Prairie Sweets Quilt Blocks

Back in 2007, when my 6th baby was not yet crawling and I’d made my very first quilt, I somehow saw a picture of the Prairie Sweets quilt pattern by Fig Tree Quilts .  Not yet knowing enough about quilting to have any clue how little I knew, words like applique and circles meant little to me.  I just knew I liked the pattern, so I bought it.

And it sat for 7 years.  Lots of things happened in those seven years.  I kept quilting but I never made that quilt, as the words applique and circles came to mean “more work than I have time for” while other patterns grabbed my attention instead.  Last year I took an honest look at the pattern, wondering if it was time to get rid of it.  I was a little surprised to discover I still wanted to make one.

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I decided to try having an “on the go” project this year, as I knew I’d spend lots of time in the car and wouldn’t be able to do as much sewing as I would like.  I made all the pinwheel blocks and tried glue basting for the first time to secure the rings.  So far it’s been an effective way to hold them in place as I’ve been carrying this project around in my car for nine months!  I chose Anna Maria Horner’s Pretty Potent fabrics for the project and the more I sew the more I love it.

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I’ve got 22 blocks finished, which is about half of them.  It was fun to lay them out and see how pretty they all look together!  I used a variety of swiss dot fabrics for the backgrounds, and I really love that element as well.

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It’s been great to have something to keep me busy when I’m sitting in carpool lines at schools or waiting for practices and lessons to end.  It will be fun to finish the remaining blocks and decide what my next hand sewing project will be!

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Jennifer Linking here

Spools Mini Quilt


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I participated in the Secret Sister Swap at Quilt Bliss, and was happy to have Lori assigned to me.  When I read her list of preferences, the first thing I noticed was that she loves blue fabric.  A girl after my own heart!  After some back and forth and stressing about what to make, I settled on the Spools Mini quilt from the Liberty Love book.

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I pulled some favorite blue fabrics and settled on a scrappy low volume background.

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The block was fun to make and came together quickly and precisely.  I think this one was my favorite:

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The final product:

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I would quilt it differently if I made it again.  I chose straight line quilting in a diagonal grid, but wish I’d done some free motion quilting on each spool.  I was nervous, however, because I’m out of practice and even when I’ve been practicing my fmq leaves much to be desired.  So I went with something I knew I could do, but I’m not sure it was the best choice for this mini.  Still, I do like it and I was out of time so it had to work!

A couple of things I re-learned in making this mini:
1.  When I sew for myself, it’s generally relaxing.  When I make a gift, I generally enjoy it.  When it’s a swap, I’m a total stress case.
2.  I really, really love low-volume fabrics, backgrounds, everything.  The trend hasn’t bothered me a bit and I’m not at all tired of it.  I love the visual interest it gives a quilt.  Low-volume makes me happy.

And there you have the story of this mini quilt.

I hope Lori enjoys it!

Quilty Magazine COVER!!!


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I shared this on Instagram early in March, but haven’t yet shared it here.  I had the opportunity last year to design a quilt and send it off to Quilty Magazine.  Imagine my total shock when I opened a nondescript manila envelope with my name on it and saw my quilt on the cover.  On the cover!

When I first saw it, I was speechless as I processed what I was looking at.  And then I held it up in the air and started jumping up and down and sort of screamed to my family what it was.  We were in the middle of finishing the dishes after our Sunday dinner and they all turned and stared at me, trying to figure out what on earth I was screaming for.  Then I started laughing and crying and my husband started filming and they all started laughing at me.  Trust me, not one of them had ever seen me behave like that before.  In fact, I don’t think I ever remember behaving like that before.  It was terribly funny.

But the fact is, even after looking at it for three weeks, I kind of can’t believe it.  My quilt.  Published.  It’s all so strange and yet such a happy gift.  They did a beautiful job of photographing it and the quilt arrived home this week.  I’m excited to take some pictures of my own and share more.

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The quilt pattern is available here (called Prosper, my original name for it).  It’s a big block that’s dramatic and fun to make.  I still can’t believe my work ended up on the cover.  Shocked and honored and giddy and all sorts of emotions.  Crazy!

Jennifer

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