Lahinch PDF Pattern Gift-Away!

Good Morning, Quiltvillians!

Here we are half-way through October, with an October-late-autumn themed quilt begging to be made from your yummiest scraps in the colors of Dark Chocolate, Caramel, Pumpkin Spice and Sky Blue! There is a smattering of sandy colored neutrals that tie everything together -

I had a wonderful time making Lahinch, and I know you will too!

Of my many trips to Ireland, I love the countryside with its small villages and towns the best.

Even better if those towns come with interesting history and local folklore!

Is it Lehinch or Lahinch?  I had to talk to locals to find out the reason behind the different spellings.

The correct, intended spelling is with an "A," and there are ongoing efforts by local officials to correct the signage to match the "Lahinch" spelling used by residents and businesses. 

Locals and businesses prefer the spelling "Lahinch" because it better represents the local pronunciation and is the historical spelling. Efforts are underway to change the spelling of the town's name on signage to "Lahinch". 

June 2024 in Lahinch, Ireland!

No matter the pronunciation or spelling the charm of this little seaside village not far from the famous Cliffs of Moher is worth a visit.

And if you are like me, you might just come home with yet another Aran sweater.

And find yourself taking more photos of tile floor designs from entryways, pub and shop floors. There is so much quilty inspiration!

These photos that I have saved for inspiration have been calling me to finally “DO SOMETHING” with them.

I don’t know a single quilter who would not exclaim “Look! A Quilt Design!” when walking into a restaurant, pub, church or other public space where tile designs can be found under foot..

Even more fun – these designs can easily be worked up in fabric, using simple shapes and units that we already know by name. Square, rectangle, diamond, triangle, and even more complex units such as square-in-a-square or flying geese.

My scrappy fabric pull inspired by the above tile floors: Strips, hunks & chunks!

I set out to interpret the design that became Lahinch by digging into my burgeoning stash of scrap strips and squares, going for as much variety as I could within the color families of sand, caramel, dark chocolate, rusty pumpkin and sky blue.

My modus operandi:

Make all units in the variety of color pairings needed and then assemble blocks until I ran out of some colors, stopping to make more triangle units as needed. Counting?  Who needs counting to dig in?

Of course, I used my Essential Triangle Tool to make the half-square units, but the pattern also includes traditional rotary cutting directions. You can use any method that you prefer, just keep in mind the unfinished and finished sizes. And if you tend to "go big to sliver trim down" you may need to up your fabric requirements just a bit to allow for the discarded trimmings.

I am so grateful for my Essential Triangle Tool as it works with the sizes of strips I already keep in my Scrap User's System.

Chain Pressing Hint:

I save a lot of time by snipping my chain piecing into ironing board lengths as I sew them by clipping the chains from behind my presser foot while keeping my piecing continuous.

Having chains no longer than my ironing board stops all the mess and tangle of chains that are too long. 

8-in-a-chain!

I leave my triangles in a chain while pressing and then come back and clip threads and trim dog ears.  It keeps everything facing the same direction, easier to keep count and stay organized.

If you use one of the razor blade thread cutters, try pressing your chain first before cutting into individual units. It will stop the mad scrambled piles and having to pink up one at a time and rotate and reposition units individually to press them.

It all comes together!

If you follow the pressing directions included in the pattern all seams will play nice and nest with each other throughout the quilt top assembly.

I quilted Lahinch with a sand colored thread in an edge-to-edge design called  Honeycomb by Patricia E. Ritter.

I dug into the deep stash for a chocolate brown dot print for binding. The binding was pieced from 2’’ strips for a double-fold 1/4'’ finish, keeping points intact at the quilt’s edge.

Binding supervised by Lola!

Introductory pricing: I've placed the Lahinch PDF pattern at 25% off - no coupon needed -through 10/31/25. Hurry now and save!

Simple shapes and easy piecing create a stunning repeat of pattern and secondary designs – All from a photo taken of a vintage tile floor white traveling. Full color photos, Optional piecing methods, and directions to press for success!

Quilt size: 80'' X 80''

And yes, there IS a Gift-Away!

I'll be drawing for two winners who will each receive a  Lahinch PDF pattern from me AND:

An Atlantic Sky color roll from  Cotton to Quilts.  And yes, they have other rolls to enhance your stash as well:

Along with the beautiful Atlantic Sky roll, they've got other Ireland themed rolls in all of the rich colors you need from Golden Sand to Cliffs of Moher (Chocolate) and Autumn Heather (Pumpkin).And be sure to check out the neutral rolls as well!

Of course, you can envision your own color plan for Lahinch Just choose 4 colors that you like together and add a background where I used lighter sand.

Are you ready to win?

We will draw for our winners on Monday 10/27/25.

I absolutely love traveling with quilters. There are only 7 spots remaining in my upcoming January tour of Morocco.  I'll be turning 64 on this trip and I can't wait - not to mention being somewhere WARM in January. Come celebrate with me!

More tours are soon to be posted - come check out my Craftours Page.

You can't start anywhere but right where you are! Just keep at it.

Roll, Roll Cotton Boll was an early Quiltville Winter Mystery and is found in my book String Fling.

I see so many more string things in my future!

Have a wonderful Wednesday, everyone!