Anything Goes Mini {Blog Hop + Giveaway}

(Update: the giveaway is now closed, thanks to all who entered! Winner noted below.)

I am happy to be back over at Benartex's blog Sew In Love With Fabric to share a tutorial for a quick and fun mini quilt made from the new line Anything Goes by Ann Lauer!

Here's a sampling of some of the fabrics in this line:

I used mainly the green and blue prints in this mini, which finishes at 20 inches square. I used one of my favorite blocks -- the Ohio Star -- and used partial blocks to give the design a little more pizzazz.

Cutting:

3 - 5.5 inch squares background fabric (for QSTs)
8 - 4.5 inch squares background fabric
1 - 5.5 inch square blue #1 fabric (for center QSTs)
2 - 5.5 inch squares green #1 fabric (for center QSTs)
2 - 5.5 inch squares blue #2 fabric (for outer QSTs)
4 - 5.5 inch squares green #2 fabric (for outer QSTs)
5 - 4.5 inch squares white print fabric

Draw diagonal lines on all of your green squares. Pair up each 5.5 inch square as listed below to create HSTs by sewing 1/4 inch on each side of the line, cutting apart on the drawn line, and pressing toward the green. Do not trim your units yet.

For center QSTs:
1 - 5.5 inch green #1 square + 1 - 5.5 inch background square (yielding 2 green/background HSTs)
1 - 5.5 inch green #1 square + 1 - 5.5 inch blue #1 square (yielding 2 green/blue HSTs)

For outer QSTs:
2 - 5.5 inch green #2 squares + 2 - 5.5 inch background squares (yielding 4 green/background HSTs)
2 - 5.5 inch green #2 squares + 2 - 5.5 inch blue #2 squares (yielding 4 green/blue HSTs)

In this picture, the units that will be used for the center QSTs are in the top row, and the units that will be used for the outer QSTs are in the bottom two rows.

Cut each HST in half, perpendicular to the sewn seam. Note: it is important to cut perpendicular to the seam, rather than just from corner-to-corner as this ensures nice "square" seams at the center of  your QSTs. If you find that your two corners are not perfectly aligned when you line your ruler perpendicular to the seam, do your best to position the cut such that the cut splits the difference between the offset corners, as in the diagram below.

After cutting your HSTs in half, pair each half with the corresponding complementary half to make your QST units. Sew together, making sure to align the center seam. Press seam open to reduce bulk and trim your QST units to 4.5 units, making sure that the center intersection remains the center of the trimmed block.

Lay out your QST units and 4.5 inch white print and background squares as shown below.

Sew together for your mini top.

Quilt as desired and bind. I quilted my mini with a swirly flower motif. I made bias binding with one of the black prints in the collection and also used the same print for my hanging pockets. I pieced together the leftovers from the green floral print and blue dot print for my backing fabric.

If you have a Quilter's Planner, you might recognize the quilting motif as the design of the week from last week! I decided to go with a swirly and round design to contrast with the graphic prints in this line.

I used the black squares print for both the hanging pockets and the bias binding. This tutorial is essentially the same as what I do when making non-continuous bias binding. Since I was working with a fat quarter, I needed four bias strips total for binding. I use this method to add hanging pockets to the mini quilts that I make. For this mini, I believe that my pocket squares were cut to 6.5 inches.

Check out my full tutorial at Sew in Love with Fabric!

Now for the giveaway! Two entries:

1. Leave one comment and tell me your favorite summer picnic food.
2. Followers (Facebook, Instagram, Bloglovin, or any other method) can leave a second comment for a second chance to win.

Congrats to our winner, Monica! I will contact you shortly!

Happy Wednesday! Sharing at Let's Bee Social and Needle and Thread Thursday!