"Easy Does It" lap quilt pattern featuring Grandale by Keera Job

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Today I’m pleased to be a stop on the Grandale Blog Tour featuring a beautiful new collection by fabric designer Keera Jobfor Riley Blake Designs. Grandale includes a soothing range of colors, stunning florals, and terrific coordinates. Isn\’t it wonderful?


I’ve made a lap quilt and coordinating pillow with this lovely fabric. The lap quilt is a new pattern of mine called Easy Does It, and the coordinating pillow features a sweet little butterfly block from Elea Lutz’ book called Pretty Playtime Quilts.


I initially had different plans for Grandale. But when Keera\’s gorgeous fabric arrived, circumstances in my own life caused me to think about the people I know who are experiencing health issues. People who are wheelchair bound due to accidents, illness and old age. I thought of my 93-year-old Great Aunt Dorothy, who gets around with the aid of a walker.  I thought of friends and relatives who have had to endure chemotherapy and radiation treatments. Quilts are a wonderful expression of love and comfort. And so I sought to create a pattern that we could make quickly and easily, and that would be just the right size for people in this situation.  


Grandale’s main floral prints are stop-and-stare pretty, almost too pretty to cut up! The cream and teal florals are my favorites from the collection, so I decided to feature them in my lap quilt. Once the top was together, it seemed to me that the quilting needed to be soft and simple, so I machine quilted horizontal lines of serpentine stitching. I used the zigzag (#4) stitch on my Bernina with the longest and widest stitch settings my machine would allow. I started quilting in the center and worked my way out to the top and bottom, using the edge of my walking foot as a guide for the next stitching line.  No marking required!


Rather than using white thread, I chose Aurifil’s baby pink (2423 50 wt). It coordinates so nicely with the soft pinks in Keera\’s collection. I think the final result makes you want to reach out and touch the quilt, which is just what we want in a comfort quilt!


For my coordinating pillow, I highlighted the butterfly with simple outline quilting and added a translucent pink button for a finishing touch. In this photo you can see the sophisticated Grandale Carnation Tan floral from the collection. It has an almost linen-like appearance ~ what a great print for sophisticated home coordinates!

I don\’t have a pattern for the pillow. After making the butterfly block from Elea\’s book, I simply framed it with fabric to the size that I needed for a pillow form I had on hand.  Then I created an envelope back and bound the pillow with the Grandale Pink Dot. I am hoping this gives you an idea of the lovely things you could create with Grandale!

The Easy Does It pattern finishes at 41\” x 50\” and is available on my Etsy Shop. I hope this is a pattern you can turn to when you need a quick comfort quilt for someone you love. This pattern also happens to be just the right size for a child’s quilt!

Many thanks to Keera Job and Riley Blake Designs for including me on this Grandale Blog Tour. If you’d like to see other makers who are playing with Grandale, please visit these websites:
Primrose Cottage Quilts (4/3/2018)
Fabric Mutt (4/4/2018)
Down Grapevine Lane (4/26/2018)

Thank you all for stopping by the blog today. Now go and get carried away quilting, my friends!

~Taunja


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