A churn dash pattern now available!
A update for an old favorite
The churn dash block has been one of my favorites for many years. I wanted to design a quilt using this block, but tweak it a little, and give it a bit of an update. Jam and Butter is what I came up with!
The churn dash block is so named because of its resemblance to the stick, called a dash or dasher, used to stir the cream in a churn until butter forms. This would have been something our grandmother’s recognized!
About the pattern
This version of a churn dash quilt is called Jam and Butter – the butter part is obvious 🙂 and the jam part is because the churn dashes are all jammed together with no sashing between them. And jam goes with butter right?
I’ve done my Jam and Butter totally scrappy, even the background. I’ve been quilting quite a while, so it’s easy for me to raid my fabric stash to make a scrap quilt – if this is not the case for you, consider buying fat quarters for the churn dashes and yardage for the background. And there’s no rule that says all the churn dashes have to be different! It’s your quilt, you can do it any way you want! 🙂
The pattern has directions for three sizes, from a small wall hanging to a throw size. The medium size is a generous baby quilt, and that’s what the cover quilt is. As always, there is a diagram and a coloring sheet so you can audition your own color choices.
Quilting Design
I quilted Jam and Butter using the Pumpkin Seed design on my long arm, but this quilting design is just as easy on a domestic sewing machine. I’ve added a free quilting diagram and tutorial on my website you can download it if you like. When I first started making quilts, I would get so annoyed when quilt pattern designers just said “quilt as desired” at the end. Ugh! No help! So I’m offering you one option in case you are in need of an idea!
Quilty facts: 100% cotton fabric and batting, Glide poly thread by Fil-Tec on top and Madeira poly thread in the bobbin. All the quilt photos were taken after washing.
Thank you so much for reading! Happy Quilting everyone!
~Ann
99, Jam & Butter!! I learn something new each time I read this blog – dash – dasher – who knew. Beautiful quilt and a modern festive twist. Thank you for sharing the quilt making book, I look forward to reading it (lol in its final version). Xx, 29