Fussy Cut Medallion Quilt Step-by-Step: Polar Medallion Quilt Completed, Medallion Quilt Books

Here it is!  The completed "Polar Medallion Quilt".   I love all the colors so I particularly enjoyed working on this quilt!

And it was a joy to quilt. I did some straight line quilting, some echo quilting, a bit of embroidery on one of the solid concentric inner borders and I used my favorite Bernina #4 stitch in the last border.

Here's the back of this quilt. You can see the quilting much more clearly on this side as well as the structure of the medallion.

Polar Medallion Quilt--back side

I hope you enjoyed following along with the making of this quilt. If you make one for yourself, please let me know! 

In my last post, I mentioned that I would tell you about two medallion quilt books. One is available now, the other is scheduled for release 12/26/2017.

The Modern Medallion Workbook by Janice Zeller Ryan and Beth Vassalo was published by Stash Books in 2015.   The book has a couple relatively simple medallion quilts but most of the quilts are complex, visually very exciting and look fairly challenging to make.  I really like the quilt shown on the right side of the book's cover shown above.  It looks like a party! The round flying geese medallion shown in the lower left corner above is incredible. It's the center medallion of a bright, fun quilt.  It's an amazing book, but not one for a beginner quilter.

The book coming out in December is being published by Lucky Spool. Make Your Own Medallion: Mix + Match Block and Borders to Build Your Quilt From the Center Out was written by Erin Burke Harris.  The preview states she has created a variety of borders that can be made in 3 widths, as well as 6 center medallions that are ready for use. She has done all the math for the borders! Quilt Math is what makes designing a medallion quilt challenging. Here is a link to some page spreads photos from the book on the Lucky Spool website.  I'm so intrigued. I can't wait to see this book!

I hope I've sparked your interest in medallion quilts and that you'll try making one at some point. They are fun to sew and make beautiful and interesting quilts.

Fussy Cut Medallion Quilt Step-by-Step: Introduction

Looking through my stash of fabrics this summer, I found a lovely set a fabrics which had been a gift from a friend.  There was a jelly roll of 2 1/2 inch batik strips and two 1/2 yards of coordinating fabrics.  I also found 1/2 yard of a novelty print with inhabitants of both North and South Poles which was a perfect match for the watery/icy colors batiks in the jelly roll. I also pulled out some coordinating Kona® cotton solids to add to my collection of fabrics.

I decided to use them to make a medallion quilt.  A medallion quilt has a central focus block and strips of fabric or strips of blocks are added concentrically until the quilt is the final desired size. It sound simple, but it's actually rather challenging. It that QUILT MATH THING!  I've written previously about Designing Medallion Quilts.

I also wanted to use the book. The Fussy Cut Sampler, by Nichole Ramirez and Elisabeth Woo, published by Lucky Spool Media 2017.   I picked "block 32, four-way prints" on page 96 of the book as my central feature block in the quilt. 

My Polar version of Block 32 from "The Fussy Cut Sampler"

In the next several posts, I will post step-by-step instructions, with measurements, on how I made this crib sized quilt. It's not a tested pattern but it should work if you want to make a similar fussy cut medallion quilt using a jelly roll.  The finished quilt should measure approximately 44 x 52 inches. (I haven't quilted it yet so don't know the exact completed dimensions).

Supplies:

• 1 jelly roll or 2 1/2 inch strips cut the width of the fabric.  About 30.
• 1/2 yard of 2 coordinating patterned fabrics
• 1/2 yard of 2 coordinating solid fabrics
• 1/2 yard of a novelty print, with some motifs that are not larger than 2 x 2 inches
• Fabric scraps

STEP 1: Make the Central Medallion Block

• Make a 9 1/2 inch unfinished quilt block with a complex pattern or interesting pattern.

In the next three posts, released each Thursday, there will detailed photos and information for each set of concentric strip sets to make a similar quilt. 

Hunt through your stash if you have one, find some great fabrics, and sew along!