You're a Gift quilt Archives - Duck Ducklings Design

You’re a Gift quilt – Christmas version

December 23, 2021January 5, 2022
by Marit

This quilt pattern was originally designed as a Christmas quilt for a friend. My friend requested traditional red & green colours for this quilt. Fortunately, I had some great Christmas fabrics in my stash from the Merry Merry collection by Kate Spain for Moda Fabrics.

You're a Gift quilt - Christmas block — You’re a Gift quilt pattern – Christmas block

Personally, I am a big fan of star quilt patterns. This quilt contains stars in the middle of the quilt blocks. When combined, the blocks create a secondary star pattern.

You're a Gift quilt - Secondary pattern — You’re a Gift quilt pattern – Secondary star pattern

Because I used an older collection that I had in my stash, I had to make do with what I had. I used several different green fabrics from the collection to make up the secondary star pattern. Also, I had to use several different reds for the ribbons between the gifts. This adds to the playfulness of the final quilt.

You're a Gift quilt - Christmas version — You’re a Gift quilt – Christmas version

You're a Gift quilt in Merry Merry fabrics by Kate Spain — You’re a Gift quilt – Merry Merry version

Patterns

You’re a Gift quilt – Stellar version

December 20, 2021January 5, 2022
by Marit

The You’re a Gift cover quilt is made with several fabrics from Stellar by Rashida Coleman-Hale for Ruby Star Society. I’m a big fan of her designs and love using Ruby Star Society fabrics. Their collections work well by themselves or when combining different collections.

Cover of "You're a Gift quilt", made in Stellar fabrics — You’re a Gift quilt – the Stellar version

Even though this pattern was originally designed as a Christmas quilt, I wanted to make sure it worked with other fabrics and styles too!

After I made the first block, I asked my colour consultant (a.k.a. my youngest) which colours would also work with this quilt pattern. He came up with purple, blue and yellow. That left me with the challenge to find fabric from an actual collection that I could use. After mulling it over for a few days, I realised I had the perfect fabrics in my stash: the Stellar collection by Ruby Star Society. Even though this is an older collection, I was able to find enough of the prints I wanted to use from several quilt shops. I’m so glad I used these fabrics for this special project. We love how this version turned out and look forward to using it in our home.

Quilt blocks on a design wall — You’re a Gift quilt Stellar version on my design wall

Of course, I did want to make a full Christmas version. So here they are together. I love a pattern that works with many different kinds of fabric and styles. All of the different versions made by my pattern testers show that this pattern is very versatile.

Two versions of You're a Gift quilt — You’re a Gift quilt Christmas version and Stellar cover quilt

Patterns

You’re a Gift quilt – My first pattern

December 20, 2021January 5, 2022
by Marit

What do you do when you offer to make your friend a quilt for their new home, they ask for a Christmas quilt and none of the patterns seem quite right? You design your own! And that’s exactly how I designed my first published quilt pattern.

First, I made a trial block with some some scraps of Christmas fabric from my drawer full of Christmas fabrics. I love working with scraps; every one of these fabrics has a special meaning or memory. For this reason, I wrote the pattern to facilitate making a scrappy quilt, as well as making a version using yardage, fat quarters or even a layer cake!

Test block for You're a Gift quilt in Christmas fabrics — Test block for You’re a Gift quilt

Next, I couldn’t resist seeing how it would look with other colours and fabrics. My cover quilt is made with fabrics from the collection Stellar by Rashida Coleman-Hale for Ruby Star Society (Moda Fabrics). To make the pattern pop, I made sure to add enough contrast between the fabrics in the nine patch center of the gifts / stars.

You’re a Gift quilt – Stellar version (pattern cover)

Finally, I made the Christmas version for my friend using fabrics from the Merry Merry collection by Kate Spain. When my youngest saw the quilt blocks up on my design wall, he wanted to know if this quilt was for our home (unfortunately, no), so I had to start another version for my own family using some hoarded Polar Magic fabrics by designer Lemonni for Figo Fabrics from my stash. I fell in love with that collection last year and am so happy I get to use it now!