Laura Coia - Sew Very Easy Quilt Favorites: 12 Skill-Building Projects from Laura Coia

Publisher: Amy Barrett-Daffin

Creative Director: Gailen Runge

Acquisitions Editor: Roxane Cerda

Managing/Developmental Editor: Liz Aneloski

Technical Editors: Linda Johnson and Julie Waldman

Cover/Book Designer: April Mostek

Production Coordinator: Tim Manibusan

Production Editor: Jennifer Warren

Illustrator: Linda Johnson

Photo Assistant: Rachel Holmes

Cover photography by Ivo Coia

Quilt photography by Diane Pedersen

Published by C&T Publishing, Inc., P.O. Box 1456, Lafayette, CA 94549

Dedication

This book is dedicated to my YouTube family of subscribers and viewers. Together, we have shared many experiences, and I would like to give thanks for all the wonderful comments, feedback, and support.

Acknowledgments

I would like to thank my mother, Lorraine Manley, for raising me with good values, teaching me, and instilling in me the love of sewing. I still remember sewing in my closet as a child because we had no room in the housefun times and great memories!

Over the years, I have written many manuscripts; I always wanted to write a book but found a way to avoid doing so. Many thanks to my husband, Ivo Coia, for encouraging me and not allowing me to avoid doing so this time. He has always supported me, believed in me and my abilities, and been there since day one.

To my children: Corrado Coia, for his advice and inspiration to start a YouTube channel and begin my journey. Vincenzo Coia, for his overall support and his encouragement to actually hit the publish button on my very first YouTube video. Christina (Coia) Bouchard, for being there with support, advice, and great feedback and ideas. Thank you.

Many thanks to my friends and extended family, who have put up with my mind wandering over the many conversations we had, and for their support.

The staff at C&T Publishing have been amazing to work with and incredibly supportivethank you to all for such a great experience with my first book. A special thank-you to Linda Johnson for learning how to speak Laura and helping me put it all down into wordsI couldnt have done it without you!

Introduction

Quilting is a wonderful hobby. We quilters have so much to give us inspiration: beautiful fabrics, outstanding tools and notions, and great quilt shops and teachers, along with amazing quilts. Inspiration makes quilting so incredible; it allows us to express ourselves in our own personal way.

I started sewing as a young child and thus did not know the rules. This allowed me to be creative and follow my own inclinationsthere was no such thing as right or wrong. As such, my style and most of my tips and techniques were developed over time by a trial-and-error method.

It is important that we do not stress over the rules but rather enjoy our time in the sewing room and be happy with our creations. Quilting can be a relaxing and enjoyable hobby. It should only bring us joy. The more we quilt, the more we want to quilt!

This book contains patterns that I hope will be inspirational and, most of all, fun for you to make. The patterns are a reflection of the techniques I use to help make things sew very easy.

Be creative and use fabrics and colors that speak to you. It is the selection of fabric that will change the look and feel of a quilt. For example, a timeless pattern can be turned into a modern quilt and vice versa by virtue of fabric selection alone.

Regardless of your level of sewing expertise, you will find that the quilt projects in this book are not only easy to make but will also produce stunning results. I have really enjoyed making these patterns and quilts, and I hope that you will love making them, too.

Have a sewtacular day,

Laura

Beards and Beer

Designed by Laura A. Coia, quilted by Barb Baker

FINISHED QUILT: 63 78

FINISHED BLOCK: 15 15

What do you do when you love a certain special fabric but dont want to cut it up? Make a quilt that showcases the fabric you love, of course! The block for this quilt starts with a big 8 square surrounded by triangles on all sidesnot once around, but twiceto make an even larger 15 finished block. Echoing your favorites again in the border is another great way to enjoy them as a frame for the quilt. But if your favorites are directional prints, what then? In this case, consider the how-tos of border construction when using directional fabrics in order to get the look you want.

Materials

For more information regarding abbreviations, see Terminology.

First focus fabric (beards): yard for blocks

Second focus fabric (beer): 2 yards for blocks and second inner border

Charcoal: 1 yards for blocks and outer border

Dark gray print: yard for blocks

Dark gray script: yard for blocks

Light gray print: yard for blocks

Light dot: yard for blocks

Red accent: yard for blocks and first inner border

Binding: yard (Or use the extra backing fabric for the binding.)

Backing: 5 yards

Batting: 72 87

Lauras Tip

Before cutting fabric strips that will become triangles, starch the fabric and press until thoroughly dry. This will stiffen the fibers and any bias edges, reducing the chance of stretching.

Cutting

Whenever 5 squares are cut into triangles, keep half the triangles in one stack and half in another.

First focus fabric

Cut 2 strips 8 WOF; subcut 8 squares 8 8 for the center squares.

Second focus fabric

Cut in the order described.

Open up the fabric and fold the selvages in half.

Cut 2 strips 3 LOF (parallel to the selvage); shorten each to 3 70 for the sides of the second inner border.

Open up the fabric and refold the matching selvages along one edge.

Cut 3 strips 3 WOF for the top and bottom of the second inner border.

Cut 1 strip 8 WOF; subcut 4 squares 8 8 for the center squares.

Charcoal

Cut 2 strips 9 WOF; subcut 6 squares 9 9. Cut each once in half diagonally for 12 large triangles.

Cut 2 strips 5 WOF; subcut 12 squares 5 5. Cut each once in half diagonally for 24 small triangles.

Cut 7 strips 4 WOF for the outer border.

Dark gray print

Cut 2 strips 9 WOF; subcut 6 squares 9 9. Cut each once in half diagonally for 12 large triangles.

Dark gray script

Cut 2 strips 5 WOF; subcut 12 squares 5 5. Cut each once in half diagonally for 24 small triangles.

Light gray print

Cut 3 strips 9 WOF; subcut 12 squares 9 9. Cut each once in half diagonally for 24 large triangles.

Light dot

Cut 2 strips 5 WOF; subcut 12 squares 5 5. Cut each once in half diagonally for 24 small triangles.

Red accent

Cut 2 strips 5 WOF; subcut 12 squares 5 5. Cut each once in half diagonally for 24 small triangles.

Cut 6 strips 2 WOF for the first inner border.

Quilt Center Construction

All seam allowances are unless otherwise noted.

Blocks

Square-in-a-Square: Round One