This quilt was made in cooperation with my mother in law. She wanted a quilt for her granddaughter (my niece), but was unable to sew it herself. I helped her choose fabric and a design, and she paid me to make it for her.

I didn’t use a pattern, but made some chain blocks and alternated with Shoo Fly blocks. I added some plain blocks around the edge to make a border built in to the blocks. There was no need to add a border to the quilt.
The squares in the chain are different sizes. I adjusted the sizes to make the math easier.

The fabrics in the shoo fly blocks are a set of 1930’s reproduction prints. They show up nicely on the white background.

The back of the quilt is really fun too. I used large squares of fabric that I already had to piece a backing. I just placed the fabrics randomly for a real scrappy look.

It was great practice for free motion quilting. Each shoo fly block was quilted with a large flower design. The block design helped to space the petals evenly. The centre of the flowers was made with a spiral. The rest of the quilt was done with stippling.

I liked the Lauren quilt so much that I made a pattern with a similar design. “No Flies in my Garden” is made with shoo fly blocks, and irregular chain and flower applique. You can get this pattern in my shop!

Elizabeth DeCroos
designer, teacher, speaker
Elizabeth enjoys doing all types of sewing and needlework and teaching others new techniques. Find out how to take a course or workshop.