fold under for the curved effect. Here's a baby quilt I did using the pattern.

I love the tube quilt on Missouri Star.

This is my "go to" pattern when it needs to be done quickly. You can have it organized or scrappy. Here is a link to a scrappy looking one that I did late in 2011 as a gift. It was however a planned quilt - I had a stack of 9 golds and a stack of 11 browns.

http://www.quiltingboard.com/picture...h-t167091.html

Looks complicated but goes together like a dream.

Magic Square is another easy quilt that looks very cool.

I also like the disappearing 9-patch amd she won't knowthat it is easy or fast.
ood luck Ethel

You've gotten lots of great suggestions and I can't think of a thing to add. Hope your daughter is doing well and good luck with all your quilts.

I did this one and made the top of the quilt one large square for a king sized bed. It turned out just beautiful and did not take me a tremendous amount of time. Here is the link. http://www.quilterscache.com/C/Carpe...heelBlock.html

I have been trying to make this block, but just can't figure out what size the stripes should be... What size did you use for this quilt?

The ten minute block is great...I just made one with charm packs....It looks even better with the smaller blocks but goes really fast.

Thanks mighty! There were so many great suggestions on here, and I looked at each and every one of them! I LOVE the French Braid and will definitely do one of those at some point. Love the Shadowbox too! But as soon as I looked at Debbie Maddy's designs, the Labyrinth quilt (which quiltstringz also mentioned) really jumped out at me! Looks simple enough, yet it's gorgeous!

On another note, on looking at all the designs that people suggested, I came to realize that as I looked at the pictures, more often than not I thought to myself, "I see how that's done. I could do that!" I've been quilting for about 2 1/2 years now, and I guess I'm finally getting to the point where I can actually SEE how to do some quilts rather than needing detailed instructions for them. Maybe I'll be designing my own someday? LOL!

Donna

Two of my favorite fast quilts are "Just Can't Cut It", and "Walkabout", especially if one of your fabrics has a large print. These look great, and go together very quickly.

I love warm wishes so easy and fast and looks great

Almost always I go to the Take 5. Latest one I did for a Silent Auction at our church: You can put borders on or not. Blocks are 12", so you can go 4 across/5 down for a lap size or add more for larger quilt. The borders on this are 2-1/2" and 6-1/2".
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I'm a big fan of Irish chain. Only two fabrics, and half the blocks are plain. Done with the right combination of fabrics, they can be gorgeous. I try to get a stunning print for the plain blocks.

These are really great patterns that go together very fast and look wonderful in every fabric combination I have seen.