Plot Twist is an intermediate, block based, FQ friendly pattern with several construction options and truly endless possibilities. Each block has four orientation options, so you can follow exactly what we did, or twist and turn your blocks to tell your own story.
For our Poolside sample, we followed the Colorful Design path, and used a variety of Bella blues (30s Blue, Coastal, Little Boy Blue, Cornflower, Amelia Blue, and Azure) in HY cuts for the background. Eighteen FQs were mixed and matched as our B and C Colors. We used a Heather Ross Cotton Drawn Plaid as our accent in each block. Poolside is a large throw size, finishing at 72" x 72".
After cutting our fabrics, we strip pieced our accent piece blocks, cut those to size (precision is your best friend with the Plot Twist pattern - trim, trim, trim!), then came the fun of mixing and matching.
We were working off of a mock-up, and with a hard deadline fast approaching, skipped the step of physically mixing and matching our block piles, instead jumping straight to the sewing. We worked four blocks at a time, keeping organized by making sure we weren't sewing blocks with the same fabrics in them at the same time.
These blocks were so fun to put together. Even though we followed our mock-up exactly, each block felt like such a surprise when it was all sewn up and trimmed to size. I lost count of the number of times I made Christy and Meghan stop what they were doing (cutting aaalllllll the fabric) to look at a just finished block so I could declare it as my favorite. I really, really loved this sample.
Once your blocks are done, the real fun begins. Are you ready for the magic of Plot Twist?
Okay, you can see above how we chose to layout our blocks, but what would happen if we just rotated one block in each corner?
Or how about we twist and turn our corners a bit more?
What if we just went real wild and pinwheeled our blocks?
In each of these examples, the blocks are constructed exactly the same (nearly - there were two last minute fabric swaps due to availability). The only thing that changes is the actual layout. And each quilt tells an entirely different story. How will you "twist the plot"?
It's just so good.
As soon as Poolside was finished, she was off to the longarmer (our dear Emily at So Sunny Quilts), which would usually mark the beginning of the end of our quilts' adventures. But oh no, not Poolside.
You see, two problems cropped up in our final days of QuiltCon prep. 1) Plot Twist Poolside still needed to be bound, and literally every bolt of fabric in our studio had been cut down for kits. And 2) a snowstorm that we had been hoping was being blown out of proportion was about to hit and we were pretty sure we would lose access to our studio for at least a day. So, Meghan and I made a late night (9 pm) run to the studio to gather supplies, and she took Poolside home with her to bind at her kitchen table. And, in a stroke of genius, decided to do scrappy binding, letting every FQ have its moment in the finished border.
Plot Twist Poolside is backed in Bella Little Boy Blue, and quilted with the Vort pantograph with the poppiest neon green thread. She is such a fun example of a pattern we are so excited to see finally out in the wild!
