Category: Projects

Last week I had the delightful opportunity to teach a class at a favorite Utah quilt shop.  I love teaching, and I really enjoy teaching how to trim half rectangle triangles without a special ruler.  That’s exactly what we did in class, with students working on various versions of my Serve Quilt.  Energized by their projects, I decided to sew together my sample blocks when I arrived home.  Now I have a “floral crush” Serve quilt top.

Some of my students opted to make the Rainbow version of Serve, and others were making the Show Up 48″ version.  All of them were beautiful!  I started mine some time ago for class sample blocks.  I used a Rifle Paper Co floral print with the Kona solid named Crush, which was a color of the year in 2023.  Thus my name for it, a “floral crush” Serve quilt top.  This one is the large, 72″ version.

Kona Crush is a gorgeous, saturated bright that looks lovely next to the floral.  Because of that, I chose a bright Dutch blue floral (a Liberty cotton print) and a deeper rich green solid (Art Gallery Pure Solids in eucalyptus) for my smaller stars.  The contrast is lovely and it adds a dark color to the quilt, which enhances its color value.

My background is another Rifle Paper print a gold star print from their Christmas collections.  I hope it will add a pretty sheen to the quilt.

While sewing this quilt top together, I found myself thinking of other designs for the half rectangle triangle quilt block.  If you could make a quilt with this block, what sort would you choose?  I love the way one quilt, or one quilt block, can inspire more creative exploration!

Imagine my surprise recently when I discovered I never shared this finished quilt!  Years ago Tula Pink released a gorgeous Butterfly quilt pattern full of gorgeous blocks and with incredible quilting.  My sister and I jumped right in.  It was a fun project, and also a good one to stretch our creative skills.  I’m baffled by my lack of sharing because this quilt was a big deal finish for me at the time.  So without further delay, here is my Butterfly quilt.

I used a color scheme similar to Tula’s original version for my own butterfly quilt, though I worked from fabric I had on hand.  Some of it is Tula Pink fabric (including the top and bottom border print), which was fun to include.  It was a time and labor intensive quilt.

Once finished, I opted for custom quilting by the talented Xenia Stirling.  She also quilted my Anchor’s Aweigh Quilt, which is another Tula Pink pattern.  And now I want to talk about that Anchor quilt because I love it so much, and those photos make my stomach hurt with missing another time and place.

But back to the butterfly!

Xenia’s quilting is exquisite, and I’m still so honored to have her work on my quilt.  Such a treasure!

 

Tula Pink more recently remade her Butterfly quilt in True Colors fabrics and also re-released the pattern. You can still find some available online.  I would say it’s definitely a quilt worth making if it appeals to you.

It’s kind of fun to revisit a quilt I made years ago, but also try to see it as new.  It’s clear  that, like the butterfly’s life cycle, we’re always changing.  I made this butterfly quilt, and yet…. the woman who made it isn’t really me anymore.  Looking at the quilt, the fabrics, thinking about that time, is interesting.  I’m a different person.  I’ve been on a journey I didn’t see coming.  And yet, I’m grateful I can still “fly”.

It’s a happy feeling to finish a quilt and wrap it around a loved one.  This Bow Quilt is a very happy finish.  As I sewed together the quilt top last year my daughter told me it’s her favorite, therefore it’s been marked as hers ever since.  So here it is, a finished bow quilt for Liberty.

As I shared previously, this is an applique quilt pattern by Carolyn Friedlander.  I’ve enjoyed making many of her patterns, and this one is particularly friendly to beginners.  I recommend this Bow quilt pattern, especially if you want a modern, simple, and fun applique pattern to get started with.

I used a Carolyn Friedlander background in a soft light tan, which also makes the bright prints stand out.  The “bows” are a wide selection of prints from my stash and from the scrap bin.

I quilted it on my Juki with lines between the applique arches.  Next I added hearts to the smallest center piece, and then echoed the arch in the background above the blocks.

Some of the blocks have gaps instead of fabric strips for an arch.  Where that happened, I did a tiny pattern in that spot.  You can barely make one out in the photo below, which shows the quilting really nicely.  In the top and bottom sections I selected a loop design which contains elements reminiscent of raindrops.  I really hope my daughter enjoys it!

Most of the quilt back is an old floral print I’ve had for years.  This floral was one of my favorite prints from Juliana Horner’s collection for JoAnn fabrics.  My daughter loves pink, so it made sense to use a treasured pink print and binding for her.

I can’t wait for her to get home so I can give it to her!