Stacked Squares: A Quilt for my Patio

Not long after I finished my first quilt (we *still* need to add our handprints to it...), I was ready to make another one. I hadn't spent much time perusing Pinterest when I came across this one called Stacked Squares.  

Quilt by Erica Jackman

To make this quilt, I used the directions found on this page. The tutorial is very straight forward and easy to follow, despite how it looks!

I actually enjoyed making this one more than the first one - mostly because I didn't have to rip out nearly as much and I had more of my own touch to it. Hunter and JP went to Bible School every morning for a week in July and I hunkered down and sewed the top of the quilt together in a week. 

 It took me another week to get the back done, which used most of the scraps from the top. Do you know how hard it is to lay a quilt out on the floor with kids home? Nearly impossible!

The back was especially challenging because I wanted it to look like the squares on the back were stacked too. (On the quilt I had seen, she laid the miscellaneous pieces out randomly in a row.)

For those of you wanting to make your own "Stacked Squares" quilt, you can follow the original pattern or use my altered measurements below.

Fabric needed for the top:

*2 Jelly Rolls (I used Hoffman Macaron Bali Pops) 

*1 Layer Cake bundle (I used Mormor by Lotta Jansdotter)

Cutting:

Trim each of the 10x10 squares to 7.5 inches. I have no idea why I did this in the first place, maybe to build my scrap stash?!

Cut coordinating jelly roll strips, to form inside square, into 2 strips measuring 7.5in x 2.5in, and 2 strips measuring 11.5in x 2.5in.

For the outside squares, cut coordinating jelly roll into 2 strips measuring 11.5in x 2.5in and 2 strips measuring 15.5in x 15.5 in.

Follow the directions in the link above for the step by step but the gist is sew your squares together, then cut each square into four squares. Lay them out to make them looked stacked and then sew the rows together.

Before you know it, it'll be time to quilt it! But make sure your blocks all make sense! I studied mine over and over and I just now realize one section is a little off. That'll bug me now! (Even the quilt above has a mistake on it!)

The back was going to be an off-centered cross, but I ended up having barely enough fabric to finish off the corner. I had my mom quilt it for me - she practiced a few new stitches on it and managed to free motion quilt all of our names plus a few more words, like laugh, love, family, onto it too. The quilting turned out great! As I said, it's a quilt for my patio, but I've only used it indoors! The kids have learned both quilts are great for forts!