The Great Pixie QAL - the shoo-fly border and a new baby quilt version

When Sharon from Colour Girl Quilts and I first started planning the Pixie Medallion Quilt-along all those months ago , this Bountiful Star mini which forms the centre of Pixie caught my eye.

The baby Pixie in kona

So, as well as our scrappy full size version that we have been working in the shop on over the last few months, I decided to  make my own Bountiful Star  mini using some of the new Kona cotton colours .  With a new niece or nephew due to arrive just after Christmas I settled on this soft but bright pallet.  (It was a boy and his name is Tom BTW)

The background blue is Kona Waterfall and that soft yet vibrant orange is  Kona Cantaloupe

At approximately 46" square Bountiful Star is a nice size for a cot quilt, but I decided to add  a row of shoo-fly blocks to just two sides,  making it rectangular and allowing for some 'tuck' at the bottom because we know how babies like to squirm out from under the covers. Right?

I didn't want that Waterfall blue to overwhelm things, so swapped it out and used Kona Haze for the shoo-fly backgrounds and that taupey-grey in the crosses is Doeskin.

Remember our scrappy Pixie Medallion?

In our scrappy shop version we have pulled greys from the shop shelves for the background in the shoo-fly round, and continued with strong hues of orange, pink and teal for the contrast fabrics.

Changing up the value in the backgrounds of each block gives a totally different look.  Value is merely how light or dark a fabric reads  and this can be different when compared to its neighbour.  In our scrappy Pixie the lighter star and snowballs appear to float above that darker round.  

So many options in just one pattern

See how incredibly versatile The Pixie Medallion quilt pattern  is?   Here are just a few of the ways you can change things up and craft your own unique look and feel:

• dive into your stash and make a scrappy version like we did
• change the overall look of your quilt by playing with value in the different block elements and rounds.  Remember - light colours will come forward and darker colours appear to recede.
• make one of three different size options without having to do even a jot of quilt math

There is still time to join in the #greatpixieqal.  If you need copy of the pattern you can grab one here.  Great value for just $20

This month I will begin quilting this Kona version.  For everyone making the full Pixie Medallion we will be getting stuck into the final flying geese border.  

Don't forget to tag us and use #greatpixieqal so that we can see your version of you Pixie quilts!