Foundation Paper Piecing Patterns for the Nearly Insane Quilt : Available Soon!

FPP Patterns for the Salinda Rupp 1860s Sampler, popularly known as the Nearly Insane available for purchase soon

You have the Nearly Insane Quilt book, but do not know where to start?

My Nearly Insane Quilt block patterns are based on Salinda Rupp’s 1860s quilt and Liz Lois’s book with the drafts of the blocks. This is not a replacement of the book; I give you the patterns if you wish to take the journey using the foundation paper-piecing technique. I would highly recommend you buy the book for a great introduction to the quilt and to refer to the quilt layout, block settings, borders and some fabric estimates.

The Vital Stats of the Quilt

Size: 83″ x 83″ (including 3″ pieced border)

Description98 pieced blocks of 6″ square placed on point with sashing, cornerstones and pieced border.

Level: Intermediate to Expert

Familiarity with Foundation Paper Piecing (FPP) is essential.

Fabric: It is difficult to give any estimate of the fabric yardage. To start with, 35-40 fat quarters in the colours of your choice for the blocks? Liz Lois has given an estimate of the sashing/ corner-stones and borders fabric in her book. Just remember that you need almost twice if not more of the fabric you would require for a similar sized quilt, as the pieces are so small and consequently so many more seams. Small prints, Civil War fabrics and 1930s tiny florals would look good with some solids to set them off.

There are several quilters who have made it in just two colours–red with white and blue with white being a popular choice. Others have gone with scraps. My FPP patterns were designed for a quilt in blues, yellows and greens.

Nearly Insane Quilt Block 43

However, my patterns come with colour numbering to enable you to construct the blocks in your own choice of colours.

Why Foundation Paper Piecing Patterns?

No tracing required, nor any measurements! All is done for you! The numbered templates provided with each block pattern make it possible for one to piece the blocks by machine, without the bother of accurately measuring and cutting each piece.

(Nevertheless, there are 3 blocks with y-seams that can be only partially foundation-pieced and have to be put together by hand or regular machine-piecing. English paper piecing templates are provided for these blocks.)

The Background of the Quilt

The `Nearly Insane’ Quilt is what Salinda Rupp’s quilt from the 1860s from Pennysylvania is better known as! Made in bright autumn colours, it has enchanted and inspired many quilters to embark on a journey as satisfying as it is maddening.

I discovered this quilt in a quilt history book and fell in love with it immediately, preparing for it and honing my quilting skills before i could attempt it. I later discovered Liz Lois had named it the Nearly Insane quilt and published a book with the designs for the blocks (but no templates) and their placement. The book kept lying with me for quite some time, before I realised I could draft FPP patterns to make everything so much simpler and I spent the next several months drafting and redrafting the patterns!

What makes this quilt special?

The quilt has an undescribable rustic charm; not for Salinda your perfect points or absolutely symmetrical patterns! I think she often made up block patterns as she went along, depending on whatever scraps were at hand!

There are 98 blocks to construct, each 6 inches square, placed on point. 12 of these are cut diagonally and fitted into the edge of the on-point quilt, while one is cut into 4 to make up the corners. (This includes a basket halves placed on opposite edges of the quilt) The craziest block has 229 pieces and the easiest has 10; the average number of pieces per block is between 35-40! We quilters are used to HSTs (Half-Square Triangles) but this quilt has Half-Rectangle Triangles, not to forget flying geese which are not flying geese of the 1:2 ratio at all! Salinda used up all the scraps she had at hand, coming up with blocks which are whimsical and charming! The sashing and cornerstones give the eyes a rest between the busy piecing of the blocks and the icing on the cake is the unique ‘ zig-zag’ or `lightning’ border which sets off the quilt to perfection.

Here are a few of my favourite blocks from my quilt!

Salinda Rupp Nearly Insane Block 83
Salinda Rupp Nearly Insane Block 69
Salinda Rupp Nearly Insane Block 61
Salinda Rupp Nearly Insane Block 44
The totally Insane Block with 229 pieces!

So if you are planning to devote the next few months or years of your life to creating a true heirloom, nothing better than Salinda Rupp’s quilt to start with. And if you decide to go the FPP way, well…

All the block patterns will be available for sale here over the next few days, beginning tomorrow!

Nearly Insane Quilt…Blocks 53-59 Row 9

More Insanity recorded!

How I have enjoyed piecing this quilt, originally made by Salinda Rupp in the 1860s! Salinda’s quilt is not all perfect and symmetrical like other quilts of that era! Whimsical blocks and use of whatever scraps she had in hand make this such a lovable creation.

So, here comes Row 9 in my series of posts on  my version of Salinda’s quilt, which became popularly known as the Nearly Insane Quilt. The blocks are all set on point, with 7 and 6 blocks in the alternating rows.

The blocks are 6″ square and, except for a few, foundation paper pieced by me.  I drafted all the patterns for FPP on the free Quilt Assistant software, based on patterns in Liz Lois’s book, which contains only line drawings of the finished blocks.

Most of the fabric used is Summer Breeze 3, with a fat quarter bundle of matching solids by Moda Fabrics, and the Dutch Garden 2 Collection by Boundless Fabric. I also used a couple FQs in blues and greens plus a jelly roll of yellows I had in my stash.

Nearly Insane Block  53

Number of pieces: 29

Level of Difficulty: Easy

Technique: Foundation paper pieced (FPP)

Nearly Insane Block  54

Number of pieces: 41

Level of Difficulty:  Another easy one. Looking at it now, I wish I had used fussy cut flowers for the other two cornerstones in the centre too!

Technique: Foundation paper pieced

Nearly Insane Block 56

Number of pieces:  72

Difficulty Level: Easy! Squares in squares and flying geese become really pretty, with sharp points and also simple to piece when you use foundation paper to piece them! The centre pinwheel is made with regular piecing.

Technique: Foundation paper-piecing and machine -piecing

Nearly Insane Block 55

Number of pieces:  49

Level of Difficulty:  I think Salinda used up all her scraps to piece this one! Probably one of the last ones she pieced.

Technique: Foundation paper-pieced.

Nearly Insane Block 57

Number of pieces: 49

Level of Difficulty:  Easy, but so pretty! This was one of the first blocks I pieced!

Technique: Foundation paper pieced.

Nearly Insane Block 58

Number of pieces: 48

Level of Difficulty:  intermediate, with lots of points to match, unless you do FPP, like I did. This is one of the blocks that makes Salines’s quilt so special! What went on in her mind? Did she decide to just use up all the extra HSTs she had at hand to sew the centre?

Technique: Foundation paper pieced

Nearly Insane Block 59

Nearly Insane Quilt Block 59

Number of pieces: 36

Difficulty Level: Easy. I made the centre 4-patch first and then built the block around it. The corner triangles were foundation paper pieced.

Technique: Machine-piecing and foundation paper-piecing.

Here are the links to the previous seven rows!

Row 1 ( Blocks 1 to 7)

Row 2 (Blocks 8 to 13) 

Row 3 (Blocks 14 to 20, with a couple missing)

Row 4 (Blocks 21 to 26)

Row 5 (Blocks 27 to 33)

Row 6 (Blocks 34 to 39)

Row 7 (Blocks 40 to 46)

Row 8 (Blocks 47 to 52)

Breaking News! The Foundation Paper-Piecing Patterns for the blocks of the Salinda Rupp Nearly Insane Quilt are now available on my store!

Nearly Insane Quilt…Blocks 47 to 52 Row 8

If you are as entranced by tiny piecing and antique quilts as I am, you have got to have seen the Salinda Rupp quilt! I have been brave enough to attempt to recreate the quilt and am sharing my version here!

The blocks are all done and the quilt is now being quilted. However, after an absence of several months, I decided to update the record of the blocks. So here comes Row 8 in my series of posts on  my Nearly Insane Quilt,  based on a 19th century quilt by Salinda Rupp...  The blocks are all set on point, with 7 and 6 blocks in the alternating rows.

The blocks are 6″ square and except for a few, foundation paper pieced by me.  I drafted all the patterns for FPP on the free Quilt Assistant software, based on patterns in Liz Lois’s book, which contains only line drawings of the finished blocks.

Most of the fabric used is Summer Breeze 3  (with a fat quarter bundle of matching solids) by Moda Fabrics, and the Dutch Garden 2 Collection by Boundless Fabric. I also used a couple FQs in blues and greens plus a jelly roll of yellows I had in my stash.

Nearly Insane Block  47

Number of pieces: 36

Level of Difficulty: Easy

Technique: Foundation paper pieced (FPP)

6" Salinda Rupp Nearly Insane Quilt Block by patchworkofmylife
Block 47 Nearly Insane Quilt  (wrongly captioned as 84)
Nearly Insane Block 48

Number of pieces: 29

Level of Difficulty:  Another easy one. Doesn’t all the fussy cutting make it pretty?

Technique: Foundation paper pieced with handle of the basket appliqued.

Nearly Insane Quilt Block 48
Nearly Insane Block 49

Number of pieces:  108

Difficulty Level: One of the more difficult blocks to piece, especially as the borders have pieced rectangles instead of squares.

Technique: Foundation paper-piecing

49

Nearly Insane Block 50

Number of pieces:  29

Level of Difficulty:  One of the more difficult ones, but was not as complicated as I made it! First I cut the diamonds in the wrong direction and then I joined one of the yellow oblong pieces wrong. And then all those points…

Technique: English paper-pieced. This block would be impossible to piece otherwise.

Nearly Insane Quilt Block 50
Nearly Insane Block 51

Number of pieces: 37

Level of Difficulty:  Easy, but so pretty!

Technique: Foundation paper pieced the centre strips and English paper pieced the stars.

Nearly Insane Quilt Block 51
Nearly Insane Block 52

Number of pieces: 30

Level of Difficulty:  Easy! Salinda was also trying to use her leftover scraps, just like me. Makes the block look busy, but…

Technique: Foundation paper pieced

Salinda Rupp Nearky Insane Quilt Block by patchworkofmylife
Nearly Insane Quilt Block 52

And here are the links to the previous seven rows!

Row 1 ( Blocks 1 to 7)

Row 2 (Blocks 8 to 13) 

Row 3 (Blocks 14 to 20, with a couple missing)

Row 4 (Blocks 21 to 26)

Row 5 (Blocks 27 to 33)

Row 6 (Blocks 34 to 39)

Row 7 (Block 40 to 46)

Breaking News! The Foundation Paper-Piecing Patterns for the blocks of the Salinda Rupp Nearly Insane Quilt are now available on my store!

Nearly Insane…Nearing the Finishing Line…Blocks 40 to 46

It is Row 7 today, in my series of posts on the progress of my Nearly Insane Quilt,  based on a 19th century quilt by Salinda Rupp... I have now less than 20 blocks to finish! The blocks are all set on point, with 7 and 6 blocks in the alternating rows.

The blocks are 6″ square and except for a few, foundation paper pieced by me.  I drafted all the patterns for FPP on the free Quilt Assistant software, based on patterns in Liz Lois’s book, which contains only line drawings of the finished blocks.

Most of the fabric used is Summer Breeze 3  (with a fat quarter bundle of matching solids) by Moda Fabrics, and the Dutch Garden 2 Collection by Boundless Fabric. I also used a couple FQs in blues and greens plus a jelly roll of yellows I had in my stash.

Nearly Insane Block  40

Number of pieces: 29

Level of Difficulty: Easy. This is one block where I made some changes from Salinda’s original block, adding those diagonal strips in the corner pieces. Now I wish I hadn’t.

Technique: Foundation paper pieced (FPP)

Nearly Insane Quilt Block 40
Nearly Insane Block 41

Number of pieces: 31

Level of Difficulty: Moderate.   This basket block was another which would have been easier to English paper piece or even  machine piece with nesting seams. But it gave me a great opportunity to use up that pretty soft blue, lage floral for the background.  All in all, a very pretty block!

Technique: Foundation paper pieced with handle of the basket appliqued.

Nearly Insane Quilt Block 41
Nearly Insane Block 42

Number of pieces: 120

Level of Difficulty:  Difficult…hmm…moderate? 120 pieces in a 6″ x 6″ block and so many points! I love this particular block and have made it into an 18″x 18″ cushion cover too!

Technique: Foundation Paper Piecing

Nearly Insane Quilt Block 42
Nearly Insane Block 43

Number of pieces: 88 pieces

Level of Difficulty: Difficult, as a lone star block is. So many y-seams and then the 8 seams meeting at a point in the centre…I tried (unsuccessfully) fussy cutting the strips for the diamond pieces, succeeding only in the centre.

(Arguably) the prettiest block in the quilt!

Technique: Strip pieced the eight bigger diamonds and then machine pieced them together. Also machine pieced the 4 corners and the triangles to the star.

Nearly Insane Quilt Block 43
Nearly Insane Block 44

Number of pieces: 84

Level of Difficulty:  Truly insane block! With four 8-point stars and 32 y-seams! And to add to my woes, I kept losing the pieces, despite doing my best to keep track of them.

Technique: Foundation paper pieced the centre strips and English paper pieced the stars.

Nearly Insane Quilt Block 44
Nearly Insane Quilt Block 45

Number of pieces:44

Level of Difficulty: Moderate, because of the huge(!) 1″ pieces.

Technique: Foundation paper pieced (FPP) and machine pieced.

Nearly Insane Quilt Block 45
Nearly Insane Quilt Block 46

Number of pieces:37

Level of Difficulty: Easy–another log cabin block, this time with a star in the centre! (Compare with Block 11 and Block 76)

Technique: Regular machine piecing

 

Would you say this was the prettiest row so far? In case you have not seen my earlier updates, click the links for each row below:

Row 1 ( Blocks 1 to 7)

Row 2 (Blocks 8 to 13) 

Row 3 (Blocks 14 to 20, with a couple missing)

Row 4 (Blocks 21 to 26)

Row 5 (Blocks 27 to 33)

Row 6 (Blocks 34 to 39)

Breaking News! The Foundation Paper-Piecing Patterns for the blocks of the Salinda Rupp Nearly Insane Quilt are now available on my store!

Nearly Insane…Nearing the Finishing Line…Blocks 34 to 39

In  my series of posts on the progress of my Nearly Insane Quilt,  based on a 19th century quilt by Salinda Rupp , here is Row 6. I have now less than 20 blocks to finish! The blocks are all set on point, with 7 and 6 blocks in the alternating rows.

The blocks are 6″ square and except for a few, foundation paper pieced by me.  I drafted all the patterns for FPP on the free Quilt Assistant software, based on patterns in Liz Lois’s book, which contains only line drawings of the finished blocks.

Most of the fabric used is Summer Breeze 3  (with a fat quarter bundle of matching solids) by Moda Fabrics, and the Dutch Garden 2 Collection by Boundless Fabric. I also used a couple FQs in blues and greens plus a jelly roll of yellows I had in my stash.

Nearly Insane Block  34

Number of pieces: 33

Level of Difficulty: Easy star block. Salinda has a number of these; however, she added interest by sewing up different centres for each. On my part, I did some fussy cutting to prettify them. (The temptation to substitute these blocks with more interesting and complicated ones was great but I did manage to resist it).

Technique: Foundation paper pieced (FPP).

Nearly Insane Quilt Block 34
Nearly Insane Block 35

Number of pieces: 64

Level of Difficulty: Moderate. I do not like to foundation paper piece hour-glass QST blocks ( nor pinwheels, for that matter!) They are much easier to machine piece with nesting seams.

Technique: Foundation paper pieced.

Nearly Insane Quilt Block 35
Nearly Insane Block 36

Number of pieces: 79

Level of Difficulty:  Hmmm…moderate? 79 pieces in a 6″ x 6″ block! The four-patches are also easier machine-pieced than foundation pieced. Lots of triangles and lots of points to match.

Technique: Foundation Paper Piecing

Nearly Insane Quilt Block 36
Nearly Insane Block 37

Number of pieces: 97

Level of Difficulty: Moderate.  Though it has 97 pieces, not too many points to match; it is quite a pretty block too.

Technique: Foundation paper pieced (FPP)

Nearly Insane Quilt Block 37
Nearly Insane Block 38

Number of pieces: 45

Level of Difficulty:  Easy, easy! The fussy cutting and high contrast make it quite a delight to look at!

Technique: Foundation paper pieced (FPP)

Nearly Insane Quilt Block 38
Nearly Insane Quilt Block 39

Number of pieces: 29

Level of Difficulty: Easy and whimsical! Another one where I used up my larger prints.

Technique: Foundation paper pieced (FPP)

Nearly Insane Quilt Block 39

 

I think I may be able to get back to quilting pretty soon. My sciatica seems to have improved dramatically with the Kerala Ayurveda Oil Treatment I am taking! In the meanwhile, in case you have missed my earlier updates, click the links for each row below:

Row 1 ( Blocks 1 to 7)

Row 2 (Blocks 8 to 13) 

Row 3 (Blocks 14 to 20, with a couple missing)

Row 4 (Blocks 21 to 26)

Row 5 (Blocks 27 to 33)

 

Breaking News!! The Foundation Paper Piecing Block Patterns for this quilt are available for sale on my store from May 29, 2023!

 

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