This is an old favourite of mine. In reality this quilt never gets put away. I wash it, dry it and then we use it again… and again. For those who are new here – since a couple of years ago when I started quilting, this is the first lap-size quilt I made and it was a present for my husband. It’s made entirely with paper pieced blocks, twenty of them. I love this photo of the Union Jack quilt hanging in front of the bookshelves.
I wanted sharp consistent corners, so I learned how to draw paper piecing patterns with this block and I got addicted to pattern making after that. Of all the patterns I have designed since then, the Union Jack quilt pattern is probably my most favourite. I was going to make the whole quilt with these blocks. Then after making ten blocks, I suddenly decided to break the monotonous set of blocks by adding couple of other combinations. I didn’t want to drift too far from the original though.
So I made the next five blocks by replacing the red with grey. I used the same blue fabric from the other block and I rearranged the colours a little. I didn’t touch the cream to keep some continuity.
For the last five blocks I replaced the blue with grey.
I used Kona Charcoal for the sashing and then used a very light grid pattern to quilt it. I pieced only the red and the blue from the quilt for the binding to keep it simple. This quilt has never been put away ever since I made it. When it’s not being used by us, it’s being used by the kitties even though they have their own mini version of this quilt. I also made a matching pillow. If you are interested, you can read about these other finishes on this blog post. As you can tell, I love the geometric pattern of this flag just a little too much, you might even call it an obsession! The Union Jack quilt pattern is available in my shop.
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