QM’s Scrap Squad is a team of eight select readers. They take one pattern from each regular issue of Quiltmaker and create scrappy versions. Those quilts are revealed on Quilty Pleasures one by one while that issue is available. For the Jan/Feb ’12 issue, the Scrap Squad worked with Hip to Be Square. Below is the quilt as it was featured in the issue. Fabrics are from Riley Blake, quilt designed and made by Elizabeth Dackson.

Hip to Be Square, designed and made by Elizabeth Dackson. Fabric: Delighted! by The Quilted Fish and designer solids for Riley Blake Designs.

Today’s featured Scrap Squad quilt is by Donna Amos. Donna is full of life, ideas and enthusiasm. Keep in mind that she is 77 years young as you read what she shared with me about her quilt:

I am a new Electric Quilt user and this is my first attempt to draw a specific block, put it into a quilt setting, color it, rotate it, and just have fun exploring how it could be used. The Hip to Be Square block by Elizabeth Dackson has proven to be a very versatile, pretty block and I like it a lot.

Usually, I am drawn to use bright, clear colors but after trying several possibilities in EQ I decided to use a more subdued palette. The centers of the block are all very scrappy.

The corner units (they come together to look like a rectangle with triangles on the end) are the same fabrics in all blocks.

Since this quilt is called Hip to Be Square, I thought maybe I could make it “more hip” if I added more squares. So by rotating every other block until the corner aqua units came together (instead of the 4-patch unit), a new aqua square was made inside a larger white square, which turned out to be “on point.”

Once the blocks were completed, I laid them out like the original pattern and then tried them with every other block rotated. I liked both, but decided to use the rotated version for my quilt.

When I make a pieced border, I like to pull out an element from the block. The centers of the Hip to Be Square block made a great border; each patch is separated with a one-inch piece of background. By putting the squares around the corners, I can always get a perfect fit for the border, because I can adjust the length of the background fabric in the middle portion.

Donna's finished Hip to Be Square

There is so much to love about this quilt! Here are things to notice and learn from:

• Donna’s colors are subdued but the quilt still sparkles because the background she chose is a fairly bright off-white. To make fabric sparkle, try contrasting it with something bright or dark.
• The quilt contains very lights and very darks and everything in between. This holds your interest and keeps your eye moving. It works! Try to use a wide range of lights, mediums and darks in your quilts.
• What a great system for a customized border! You can do this too. If you only put the shapes (whatever they are) around the corners as Donna did, you can adjust for a perfect fit by cutting the middle part of the border to any length needed. Genius!
• Donna is learning to use Electric Quilt at age 77! The lesson for all of us is that it’s never too late and we’re never too old to learn new skills. Donna’s can-do attitude is probably what keeps her young, interesting and curious. She is to be congratulated. I am so proud of her! (By the way, I have Donna’s permission to tell you her age.)

Many more versions of Hip to Be Square are still to come! This Scrap Squad rocks!