What a Bunch of Squares

This is my favorite quilt book—ever. I bought it a few years ago when it first came out. It’s really the only way I’ll ever make quilts again, fresh and modern with out fussy patterns. I have dreams of making nearly every quilt in this book.


This is my favorite quilt pattern in the book, seen above. It’s called “What A Bunch of Squares.” Cute name, huh? I have used it to make pillows galore, a quilt for my grandpa before he passed away, and now I have finally made myself my own queen size quilt for my bed.  I used mainly solids—Kona Cottons, Shot Cottons, a few of these fabulous handmade batik fabrics, and many, many yards of white cotton. Some of the squares are totally unique and many were cut using the stack-and-whack (*giggles*) method found in this book. Once I got that method down, making multiples of these assymetrical square block went fast.


I am usually the queen of no unfinished projects so I have no idea why it took me so long to finish this quilt when in reality each block took less than 30 minutes to put together, but that’s my life these last few years. I love 2-hour sewing projects for a reason. I just don’t seem to have more than a 2-hour block to myself (ever) to get things done. Sad, but true.I put all 25 of the 16x16” quilt squares together over a year ago. Then I put the quilt top together last fall. I finally added a 6” white border all the way around it last week. Then took it to the Stitching Corner in Orem, Utah to have it quilted (I do not quilt items this big….they hurt my hands and my brain). I bound it yesterday with 1/2” double bias in a lovely shade of turquoise, tossed it in the wash to soften it up a bit, and smoothed it over my bed by late afternoon. Oh how I love it. Repeat: Oh how I love it!