Years ago, I clipped a page from a favorite magazine that featured a vintage 1920s crib quilt made of little blue-and-white striped sailboats. It was the inspiration for my updated version of that quilt--Sail Away!  The first quilt I made from my pattern was done in crayon brights—perfect for a child's room—but when I saw the designs for the Smooth Sailing prints from Connecting Threads, I knew my pattern was their perfect "sailing" mate! I chose my favorites from the nice variety of nautical prints in the line and filled in with solid basics to stitch up a patriotic salute to seafaring adventurers. The rectangular blocks are set with sashing strips and cornerstones, then set off with half-square triangles that are reminiscent of boaters' signal flags.

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As I’ve stressed before in other posts, nautical is probably my all-time favorite theme! So making things from my Smooth Sailing collection was a no brainer! Sue Terpin’s Beach Bag is just too cute, I knew I wanted that for myself. Her pattern and directions are really easy to follow and the bag sews up in no time. The straps were really fun to do and surprisingly very easy. I will mention, the only thing I had difficulty with was attaching the metal grommets. It is very important to hammer those as hard as you possibly can, ha ha! 

I’ve got my halter and beach bag all done; I’d say I’m all set for the warm weather now!

I volunteered to make the Mainsail Set quilt because the fabrics are going to be just perfect in the new addition we've added to our beach house. This quilt, with all of its nautical appliques and great colors, will be absolutely perfect! I've already measured the wall that it will eventually hang on, and I have enough of the border fabric left to make the matching valance for the window. I saw the quilt again the other day - it's been off at QUILT Magazine being photographed, and I love it as much as when I said goodbye to it a couple months ago.

This quilt would also be a fun addition to any little boy's room - Smooth Sailing, with all the bright primary colors, plus the little touch of gray, would delight any young sailor. I love it! If you like it as much as I do, you can buy the kit as-is from our site here: MAINSAIL SET. Or, if you prefer, you can pick up a copy of the June/July issue of QUILT Magazine and get the pattern from there.

Happy quilting!

I love the ocean with its salty air, hearing the water slapping against the rocks and seagulls squawking.  Mainsail Set is reminiscent of all things sailing that takes me back to those lovely memories of visiting lighthouses and rides on sailboats.  There's nothing better than seeing the crisp whites, bold blues and true reds to solicit experiences at sea.

Smooth Sailing is a group of beautiful fabrics depicting images of seafaring paraphernalia.  Sailboats, anchors, nautical stripes and water waves cover luscious fabric in colors of sea breeze blue, silver gray and cherry.

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When I first saw Jenni’s Smooth Sailing collection, I instantly fell in love. The way she brought so much variety to a red, white and blue color scheme, and the adorable graphics really make this a gorgeous collection. I can’t get enough of the focal print and find myself dreaming of many different projects to use it with. This collection makes up some beautiful quilts, but also has many other wonderful uses.



One of the first ideas given to us was by Anita, who dreamed up the great idea to put together a quilt block and frame it. What a fun way to update your bathroom! Just look at how cute this block looks from the Sail Away pattern download by Jo-Lydia's Attic. 

 

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