If, like us in the studio, you too are an 80s or 90s baby, then this FQ pull is probably screaming at your elementary school self. To us it was all, "Lisa Frank!" "Troll dolls!" "Unicorn Trapper-Keepers!" We settled on embracing the "Kid on Summer Break" vibes, and named this bundle Popsicle Break. She was 20 FQs, and we paired her with six low volume FQs for our complete Checkered Garden pull.
As we did with our previous Checkered Garden, we decided on a 5 block x 5 block layout, and decided to use the low volume prints in only the C position to give consistency to this happy color explosion of a quilt.
We figured out how to get all the cuts we needed for one block out of one FQ (minus the C cuts, which were cut separately from the low volume FQs). We made our initial round of cuts following the above guide, which got us the cuts needed for 20 blocks. For the additional five blocks, we made another round of cuts from our FQ remnants (the white space above), working one block at a time, and cutting just one color position from each FQ. Once a FQ had been used for its "bonus" color position, we set it aside to not be used again. This assured that each FQ would only be repeated in the same position one time in the finished quilt.
Note that it is also possible to get all five color cuts (C included) from a single FQ, and we've provided that guide below. However, you will not have enough in the remnants to make a "bonus" round of cuts for five additional blocks like we did, so using a 20-piece FQ bundle will yield 20 blocks, and you will need additional FQs to get to 25.
And poof! Like summer break itself, sewing these went way too fast, and we were done before we knew it. We mixed and matched as we went, and it was so fun to see the different combinations coming together on the design wall as we built this top.
Total Lisa Frank vibes, right? Pretty sure 90% of my 4th grade wardrobe was is this palette.
Because each FQ should only repeat in one position, there's not much of a concern that you will have like fabrics touching like fabrics in the final layout, so it's really just about balancing color and intensity as you decide where each block will live. We did try to keep the same C fabrics from touching wherever we could, but it didn't take long to settle on a layout we liked.
We made quick work of sewing her together (pins are your friend in the final construction), and then she was ready for her final touches.
Popsicle Break was quilted with the Happy Go Lucky pantograph, by Ashley of Hen House Quilting. She's backed in a solid purple, and bound with plaid from Windham Fabrics.
