Poppy Quilt Block by Cotton and Bourbon

For a recent quilt guild circle challenge, I decided to try out Cotton & Bourbon’s Poppy Quilt Block. This was a wonderful skill builder for me, and it came out so cute (if I do say so myself)! Read on to hear more about how I made this block!

Quilt Pattern

This is the Poppy Quilt Block by Cotton & Bourbon (Audrey Esarey). I purchased the PDF download, and you can find the link here: Poppy Quilt Pattern – Digital Download – US Letter Size — Cotton & Bourbon (cottonandbourbon.com).

One thing I really liked about this was the pattern variations available inside the pattern. So, you may notice my block is more simplified than the cover photo of the quilt. I didn’t piece the center or the clamshell blocks. Those were pattern variations available in the pattern as written, so I didn’t have to make those adjustments myself.

Audrey’s patterns are well written and always a fun make!

Fabric

I used fabric I had on hand for this quilt. I believe the majority of the fabrics are Riley Blake Confetti Cotton, with the exception of the blue background. That is a fabric I got from my local quilt shop.

Quilting

To quilt this block, I opted for a straight-line diagonal quilt pattern with a light pink thread. I used my walking foot on my Brother sewing machine and I think it came out quite well.

Templates

Audrey also sells an acrylic template set for this pattern on the Cotton & Bourbon website. While I did not opt for these because I was making a single block, I have been considering going back to make a full quilt and if I do, I will strongly consider purchasing these templates.

What I chose to do is use some leftover template plastic and cardstock to reinforce the template pieces for cutting. This worked fine for cutting one block. You could also make it work for the full quilt too, but the templates certainly would make it easier!

Helpful Tools

So, as you’ll see in my photo below, you’ll want a few pins – lol! You’ll want a fresh rotary blade to help with the precise cutting. While not required the wool ironing mat and tailor’s clapper are extremely helpful when piecing this block. My tailor’s clapper was also handmade by Audrey at Cotton and Bourbon, and you can get your own here: Clapper (12 inch) — Cotton & Bourbon (cottonandbourbon.com)

Only Assembly Workshop

Audrey also offers an on-demand Poppy Quilt Assembly Workshop, found here: Poppy Quilt Assembly Workshop (cottonandbourbon.com).

I did opt to purchase this along with the pattern. These are real time videos (meaning she doesn’t speed up the content) of her assembling a Poppy Quilt block. She doesn’t speak in the videos, but she does go slowly and demonstrate her process. I think an experienced quilter will have no problem following along with these videos. I found them very helpful and learned a lot. It was great to see someone so talented at work!

I played each video as I moved to a different section of the block, some I repeated a few times and I found it very helpful. I’m a much better visual learner than purely reading.

Wrap Up

I really liked this project because it is a test in precision, curves and inset circles. It was a stretch project for me, and I look forward to going back to the pattern in the future to do the block without any of the simplified modifications. If you’re looking to improve your skills – I would strongly recommend giving this a go!

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