An ocean's worth of sea life, worked in wool and thread: a whale, a jellyfish, seahorses, fish, an octopus, coral, and a little sailboat, all built up through appliqué and hand embroidery on a soft blue patchwork sea. Trade Winds grew out of years of Sue Spargo's travel journals and ocean drawings, and it carries her folk art style, where the texture and personality come from layered fabric and dimensional stitching rather than complicated piecing.

The finished quilt reads as one rich, crowded scene, but it is built a block at a time, which is why Sue ran it as a 12-month Block of the Month. Each small square holds one piece of the sea, pieced, layered, and embroidered, so you can settle into one creature before moving to the next and watch the reef fill in.

It finishes at 34-1/2 by 40-1/2 inches, a size that hangs well on a wall or drapes over the back of a chair.

What the Book Includes

This listing is for the printed pattern book only, not a kit and not a finished quilt.

• 192 full-color pages, softcover
• Step-by-step instructions with clear pattern and stitch diagrams
• Two patterns: the Trade Winds quilt and the Trade Winds Workbox, a playful octopus appliqué design that dresses up a deluxe sewing box
• Techniques covered include wool appliqué, layering, cotton and velvet appliqué, rick rack application, embroidery, dimensional embroidery, and texture creation
• Embroidery stitch instructions are referenced from Sue's Creative Stitching (sold separately), not reprinted in this book
• Fabric, wool, thread, batting, and backing are not included

What You'll Need

Trade Winds is hand work over a pieced background. Plan for hand-dyed wool, cotton, and a little velvet for the appliqué and layering, plus rick rack and a range of embroidery threads for the stitching and texture. The book lists the full materials.

Like all of Sue Spargo's designs, this book names the decorative stitches it uses and cites the page number in her Creative Stitching reference instead of teaching the stitches here. Creative Stitching (sold separately) is the stitch dictionary behind her entire line, so it is the companion to keep beside this project.

Perfect For

• Stitchers who love hand work and want a project that rewards appliqué and embroidery over precise piecing
• Wool appliqué fans looking for a showpiece sea-life quilt or wall hanging
• Anyone who enjoys a Block of the Month rhythm and wants to build a quilt one block at a time
• Makers who already have, or are ready for, Sue's Creative Stitching and want to put those stitches to work

Why You'll Love This Book

Trade Winds plays to the slow, absorbing side of quilting. Each small block holds one piece of the sea, so the work breaks into satisfying, finishable pieces, and the scene grows richer as the blocks come together. There are no points to chase here. The character lives in the fabric choices and the stitching.

The mixed media is what gives the finished quilt its depth. Wool, cotton, and velvet sit at different heights, rick rack and dimensional embroidery add texture you can feel, and Sue's hand-dyed color sense keeps a busy scene reading as one. It is a genuine skill-builder, with cotton and velvet appliqué, rick rack application, and textural embroidery all getting their turn.

Product Details

• Brand: Sue Spargo Folk Art Quilts
• Item #: ISBN 979-8-9902819-1-2
• Author: Sue Spargo
• Category: Quilt Pattern Book
• Skill Level: Advanced beginner and up (comfortable hand appliqué and basic embroidery; the piecing is simple)
• Technique: Wool, cotton, and velvet appliqué; layering; rick rack application; hand and dimensional embroidery
• Patterns Included: Trade Winds Quilt and Trade Winds Workbox (an octopus appliqué sewing-box project)
• Finished Quilt Size: 34-1/2 in x 40-1/2 in
• Pages: 192, full color
• Format: Softcover
• Book Size: 8.5 in x 11 in
• Made in the United States