Quilted Toads

The last time DH and I visited "back home," our daughter-in-law (DIL) asked me to make her a quilt. She was the only one of our 3 DILs that I haven't yet made a quilt for, so it was on my to-do list anyway. Therefore, I was more than happy to oblige.  Then she told me that she had never had anything that had been made especially for her, which made me a little sad for her. I asked her about color scheme and/or pattern preference, and she said she would love anything I came up with. She did mention pink, which is one of the colors I chose for her quilt.

This particular DIL is very fond of miniature schnauzers (she has four), so I went on a hunt for some schnauzer fabric, which I found on Spoonflower.com.  If you've ever followed Project Runway, you know they usually have one challenge where they print their own fabric, and this is one of the features offered at Spoonflower. Anyhow, the fabric was found, so now I had to find a quilt design to highlight the schnauzers so they didn't get lost in the mix.

Our local quilt guild meets on Tuesdays for group sewing on philanthropy projects. This is a generous, fun bunch of ladies who like to share. Usually there are quilt magazines available that members have brought to share, to clear out their stash. Last week I found a design in a 1995 American Patchwork and Quilting magazine that promises to be perfect for showcasing the dog fabric. The pattern, called "Toad in a Puddle" is a 100-year old pattern that was first published in the late-1800s mail-order catalog produced by Ladies Art Company. This is a picture of the main block, the "toad". (Such an unromantic name!)

The so-called alternate block is the block that will feature the schnauzers. It calls for a 9" square, which will be "framed" with contrasting fabric.  So now, I have the pattern, I have the fabric, and am almost halfway through making the "toads".  Now I look ahead to see how the alternate blocks are constructed, and the cutting instructions don't give the measurements for the frame around the 9" square. Yikes!

After panicking slightly for a while, studying the magazine for clues, and finding none, I was in a quandary. What was I to do? Then it dawned on me, I have Electric Quilt 7, which I had used to do a layout of the colors I wanted to use. EQ7 to the rescue! I was able to print out the rotary cutting guide for the alternate block, and of course it includes measurements. Another thing I like about EQ7 is the fact that it will figure and print out the quantity of each fabric needed for the quilt. There are many more features in EQ7 that I haven't discovered yet, but I will figure it all out eventually.