From Ducks to Horses: My Next Quilt Journey

Step One

Step Two

   

Step Three

Well, I am moving on from Ducks to Horses! The Duck quilt is on its way to my niece, Katie, in Kansas for her newborn son—at least, I hope it is, given the ongoing challenges with USPS. Fingers crossed! 🤞

My next quilt project is also for Katie. This time, it's a Horse quilt just for her. I'll share more of the story behind it later, once I make more progress on the quilt assembly. For now, my focus is on designing this paper-pieced pattern, and I thought it would be fun to outline my process.

Step 1: Choosing an Image

The first step in my quilt design process is selecting (or creating) an image that will serve as the base for the quilt. For this project, I purchased a digital image. Because I knew I wanted to share progress pictures of the quilt along the way, I made sure to obtain permission from the creator before purchasing the design.

Step 2: Applying Color Using Adobe Illustrator

Next, I used Adobe Illustrator to apply Kona Color swatches to the image. I largely stuck to the original color scheme, but switching up the palette would be fairly easy if needed.

Each square in my grid represents 8 inches. I’ll be honest—this step tested my patience! Illustrator may not be the most intuitive tool for this kind of work (or maybe I’m just not adept at it), but getting the intersection of lines just right took some serious finesse. There were plenty of expletives uttered in the process! 😅

Step 3: Converting to a Printable Black & White Design

Once the colors were applied, the next challenge was to convert the design into something printable in black and white. Illustrator has a handy feature that allows for a global replace of each color swatch with a patterned swatch. This makes it easier to distinguish different fabric sections when working from a printed version.

Next Steps:

That’s where I am so far with the Horse quilt! I still have a lot of work to do to cut the squares apart and turn them into block templates. I’ll continue sharing updates as I move through the steps of cutting fabric, piecing it together, and finally quilting. Stay tuned for more as this project unfolds!

Best,

Lisa