PORTOFINO: COORDINATING PATTERNS – PART 1 OF 2

Welcome to PART 1 of our PORTOFINO pattern showcase! Today, we are talking all about our first 3 patterns, including TREES IN TUSCANY, PIAZZA, and the highly anticipated BLACK EYED SUSAN. 🙂

As an FYI – the hyperlinks throughout this blog will take you directly to the pattern listings in our FIG TREE SHOP. The downloadable PDF versions are available NOW, and the paper patterns will be here next week but you can order them NOW as well to be the first ones to get them when they arrive!

TREES IN TUSCANY

I am totally smitten by this enchanted forest of Tuscan trees. Equally beautiful in all greens, this is a tree quilt with a few special tricks to make it easier and such a fun sew! This whimsical version brings back memories of the countryside around Florence in the hot summer sun. Perfect way to use some of your favorite precuts or sort through your beloved autumnal feeling scraps for this fun project!

The sides of the tree are created “blunt” on purpose for two reasons. One, so that it fees softer to the eye without the hard tip on the sides. Second, because it easier this way for you to sew… no points for you to worry about on the sides! As for the tip on the top… no worries there either as it floats a bit.

As for the construction method… no special templates, no paper piecing… just a fun method for getting that side angle. I have to admit that we found these to be seriously addicting to make.

Size: 57 1/2″ x 72 1/2″
Available as PAPER or PDF.

Fabric Requirements:

• Trees: Fat 1/8th yd. Portofino bundle
  • or (20) 1/4 yd. in a large variety of prints and colors.
  • or Fat 1/4 yds or start with a Layer Cake and mix in additional fabrics as needed to create your own tree groupings.
• Trunk: 1/4 yd. small brown print
• Background: 17/8 yd. ivory solid or ivory EYELET print
• Sashing: 1 3/4 yd. small low volume ivory print
• Outer Border: 5/8 yd. green or olive small print
• Backing: 3 3/4 yd.
• Binding : 5/8 yd.

OR – check out our TREES IN TUSCANY PRE-ORDER KIT [only open for a while longer for the kits].

Please read through entire listing for all details.

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PIAZZA

Sometimes it is the most simple, graphic blocks that make the most beautiful quilts. Working on this oversized repeating block was a joyful process and each block felt like its own little masterpiece. Each fabric creates two blocks, with inverted color placement, to create one color block on ivory and one ivory block on color. I love how the two blocks interplay with one another throughout the quilt!

For this one, I chose all the more “solid” feeling prints so that the graphic block would really shine. I left the florals for another project.

Quilt Size: 65 1/2″ x 65 1/2″ -or- 70 1/2″ x 70 1/2″
Available as PAPER or PDF.

Fabric Requirements:

• Blocks: (8) 1/2 yd. in a variety of small floral prints, small goemetrics or solid feeling prints (red, aqua, coral, ustard, caramel, gold, green, grey)
• Small Ivory Print: 1 1/4 yd. small ivory print such as Fig Tree Eyelet or other small low volume tone on tone.
• Ivory Solid Background: 1 1/2 yd. ivory solid or tonal ivory fabric
• Sashing (Optional Version): 7/8 yd. same fabric as your choice for ivory solid above.
• Outer Border: 3/4 yd. small green print (green eyelet)
• Backing: 4 1.2 yd.
• Binding : 5/8 yd.

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BLACK EYED SUSAN

This is one of those quilts my friends… we are all a bit obsessed with it and I am dreaming up another version as we speak… because, you know, two are clearly not enough.

For me, there are certain flowers that just “speak” summer garden and the BLACK EYED SUSAN, otherwise officially known as the RUDBECKIA, is definitely one of those flowers. The moment I started designing my PORTOFINO collection, I knew that this flower garden would be amongst the accompanying patterns.

But of course, I could not let go of the idea of the traditional Black Eyed Susan flower and thus decided to include them both. Start with just a few flower colors or go super scrappy like in the multi color version here to build your own summer flower garden. Notice that the two versions have different background layouts… one is a bit more involved and one is a bit more simple. Gosh I love them both so much and I think the soft patchwork posts along with the scrappy background creams just make my quilty heart sing!

Two Size Quilts
Black Eyed Susan Version – 57 1/2″ x 77 1/2″
Rudbeckia Version – 62 1/2′ x 82 1/2″
Available as PAPER or PDF.

Fabric Requirements:
For Black Eyed Susan Version – 57 1/2″ x 77 1/2″

• Flower Petals: 3/4 yd. orange EYELET
• Flower Top: 3/8 yd. black EYELET
• Stem: 3/8 yd. green print
• Leaves: (3) 1/4 yd. green prints
• Posts: 1/2 yd. soft grey print
• Backgrounds: (8) 1/2 yd. various low volume cream/ivory prints
• Sashing: 1 3/4 yd. small ivory print
• Border: Using ivory backgrounds above + (1) 1/4 yd. extra small cream floral print for variety
• Backing: 4 3/4 yds.
• Binding: 5/8 yd.

Fabric Requirements:
For Rudbeckia Version – 62 1/2′ x 82 1/2″

• Flower Petals: (1) Layer Cake PORTOFINO
• Flower Top: 3/8 yd. warm brown eyelet
• Stem: 3/8 yd. green print
• Leaves: (3) 1/4 yd. green prints + Layer Cake Greens
• Posts: 1/2 yd. soft grey print
• Sashing: 2 1/4 yd. small ivory print
• Backgrounds: (8) 1/2 yd. various low volume cream/ivory prints
• Border: Using ivory backgrounds above
• Backing: 5 1/8 yds.
• Binding: 5/8 yd.

OR – check out our BLACK EYED SUSAN PRE-ORDER KIT [only open for a while longer for the kits]. Please read through entire listing for all details.

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Stay tuned for PART 2…we still have two more Portofino patterns to showcase.

Happy Sewing!

-Joanna