Download these free quilt patterns with wildlife panels today for a perfect weekend project. They will become instant heirlooms!
It is snowing outside and I needed to focus on colors other than the drab brown grass I spied from my office window. So, I checked and found out that these amazing fabrics are shipping now and decided to let you know about my two newest free quilt patterns.
I designed two free quilt patterns with wildlife panels for the Wildlife Nouveau collection by Alaska’s artist, Jon Van Zyle for P&B Textiles. The quilt above measures 56″ x 64″, with a simple design to emphasize the gorgeous print.
These were used as the center blocks surrounded by light gray fabric, then I added easy blocks for the narrower rows, and the striped fabric for the wider rows. The striking border fabric with light emanating from its center finished the whole project well.
I often abstain from adding pieced borders to quilts where I used panels in the center, unless the panels are very simple. Otherwise, where do you focus your eyes?
Next on the docket was a quilt featuring eight amazing blocks. I actually used six of the animals on the quilt and left two for the pillows. This way, the quilt would work as a twin or throw quilt, a cool decor for a guest bedroom, or as an accent piece in the family room.
These renditions of Alaskan wildlife and landscape are beautiful. The combination of the animals with Art Nouveau frames produced quite unexpected, dreamy blocks that would look great by themselves stretched over canvas and hung on a cabin wall. But, we were going for a quilted project and Art Nouveau quilt blocks!
This second quilt was an interesting challenge for me. The coordinating fabrics were lined up and, after wearing my designer cap for a few hours I came up with a fun machine applique’ (you know how much I like it!) alternate block for Quilt 2. I love how they turned out.
The quilt measures 52″ x 73″ and the blocks finish at 10″ x 12-1/2″. I used the same fabric for the wider border as in the first project because… well, it is a fantastic border fabric!
The vines are a breeze to make as they are cut, fused, and appliqued to the pieced block. The contrasting fabrics added lovely texture to the geometric background.
The size of the heart-shaped petals and of the circles is very manageable, so do not fret. You will piece the blocks, draw the applique’ shapes onto the smooth side of the fusible web, cut them, fuse them to the wrong side of the fabrics, and cut them out again. Now, peel the backing paper, position the shapes on the pieced blocks, and fuse them. Next, take the blocks to your machine and applique’ – I used the straight stitch for the vines and the blanket stitch for the other shapes.
You can select different animals for the quilt and the pillows, or you can purchase additional panels and make more pillows to display in different rooms of the house. The pillows measure approximately 18″ x 21″.
If you are still in the mood to sew with fabric panels, click here for two more free projects you can download.
I hope you liked my free quilt patterns with wildlife panels. Their colors are cheering me up as snow turned to rain outside. I guess Toby the dog and I will have to switch our daily walk today for a car ride, because we have to get out of the house no matter what!
Have a great weekend,
