Lucky Day from Heartspun Quilts

We asked Pam Buda of Heartspun Quilts to help us by designing an Fat Quarter Shop exclusive quilt, she more than exceeded what expected. The result is this awesome kit called Lucky Day made with Wildflower Serenade by Kansas Troubles Quilters. Her intricate four-leaf clovers are beautiful in the dark, rich tones. The fabric and kit arrives in August (only a day away!), so make sure to reserve one for yourself!

Hello again, fellow FQS Blog devotees!

I am very excited to tell you about my newest quilt design called Lucky Day and a bit about how it came to be! Kimberly & Debbie asked me to design a quilt just for the Fat Quarter Shop while we were at Quilt Market. I had no idea what fabric line they would like me to use at the time and I waited anxiously for my assignment. I’m a very traditional quilter and love the darker, folk art-country colors and Civil War reproductions. While I truly have an appreciation for bright and Batik quilts, they are not in my comfort zone and I have never designed a quilt using them. True Confession…Oh my gosh, I thought, what if they assigned me a bright or Batik collection?? It would be a challenge, and I hoped I could do it, I told myself. But, ohhhh geez, I hope I won’t have to!!!

When Debbie called to ask me to use the next collection from Lynne Hagmeier of Kansas Troubles Quilters, called Wildflower Serenade, I nearly jumped for joy and knew it was my lucky day! (WHEW!!!) You see, Kansas Troubles fabrics have long been one of my most favorite to work with!! They completely go with everything in my house, meaning I live with these colors, and, to say the least, are totally in my comfort zone. Looking at my pattern collection, I’m betting that Kimberly & Debbie knew that too.

I chose to work with a Moda Layer Cake because I had never designed a quilt with a Layer Cake before and wanted to give it a try. Working with one of what I call Moda’s Pastries, is kind of like figuring out a puzzle. It is a challenge to say the least. You are limited to work with only those particular colors, in only those sizes and the math must work as well. When you finally solve the puzzle and finish the design, it’s a very satisfying feeling.


It was another Lucky Day when Lynne and I hooked up last Sunday to enjoy a shared favorite pastime, antiquing. (Oh, Lynne corrected me and I’m to say “doing research”!) We met at the Sandwich Antique Fair in Sandwich, IL to see what treasures…ahem…research material we could find. We researched long and hard, down every aisle and did find wonderful research materials to bring home and inspire us! The timing was serendipitous as well, allowing me to post a photo (proof) of us hard at work researching!

If you’re like me and love the folk art/country color palette, I invite you to browse my other patterns, available at FatQuarterShop.com. Prairie Flowers is made entirely of many Kansas Troubles fabrics, Sweater Weather is from the KTQ line Autumn Journey, Winter Retreat is made from KTQ’s Snow Blooms and Maizie Emm made from KTQ’s Bound to the Prairie I & II. I also love the fabric collections of other favorite Moda designers Minick & Simpson, Brannock & Patek, Barb Adams & Alma Allen of Blackbird Designs, Terry Thompson and Barbara Brackman, and have designed quilts with them as seen in my patterns Sweet Rosie, Finger Paint, Fritzie’s Closet, Suffragette & Sweet Liberty.

Let me know what colors speak to your heart. I’d love to hear from you! As the summer continues and the air conditioning blasts, I hope you get a lot of time to enjoy the art of quiltmaking. Until next time, wishing you peace while piecing!

Pam Buda
Heartspun Quilts