Why QQ Made Potato Chip Quilts

Members of Queanbeyan Quilters made a number of these quilts to be part of our donation of quilts to  Japanese tsunami survivors. Other of these quilts will be distributed to local worthy causes as required.

Armed with a print out of Kay Sorensen's Potato Chip Quilt directions from her Blog 'Quilts + Color' we held a sewing night with about 20 members in attendance. As Kay notes 'you can not stop at one'.

The photos below show some tips we picked up during our evening.
Please read from the bottom of the sixth photo below up to the one immediately below.

Piecing finished. Some members pressed seams as they went, others preferred to press at the end. Note that there will be 32 horizontal strips in the piece. From centre out you join 2, then 4, then 8 then 16 joined to give you the 32 strips.

Ends of strips joined to zingers/chips/highlights to form one long continuous strip.

Chain pieced strips with zingers/chips/highlights attached.

The long strip is 1600 to 1700 inches long depending on the number of strips used. In this quilt I used 50 strips. You will always sew a total of 5 horizontal seams, each one half the length of the previous.

Most important is to cut about 18" from the first strip. The scissors show where to cut AFTER seaming the long horizontal seam. Please note the seam has not been sewn in this photo.

Machine set-up - stitch length 2.5 - adding zingers/chips/highlights to each strip. Some members preferred to fit their seam guide accessory to give them an accurate seam at 'full speed'.

There are further 'potato chip' photos to be posted (one made of 1.5" strips) - they will appear in the next few days.

Even More Potato Chips

Fabulous quilt by Kay White for her daughter's boyfriend who supports the AFL team whose 'name shall not be spoken'.  The black and white strips were cut from Kay's extensive collection of black and white fabrics. Kay printed the Magpie highlights (chips) then quilted with Football and Magpie patterns - but don't tell Hamish that there is a Bulldog in there as well!

Jewel of the Night

72" x 84"

One of the club's members was going overseas for many months and donated lots of strips in different colour lots to anyone wanting them. I picked up several, knowing I'd have no trouble finding something to do with them. Eventually. Along came the Never Ending Strip technique and I was in business. I cut and cut, all those offcuts left after you trim the quilt after quilting, pieces of fabric off the shelf that would go with the collection I was working with. This quilt uses 3 inch cut strips on the front, which I think showcases fabrics rather nicely and uses less strips to cover more area. I picked out other fabrics to make the border detail and to make it a bed size of quilt. On the back I have used another strip set in similar colours, this time in 1.5" cut strips, which was not quite vibrant enough for a quilt front. It was named by Kay Sorensen who saw it on one of my posts. It was claimed by my (wait for it) husband's wife's mother, who has it on her bed in the rest home she has just moved to. Kay of Kay's Quilts quilted it with a lovely design at very short notice.

A striking Potato Chip quilt from a black and white jelly roll with red highlights by Nena Marsh.

Professionally quilted  by Kay of Kay’s Quilts. This quilt was a special gift for a christening. The photo shows it before binding.

More Potato Chips

Robyn McPherson used 30 strips of various creams, from buttermilk, yellow through to caramel. Interspersed with fussy-cut squares of gold-painted African style fabric. 69” x 75”. Professionally quilted by Kay’s Quilts.

Robyn McPherson used a Moda jelly roll in natural colours highlighted by Dalmatian spots in positive and negative. 69” x 75” Professionally quilted by Kay’s Quilts.

More Potato Chips

French Verandah

95" x 102"

At one of our Friday night sessions at the club Robyn McPherson demonstrated a technique which made a quilt from a jelly roll and featured twin accent squares, zingers, between strips. (Slight modification from the Sunrise/Sunset quilt aka Potato Chip Quilt shown by Kay Sorensen on her blog). Fired up after the demo, I went home and cut strips from two packs of French provincial style fabrics recently picked up from a sale. I call it the never-ending-strip quilt, because that's what it feels like when you are sewing it up! It was beautifully quilted by Kay of Kay's Quilts in Jerrabomberra and resides on my bed.

                

Susan Camm used a jelly roll of 25 fabrics then added a further 15 plus borders etc from her own stash to make a bed-sized quilt called pink jelly. Professionally quilted by Kay's Quilts.

Potato Chip Quilts by Queanbeyan Quilters

 From Sky blue to Indigo Robyn McPherson used two packs of 20 Bali prints cut as 2 ½” strips in blues from indigo to sky blue, then added dyed fabric accents. 60” x 75. Professionally quilted by Kay’s Quilts

Accented with Raspberries and Leaves is the second quilt by Wendy Luff. She used a Moda jelly roll of fabrics which included white, spots, green and red. It has a polar fleece back to make it really snuggly.

 Autumn Toned by Robyn McPherson used an autumn toned Moda jelly roll to make this quilt, adding in two highlight squares between strips, one square in wide wale corduroy and one square in the border fabric of autumn leaves. 69” x 75”

This is Duck Egg Blue by Kay White who used a Moda jelly roll in duck egg blue, golds and caramels with zingers in hand dyed accents. 60” x 70”. Professionally quilted by herself.