Back to Basics

The Holiday Star Quilt is the quintessential July pattern. You’re probably wondering why exactly this pattern just screams July? Well it came about because, for me, it combines two different topics: patriotic patterns and Christmas, and the one time of year that you get both is July (you know Independence Day and the whole Christmas in July). The first time I made this quilt I went with a retro kitschy Christmas theme. But this time I wanted to go to the other end of the spectrum and focus on a patriotic quilt in red, white and blue. 

The Michael Miller Fabrics Basics Blog Hop was the perfect opportunity to showcase this pattern in bold colors and some fun patterns. People tend to think that basics is code for boring but that’s not the case at all. Cotton Couture comes in a huge range of vibrant bold colors (the cobalt blue I used here is my favorite!), and Garden Pindot is a really fun small dot pattern that adds just a little extra texture to every project. I love how this turned out! The bold colors really set off the interlocking churn dash pattern and make it pop. 

Holiday Star comes in two sizes and the smaller of the two fits the size requirements for a Quilts of Valor pattern. Broken down into easy to follow step by step directions it’s great for making as a donation or gift quilt. With the wide range of red, whites and blues that you can find in the Michael Miller Fabrics Basics you are sure to be able to come up with some fantastic combinations. Or you can look at this for Christmas, I  see some great combos coming out of Fairy Frost or using the Metallic Garden Pindots. Lots of ideas to think about! 

You can find the pattern in my shop and as a special bonus it is discounted through the end of the week.  As an added bonus I have written a pillow pattern, using scraps from the quilt (because we all want to be a little more eco conscious with our fabric usage). You can get the pillow pattern for free just by signing up for my newsletter.  

I hope you have gotten some great ideas, and started looking at basics in a whole new light. Happy hopping as you head over to the next blog to explore. 

Until next time, 

Siobhan