Wind Chime Quilt—Fresh for Spring
As you probably know, I am a big fan of making interesting projects with quick methods. Sometimes, like many of you, I just do not have the time to devote to a complex intricate design. When I started designing quilts with columns instead of traditional quilt blocks, my head spun with ideas and I found the designs appeared complex and intricate, with ease of construction. Welcome to the third blog post and third Sewing With Nancy episode in the series on my book on Quick Column Quilts.
Wind Chime Column Quilt
The wind chimes hanging from our deck served as the inspiration for this Wind Chime Column Quilt. Just like real wind chimes, the angled accent pieces, seem to move as if gently nudged by the wind. Here’s a little preview of how I designed this column quilt.
- Auditioning fabrics: You’ll learn how to use a print fabric to audition other fabrics to see if they’re compatible. The striped fabric served as the color inspiration for this quilt. All of the “wind chime fabrics” came from my stash.
- Waste not want not: Since some of the fabrics were short on yardage, I designed a way to use every inch of a strip. You’ll have to tune into the show to learn this technique. It’s easier to see it demonstrated than to write about it. Just call me lazy!
Folded Flying Geese Wall Hanging
No half-square triangles are needed to make these artistic Flying Geese. Start with squares, fold three times, and presto the folded triangles create 3-dimensional Flying Geese. Plus, the background columns are not cut, but rather one piece of fabric. Hmm, it’s kinda interesting.
Floating Squares Column Quilt
This double-sized quilt looks difficult to make, but not so! The darker squares float on the light background of the quilt top, made with some creative cutting and sewing of crosswise strips. Not to worry; you will not be required to cut squares. I’ve opted for a quick-to-make column quilt!
13 Quilt patterns are detailed in the book, Quick Column Quilts.
Watch Quick Column Quilts (Part One, Part Two, and Part Three) on Sewing With Nancy online.
Bye for now,
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Carol P
I like the wind chime quilt, love the look and name!
Lori Rogers
I love this quilt as it is modern and quick! I make donation quilts for the teen oncology department of a near by hospital so “modern and quick” is perfect for me!
Diane C
The wind chime quilt but also the flying geese
Robyn
Love the floating squares column quilt. It’s beautiful and I love your color choices.
Martha Drabiski
I love all of these quilts. I think they are perfect, love the quilting.
Jo
I have always wanted to try the floating squares quilt think about black with bright squares !
Margaret C.
The wind chime quilt evokes movement. I am swaying towards it.
Karen
I like all of the quilts would be great to win the book. I think my favorite would be the wind chime.
Cyndi
The original column quilt is so inspiring. When I am reading your website I am inspired. This book and your instructions make these patterns all seem possible and not overwhelming.
Thank you for the give away.
Joy
Love the wind chime quilt!
sandy haber
I like the wind chime quilt the best. We have a small hanging wind chime on our porch, I love the sound. Looks like once the fabrics are chosen that the quilt will go together relatively quickly — always a plus!!
thanks.
Marianne
I rather like the wind chime quilt but color choices make all the difference! Your technique of choosing a multi color print and picking colors from that piece is both ingenious and foolproof. Thanks Nancy for designing patterns for today’s busy quilter. Gives us equal time for gardening.
Tammy Kazmierczak
Definitely the wind chime quilt. I love the diagonal aspect within the columns.
Kate
I’ve already drawn the wind chime out on my computer
Your quilt is perfect as it is, but I thought about adding a fine cord or even a zig zag stitch as a “string” connecting the chimes. If only I had a 10th of your talent Nancy. Blessings to you
MaryEllen
It’s so hard to decide which is one , but I like the floating squares !
Thanks for the giveaway
Erin Dumont
I love the simplicity of the floating squares quilt. Two-color quilts are always very striking!
Peg Whitham
I am in lust for the Wind Chime quilt. We’rerefreshing our master bedroom in a beachy theme and wind chimes for right into that theme.
Debora Nipper
I don’t know if i could choose, but the floating squares seems to have LOTS of possibilities!
Thunder
The geese intrigue me, but when I saw floating squares… I had an instant vision of bright green squares, with a silver grey background !
Thanks for the chance to win a copy of the book.
You are always a great inspiration. 😉
Penny Duane
I love the floating squares. It’s symmetric and I love, love, love white and blue together. It looks so clean and fresh.
vera schmidt
I like all of them but my favorite is Folded Flying Geese wall hanging. I have a strong preference to flying geese quilts/wall hangings. Thanks for giving us the chance to win the book
Alisa Vogt
I love the wind chime quilt. It may have something to do with the color, but I do think it’s a pattern that I could manage to do! 🙂
Joanne P.
Like them all, but the flying geese is my favorite!
Mickie McElroy
I love the wind chimes quilt. It’s a refreshing new idea. i can see it as a wall hanging. I have a notion to do it as hanging with free strips hanging on top. Then, I would hang it on the wall on my porch so the strips could move in the wind like a wind chime.
Constance Hill
I really like the Wind Chime quilt. It makes me think of the soft breezes that send the music of the wind chimes in the air.
Constance Hill
I really like the Wind Chime quilt. It makes me think of the soft breezes that move the chimes.
Ellen
Love the Wind Chime quilt, looks whimsical!
Jean Palionis
I do believe that of your beautiful quilt designs, I really would like to try the wind chime colum quilt. They all are so pretty it is hard to pick just one. Having your book will give me plenty of choises! Thank you for offering.
Earlene Ginter
Could I use double knit (have gobs)?
Bonnie C
With wind chimes being one of my favorite things, my choice is definitely Wind Chimes. It’s just a breath of spring is on it’s way!
Kathy Grant
Hard to pick just one – but I really like the wind chime quilt – and it may be the colors speaking to me. Thanks for sharing and for all you do to make quilting such a pleasure!
Cheryl
I have always wanted to do a flying geese quilt but have not wanted to do all the piecing. Thanks for your easy and inspirational methods.
Mickie
I really like the wind chime quilt. It’s a refreshing new idea. I have an image of it as a wall hanging, with strips on top of the colors, I would hang it on the wall of my porch, so the strips could blow in the win a la wind chimes.
Starla
My favorite is Floating Squares, but I’m intrigued by the flying geese column quilt, as well.
margaret
I like the folded flying geese best – the geese have always been a favorite
Candice
For some reason, the Floating Squares calls to me, but the Wind Chime is a very, very close second. I will be checking this book out, and looks like I’ll be adding it to my collection!
Mary B
Love the floating squares. The use of just two fabrics is so dramatic while making fabric choice so very easy! Love it, love it!
Carol in Arkansas
I LOVE the flying geese. Just beautiful. Thanks for the chance at the book.
Mary Daum
At the age of 60+ I’m fairly new to Quilting, and am self taught. No sewing background of any kind. Most of inspiration comes from blogs, you tube, and magazines. I love the quilts from Nancy but my mind is set on making the wind chime quilt. It “talks to me”, and will be my next project. Have my fabric in washer as I write this. Yea! I’m so excited.
Arline Bivins
I LOVE the Wind Chime Column Quilt Pattern. I’m new to quilting and would love to make for my Granddaughter who is graduating high school in June. I’ve bought several fabrics themed in Music and was having trouble picking a pattern I thought she would love. This is it!
Thank you Nancy for all the help and creativity you do.
Jelinda P.
I would love to make the Windchimes quilt using fabrics the colors of sea glass.
Debra
I’ve sewn lots of quilts but have never done the column method- it looks fun and easy to do and a good way to use up some of those “saved” pieces we all have. I think I’ll try the wind chimes pattern first. Thanks for the inspiration, Nancy!
Cathy M
I love your blog posts as much as I love to watch Sewing with Nancy! The quilt that I am most interested in making is the Flying Geese Wallhanging. I struggle with traditional flying geese – keeping them square and uniform. I’d like to try this different technique! Thank you.
Kathy
I really like the flying geese the best, although the purity of the two colour floating squares is very appealing also. If I win the book, I will just have to make both of them! Thanks Nancy!
Rhonda D in KY
I really like the Wind Chime quilt. It reminds me of the wind chimes that I need to get out and hung for the spring and summer seasons.
ines
WINDCHIMES…I can see a lovely quilt in the desert SouthWest colors
Ann Fredrickson
I love the wind chime quilt. It looks modern bur not stark. I feel most contemporary quilts look cool and aloof but this quilt projects warmth and comfort.
Pat Foht
I do really like them all, but the floating squares just intrigued me, so I would start there first!
Thanks for the inspiration Nancy.
Tina
I really like Floating Squares. Looks so fresh. Thanks for the chance
Bonnye
I like the floating squares. It looks clean and neat.
Janis Turocy
I can just picture the wind chime Quilt in silver, grey and black. A nighttime wind chime, if you will.
tammy wright
I personally love the floating squares quilt. reminds me of water or oil flowing done strings on fixtures with lighting. That was popular back in the 70’s. So beautiful.
tammy wright
I personally love the floating squares quilt. reminds me of water or oil flowing down strings on fixtures with lighting. That was popular back in the 70’s. So beautiful.
Diane F
I love the floating squares. Could be floating triangles, rectangles, trapezoids. I love the two-color rendition, but think I would do this in a variety of brights, or a single colorway of blues or pinks and reds, or a variety of blues, mixing prints and solids. GREAT possibilities for imagination!
Linda Morales
Because I need to pick one….I would have to pick the flying geese, and this wasn’t easy.
Linda
I liked the “Folded Flyng Geese” quilt the best.
Shirley Marvin
While I like all of the quilts I really like the triangles the best.
Shirley Marvin
My vote is for the triangle quilt. Love it..
Donna McGraw
I would do the windchimes first .To use up my scraps. I do like them all though. They would all be good to use up some of my scraps.
Brenda
I love the wind chime quilt.
Pat McCoy
I love the wind chimes. The colors you display are beautiful. Reminds me of summer and my granddaughter Summer. She passed away suddenly, shockingly in August. She loved wind chimes. we have them every where.
ella ruth
The choice was easy for me. I love listening to wind chimes. The sound is so soothing. Wind chimes it is. But flying geese has always been a little scary for me so there’s the geese, then the floating blocks are something else too. I like the quilting on the floating blocks. I just like them all. Thank you for sharing with us. : )
bonnie glover
your making it hard to choose , it’s a close up but I like the folded fly geese
Vicki H
I love flying geese, but the Wind Chime quilt is my favorite.
Sandy K
Not an easy choice, I like the Wind Chime quilt most.
Bonnie Sutton
The color of the Chime Quilt caught my eye first ,because turquoise is my favorite. When I read how easy it goes together,I was sold! Thanks for all your great ideas.
Linda Conner
I love the Folded Flying Geese !! I am just starting on my Quilting journey and have only sewn a couple of wall quilts. But have wanted to start a Flying Geese quilt from the beginning. This is the perfect pattern for me !! Thank you for helping all of us with your patterns and advise !!
Bev Hancox
Too many beautiful quilts, but the floating squares column quilt really jumped out at me. It would make a unique wall hanging as well. Thank you so much for all the inspiration you provide.
Lillian K
Folded Flying Geese appeals to me. All of the Quilts are beautiful, though. Hard to choose.
Christine
Folded Flying Geese is my favorite. I’d make this into a quilt.
Brenda L. Pedersen
As much as I like the Floating Squares Column Quilt, I have to say the Wind Chime Column Quilt is my fave. I like the design and especially all the different fabrics. I can just visualize it in brights as well as batiks!
Enid
I like the wind chime quilt.
Pat Howell
The folding flying geese is my favorite of the quilts shown. I would love to make this quilt. Thanks for the chance to win.
Pat
I like the flying geese wall hanging the best. I would love to make this quilt. Thanks for the chance to win the book.
Karen payton
The wind chime quilt looked fun and easy since I’m a beginner
Susan Lytle
I like the wind chime quilt, but all the column quilts look interesting.
Nancy Lenz
I love the flying geese quilt. It immediately took me back to fall days as a child in the north. Living in southernmost Texas I miss the changing seasons most of all.