Prosper Quilt Pattern + new quilt top

Once upon a time (or, nearly five years ago) I found a vintage quilt block that struck a chord with me.  That tiny image – called the prosperity block – became a project.  I eliminated y-seams and enlarged the block, sewed it all together and shipped my new quilt design off to Quilty Magazine.  To my complete surprise it ended up on the cover and I was elated.  Almost immediately followed a challenge in our family that rocked us and my creativity just dried up.  I couldn’t sew for months.  And so I never wrote my own pattern for the quilt.  Until now.  The Prosper Quilt Pattern is here !


In these photos I have remade the quilt using fabrics from Conservatory by Anna Maria Horner, chapter one release.  I wanted everything fresh in my mind while writing the pattern and using these three small collections was a great challenge for me.  These backlit photos create a lovely stained glass feeling that fits the mood of the Conservatory fabrics.


The Prosper Quilt Pattern is available for download in my Etsy shop.  When Quilty wrote the pattern for the magazine, they changed the fabric requirements.  I have kept my original requirements, making this a fat quarter friendly quilt.  Fabric cutting must be done carefully but I’ve made several of these and have always had success with fat quarters.  I named this pattern Prosper as well, one more way to preserve the vision and intent of my original design .


The blocks are gorgeous and so much fun to make.  The original quilt can be viewed here , and this is an all-solids version with different background colors .  I doubled the block size to make this barn style version and I’m working on a Christmas version that I’ll share soon.  The Prosper Quilt pattern is perfect for any style.  Purchase yours today!

Trinket Sew-Along: my first blocks



Alison Glass is hosting a sew-along for her pattern, Trinket.  The pattern is one I’ve had my eye on for months, so when she made the announcement I signed up immediately.  I am excited to improve my foundation paper piecing skills through this project, as well as to work on color and fussy cutting.  In preparation I dusted off my favorite tools for foundation paper piecing and printed the blocks.


I debated with myself over fabric choices as well as block size and decided to make two trinket quilts during the trinket sew-along.  For the first I am using my Alison Glass fabrics and scraps to make the original sized blocks.  I will make 2-3 of each block.  I considered some color scheme or designer to use that would be different from the quilt featured in the pattern, but since I’ve never made a quilt in the signature Alison Glass style, I will try it.


The more I thought about the name of the quilt, “trinket”, the more I thought about the trinkets I’ve collected.  Most of them are connected to memories of the beach.  This sew-along will be a fun opportunity to make a quilt honoring my favorite place and some treasured memories.  For this second version I enlarged the blocks approximately 140% and I will make just one of each block.


I started with this quilt with the Zuma fabric collection by Tula Pink.  It’s saturated with bold color and gorgeous artwork.  I’ll mix in other designers but for now these blocks make me smile.


The Trinket pattern is, so far, easy to follow.  The first block is simple and the blocks increase in difficulty as you sew through them.  I am glad that the first blocks are fast and easy. Hopefully my skills improve as the sew-along continues!

AMH Voile Quilt


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One of my best friends moved away this summer, something that’s always bittersweet.  I’m so thankful I know her and we were blessed to spend a lot of time together in the months before her move, which made it both harder and easier.

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I pulled out the voile quilt top that I pieced last year and decided it was the perfect thing to send with them to their new home.  The vibrant colors of the fabrics are a good combination of both our styles and backing it with the IKEA nummer fabric seemed a good choice.  I love the contrast and wish I wasn’t running out of that number fabric!  I have given away every quilt I’ve backed with it.

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The quilt is a simple patchwork design, comprised of 6″ (finished) squares and measures 90″ square.  Much as I love awesome quilt designs, there is something about patchwork that always makes me smile.  The best part of this quilt is the voile – such a soft, smooth hand and light weight.

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I quilted it myself in a simple cross hatch design on the diagonal through the center of each square and bound it in a black and white houndstooth print.   It feels good to have finished something, and even better to have sent it on it’s way!  It’s finish #5 for 2014.   I think I may need to get out the rest of that voile fabric and make another.

Have a great day!

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