Welcome to the Favorite Flavors Quilt SAL! I'm so glad you've joined in the fun! This quilt is just so cute! (if you haven't signed up yet, click here)This post is all about fabric selection and getting everything you'll need to get started. We'll talking about what to consider as you pull your fabric. I will show you several finished quilts, a few mock ups, and the build-your-own kit options that are available. Now is the time to get ready since this SAL jumps right into cutting out our fabric and it starts right around the corner on April 24th, 2023!
Let's Get Ready!
Favorite Flavors is a choose your own adventure quilt. Meaning you can stitch up a 1 lollipop quilt or a 6 lollipop quilt or anything in between!
There are also two size options for each layout, small and large, ranging from crib to throw size quilts. (Make the bigger size if you're sewing curves for the first time. Large curves are easier to sew than small curves but with the help of the Sew Along, you shouldn't have any trouble with these blocks.)
Once you've chosen your layout and finished size (see picture below), its time to get the Favorite Flavors Quilt Pattern - PDF Pattern or Printed Pattern
Then the real fun begins! Pick out your flavors with a fabric pull or by ordering a quilt kit
The SAL will be happening here on the Snapdragon Blog and I'll send email reminders to everyone that signs up so that you don't miss anything. You can also join the Snapdragon Quilting Show & Tell FB group to ask questions and share your progress.
There will be two live Zoom meetings with Q&A and Show & Tell. Zoom links will be sent out by email. These will also be recorded for those who cannot attend at the scheduled time. If you have a question but cannot attend, email it to me (with pictures if you can!) at Jen.Snapdragon.Quilting@gmail.com and I will do my best to answer it for you.
PRIZES!!! There will be two prize packages! The first winner will get a stash building fat quarter bundle made up of 14 Art Gallery Fabric Pure Solids AND a Snapdragon quilt pattern of the winner's choice. The GRAND PRIZE winner will get edge to edge quilting of their Favorite Flavor's Quilt done by Orchid Owl Quilts and a Snapdragon quilt pattern of their choice! (Vicki at Orchid Owl is AMAZING!!! I am so excited to be collaborating with her! SHE JUST WON BEST OF SHOW at the DQN Show!)
To be eligible to win, follow the email prompts and post on instagram or facebook, please make sure your account is public so myself and everyone else participating can see your posts, and use the #FavoriteFlavorsQuiltSAL hashtag.
Follow @snapdragonquilting so you can see pictures, keep up to date, and be inspired :)
Let's talk about the Fabric Pull
There are three ways to approach the fabric pull:
Pick the lollipop flavor fabrics first.
Pick the border fabric first.
Pick the background fabric first.
If you're choosing the lollipop flavor fabrics first, an easy way is to pick a theme like jewel tones or tropical flavors. If the quilt is going to be a gift, it would also be fun to use the recipient's favorite lollipop flavors or colors. If you've got a fun fabric for the border, then start with that and use colors from it to pull the rest. If you've got a fun small print for the background then start there using colors from it to pull the rest.
Solids or Prints?
I like using a mix of both solids and prints in this quilt. There are so many fun food and candy prints out there that would look great in this quilt. Using one of these prints, creates a themed quilt (like Amanda's Halloween Candy version below). If the print is on the medium to large sized, it looks best in the border. If it's a small print, it would work for either. Then take a solid color from the print to use as the background or border. I am such a sucker for big prints so I love them in this quilt in the border! The simplicity of the border in this quilt makes a big print shine. The pattern has one small border but look how cute it is in Carol's quilt (a few pictures below) with a large second border in a big lollipop print!
If you don't want to make a quilt with a featured print, this quilt also looks great in all solids! Solid fabrics really let the quilting shine so the quilting can make it look more modern, traditional, or whimsical.
Solids or small prints that are uniform in color work well for the lollipop flavor fabrics and sticks. The center candy stripe can be made in a slightly darker shade to give the lollipops a little dimension but on the three samples I made, I used only one fabric to make each lollipop. Big prints in the lollipop candy or stick would pull the eye all over making it more difficult to see the lollipop shape.
The Role of Contrast in this Quilt
Contrast between the stick fabric and the background fabric is what really makes the lollipops look like lollipops, otherwise they look like strangely floating Saturns (maybe someone will drop the stick from the pattern, just make the candies and use a galaxy print for the background?!?). My pattern tester Amanda used contrast really well in her quilt with white sticks and a black background. There's no mistaking that these are lollipops! She used method 1 when doing her fabric pull, she wanted bright primary colors for her lollipop flavors and then found that fun halloween fabric for the border in her stash!
Since lollipops generally have white paper sticks, using a solid white fabric for them makes sense. Since white is a neutral, it will work with all sorts of fabrics! Just keep thinking about creating contrast against the background. In my "Malt Shop" version, even though my sticks were white, I still got away with using a primarily white background because the sprinkles in the background fabric helped create some contrast. Then I intentionally used the quilting to accentuate the sticks even more. I love this "Malt Shop" version but the sticks are not as present as they are in Amanda's version. "Malt Shop" flavors are Butterscotch, Root Beer and Cream Soda with Sprinkles in the background and Butterscotch in the border and binding (Malt Shop kit available).
Of course, the sticks don't have to be white. My pattern tester Carol made the lollipop sticks look like they're wooden! With brown sticks, a light or white colored background works well.
Here are some mockups of fun fabric pulls.....
1. Happy Fruits! Use method 2 for this fabric pull by starting with the border fabric. It's Kawaii Fruit Fabric by Heather Height Design. Then choose lollipop flavor colors to match the fruits. The background blue is the same background as the background of the border fabric. White sticks further compliment this border fabric because it has white polka dots in the background.
2. Cotton Candy! Use method 2 for this fabric pull by starting with the background fabric that is a small print. Using a small print in the background makes it harder to see the lollipop sticks. To really make the lollipops stand out against the pattern in the background, one option would be to quilt them by using a black thread to outline them. I'd go over it a few times or use a thick thread to really make it stand out. This makes the lollipops look like the came straight out of a cartoon! Adding black binding to the outlined version really ties it all together.
3. Retro Kids - Using method two, this mockup fabric pull starts with Malt Candy Shop Cream by Michael Miller for the border. Then it uses the red and green from the lollipops that the kids are holding for the lollipop flavors. The background color is pulled from a little boy's shirt and the sticks are cream like the background in the border.
4. Watermelon! At the last quilt show, I had a bowl of Dum Dums out next to this pattern and Watermelon was by far the favorite flavor. So why not make an all watermelon quilt! (kit available for the quilt top center using the watermelon flavor for the lollipops, cream soda for the sticks, and white for the background)
Favorite Flavors Quilt Coloring Pages
Your turn! Play with flavors and color to design your Favorite Flavors Quilt using these coloring pages. All the layouts are included.
What's in the Quilt Kits?
Since this quilt pattern is choose your own adventure, I thought it would also be fun to carry that idea into the quilt kits. You can make it simple by getting a covergirl or malt shop quilt kit OR you can pick what fabrics you want from AGF Pure Solids and their Sprinkles print! You get to chose what flavors you want! Then choose the fabrics for the sticks, background, border, and binding! Have your own binding, border, or background fabric? No worries, you can mix your stash into your kit too! The pattern is included in the kit.
The fabric pull for the watermelon quilt could easily be started with a quilt kit by choosing watermelon for all the lollipop flavors, choose cream soda for the sticks, and white for the background. Then the watermelon seeds border fabric and rind binding fabrics can be found from various sellers on etsy.
Art Gallery Fabrics used for the lollipops in the kits are:
Blue Raspberry Flavor - Royal Cobalt
Bubble Gum Flavor - Sweet Pink
Butterscotch Flavor - Raw Gold
Cherry Flavor - London Red
Cotton Candy Flavor -Tranquil Waters
Cream Soda Flavor - Vanilla Custard
Fruit punch Flavor - Cherry Lipgloss
Grape Flavor - Cabernet
Lemon Lime Flavor - Pistachio Creme
Orange Flavor - Burnt Orange
Peach Flavor - Pineapple
Pineapple Flavor - Canary
Root Beer Flavor - Vintage Walnut
Sour Apple Flavor - Pistachio Creme
Strawberry Flavor - Cherry Lipgloss
Watermelon Flavor - London Red
Additional AGF fabrics in the kits that can be used for the sticks, background, border, and/or binding fabrics are: Snow (white), Heart of the Ocean (deep blue), and Sprinkles
I used all of these fabrics for the pattern's covergirl with cotton candy, peach, strawberry, lemon lime, pineapple, and bubble gum lollipop flavors - We have this combination in stock so you can make the covergirl with the kit!
What am I making this time?
Not sure yet! I haven't made lollipops with the orange, watermelon, or blue raspberry flavors yet so maybe a quilt like the watermelon mock up using one of those flavors!
What are you making? Do you have any questions about getting the pattern or kit or doing your fabric pull? Leave me a message below in the comments!
I can't wait to start this SAL with you!!! Happy Quilting!
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