Three quilt patterns bookmarked. Two more pinned. And still not one strip cut? If that sounds familiar, relax: this time, you’re not procrastinating. Ampersand is on its way to quilt shops, and you’ve got a lovely little window to choose your pattern before the fabric arrives and the scissors start calling your name.
Start with the room
Ampersand has two moods: a graphic core of black, white and grey, with a few bright yellow accents, and a lighter, more playful side. So which quilt should you make? It depends less on the fabric than on where the quilt will live—and how much sewing time you’d like to give it.
Between the Lines
What it does: a graphic statement about contrast and negative space
Level: confident beginner, simple piecing
You’ll need: small cuts of four Ampersand prints, six Whisp colors, and a big calm Whisp Chalk background
Beaded
What it does: appliqué circles hanging like beads on strings, on a gray background
Level: confident beginner, raw-edge appliqué
You’ll need: 2 Ampersand charm packs + background
Dissolve
What it does: color that fades from intense to barely there, a showpiece
Level: advanced, foundation paper piecing
You’ll need: one fat eighth bundle (some shops cut their own; otherwise a fat quarter bundle, and the rest goes to your stash)
How I’d choose
Want a bold quilt above the sofa, with nice straightforward seams? Between the Lines. Want an evening-friendly project with no matching points and nothing to unpick? Beaded. Want the quilt people will ask you about for years? Dissolve. I’ll tell you more about that one next week.
One choice I’d gently talk you out of: picking a pattern just because its photo is the prettiest. They all look lovely on Instagram—but Instagram doesn’t have to live with your quilt. You do. Choose the one that suits your room and your calendar.
What to do while you wait
Choose your pattern and pick it up now. All my patterns are 25% off this weekend.
Check the fabric requirements and make your shopping list. Future-you will be very pleased.
Ask your local quilt shop when Ampersand is arriving, or find a FreeSpirit shop near you.
Choose your background. Whisp, my textured blenders, arrives alongside Ampersand and reads like a solid from across the room.
Short on sewing time? Beaded. Charm squares, circles, done. No drama.
Rather let Whisp take the lead?
Three more patterns are made for fabrics arriving in shops alongside Ampersand: Pluses, with big and little plus signs dancing across a calm background; Sunny Days, with twelve bold blocks in a beginner-friendly grid; and Petal Pop 2, with three appliqué motifs for a pillow, a bag or a frame—one evening each. Same happy plan: choose now, sew when it lands.
That’s the whole idea: plan while you wait, sew when it lands.
Mark your calendar:
From Friday, November 6, through Sunday, November 8, all my patterns are 25% off—including Between the Lines, Beaded and Dissolve, plus my Artist Quilts (Code NOV25). And for my readers in Europe, all fabrics at farbstoff.org are on sale, too (Code NOV25).
Newsletter readers hear about it first: Sign up for my newsletter.
Tomorrow on the podcast: I joined BERNINA’s Sew & So podcast to chat about my move to FreeSpirit, new media and my BERNINA 790 Ultra. Follow @zenchic_studio—I’ll share the link as soon as it’s live on 5th of November.
