Today I am talking all about The Rebekah Quilt I made which features Path to Discovery, by Jessica Swift for Art Gallery Fabrics. This line of fabrics is right up my alley. It's bright and modern with a bit of whimsical thrown in for fun.
The Rebekah is my modern quilt pattern which is jelly roll and fat quarter friendly. It's geared toward the beginner quilter, but is also great for any quilter who wants a project that is fast. There is no trimming and it's all strip pieced. I made this quilt top in one day. So yeah, it's pretty fast.
The Path to Discovery by Jessica Swift for Art Gallery Fabrics is a modern fabric line featuring greens, pinks and oranges. With flowers, rainbows, pineapples and mermaids this line has Jessica's signature bright colors and mystical elements.
I am a huge fan of Jessica Swift's fabric lines. They exude cheer and joy. I was so excited to get my hands on some of this line for a Rebekah Quilt.
Art Gallery Fabrics manufactures high quality fabric company which uses a higher thread count in it's fabrics. This makes the fabrics so soft and silky! I liked using them for this project because pressing is super important in the Rebekah Quilt and Art Gallery Fabrics hold their shape and press very well.
About the Rebekah Quilt Pattern
As I said earlier the Rebekah was designed for the beginner quilter. There is no difficult cutting and all sewing is easy straight passes. You do need to be able to keep a consistent 1/4 inch seam allowance or your blocks won't fit together quite right. They might come out slightly rectangular. You also need to make sure to get a good press of all the seams. If the seams aren't pressed well the blocks will come out slightly off.
However, do not let this scare you away from the Rebekah if you are a beginner quilter! Just take a little longer when sewing to make sure your seams are consistent and use a seam guide. If you aren't familiar with a seam guide here is a magnetic one that works with sewing machines which do not have a computer inside.
If you have a sewing machine with a computer in it, then I suggest getting a 1/4 in. foot with a seam guide on it. That is what I have and I love it!
The Rebekah has two main fabrics. I list them as A and B. Both are interchangeable as the background fabric. Fabric B is the background fabric in this quilt. The appearance of the quilt is meant to look a bit scrambled and mixed up. I like there to be a contrast between fabrics A and B, that way the pattern of the quilt really comes out.
Another thing I love about this pattern is that it doesn't take much planning before or during. I like to randomly sew the fabrics and blocks together and place them in the quilt. I generally check to make sure when I piece the rows that not too much of one fabric is in one area. But otherwise, you don't have to plan too much.
The Rebekah has four different sizes:
- Baby 32 in. x 40 in.
- Throw 48 in. x 64 in.
- Twin 72 in. x 96 in.
- Queen 96 in. x 104 in.
If you want to read about some other versions I have made of the Rebekah you can read about them here:
- The Rebekah Quilt Using a Dark Blue Background
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The Rebekah Quilt Using Warp and Weft by Ruby Star Society
- The Rebekah Quilt Using Golden Hour by Ruby Star Society
This Rebekah Quilt
I talked a little earlier about the fabric, Path to Discovery, which I used for this quilt. The throw size Rebekah uses 8 fat quarters (Fabric A) and 1 3/4 yards fabric or 1 jelly roll (Fabric B). Since I didn't have a jelly roll I used the yardage.The Fabric B used for this quilt is from Art Gallery's Pure Solid Line, called Linen. And I chose 8 fat quarters from the Path to Discovery line for Fabric A.
The fabric I told you about earlier that I used for the backing with mermaids is called Path to Discovery Siren Song Eight.
I quilted this Rebekah quilt myself. I used 1/2 inch horizontal lines across the quilt. I like this look on the Rebekah. The simple lines help accentuate the scrambled appearance of the quilt and draw attention to the fabrics.
When quilting I make sure to baste well first. This quilt was spray basted. I have heard other quilters say they were afraid to use spray baste because they aren't sure how long it would stay basted. Well I once spray basted a quilt and didn't get it quilted all the way, then left for two years. I wasn't intending to leave for two years, but the Pandemic happened and I got stuck in a different country. When I came back the quilt was still ready to quilt!
When I quilt I always start toward the middle and quilt outward one direction. Then, I come back to the middle and quilt outward the other direction. But I never flip the quilt and sew in the opposite direction. This will cause a puckering in your quilt.
I also like to wind up 3 bobbins, or as many bobbins as I think it will take, of the color thread I am using. This way when the thread runs out I don't have to stop and wind up a bobbin, I can just pop in the next one.
This Rebekah was so fun to make! I love the colors and fabrics.
Be sure to check out this line of fabrics at your local quilt shop and don't forget to buy a copy of the Rebekah and make your own version to share.
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