Have you been wanting to sew an orange peel quilt? It is such a charming shape, with its soft curves and pretty points. What’s not to love?

I sewed my first orange peel blocks when designing the Pas de Deux block-of-the-month. I planned to machine-piece the curves, but after some testing I opted for appliqué instead. I found the applique process quicker and less fussy. It was obvious that applique would be easier to teach and that my students would likely enjoy it more. That proved to be a good call, since the Pas de Deux members who have sewed the Orange Peel group have been enthusiastic about the process and the results!

That’s why I’m appliquéing my current orange peel blocks too. The orange slices are made with one layer of fabric and turned-under edges. After a few pins to hold them in place, they go under my machine for a quick round of stitches. I am machine appliquéing with a fine 50 wt thread and a simple straight stitch. It’s both speedy and secure. I think that only a quilter would visually notice the difference between hand appliqué and machine appliqué, in this case.

Still, if you prefer to hand applique, that’s no problem at all. You can follow my quilt pattern and join in with our upcoming sew-along, but opt for meditative hand sewing. All styles are very welcome!

Sponsor of the Week

Purple Stitches

The Wildflower fabrics by Kelly Ventura strike me as another perfect collection for an orange peel quilt. The combination of dreamy florals and modern tonal textures is ideal for my Wild Oranges quilt design. It even has the right balance of dark, medium and light values!

Wildflower is available as a fat quarter bundle or as yardage. Wild Oranges pattern release is September 23rd, along with fabric requirements. If you’d like to reserve these Wildflowers fabrics for your Wild Oranges quilt, contact Vivian at Purple Stitches.

Once I started designing this Wild Oranges quilt, it was difficult to tear me away from my design wall. This type of designing is my very favorite part of my job!

The first elements that I had placed became the center of my quilt. Then I added the above lower-value elements, with lots of upward-growing vine patterns to the bottom half of my quilt.

Here is the quilt center, abloom with orange peel flowers! Can you spot a few round oranges?

Wild Oranges has a concentration of dark values and orange peel blocks at the quilt center. The design softens around the edges with a calmer energy.

The Wild Orange quilt pattern will include a map that allows you to easily reproduce the value and fabric relationships which I have utilized. Thus, you can make a quilt just like mine, either in Kismet fabrics or in other fabrics.

Do you prefer a more orderly orchard? Of course you can opt for more matchy-matchy orange peel quartets. This will give your quilt a calmer, more peaceful vibe. Yep, you can tame these oranges!

My quilt design is complete! In those in between moments you’ll find me in the sewing room, happily pressing and sewing orange peel blocks. Care to join me this fall?

Wild Oranges Sew-Along

++ Pattern Release September 23 ++

++ Sew-Along Starts October 10 ++

You only need to sign-up and have a copy of the pattern to participate.

Over 5 weeks in October and November, we’ll sew this 60” x 68” throw quilt. As always, I encourage you to do as much or as little as your schedule allows. Those who stay on target will finish well before the holidays!

I’ll be sewing a second version during our sew-along, and I’m already brainstorming ideas. Scrappy? Solids? Hmm - - - I can’t wait to see your pretty orchards in bloom!