The first quilts I ever made were for babies because it was a size I could manage when I was a teenager. I used to stretch the backing fabric on the carpet and pin it down so I could tie the fabrics and batting with yarn or embroidery floss. I made lots of baby quilts for my own babies and for my friends. I love this sweet little number because the fabrics are special remnants from my stash (my daughter’s first star quilts were made with these fabrics) and the super-soft minky on the back knocks my socks off! I kept the quilting simple so it wouldn’t detract from the pretty prints.
The Nitty Gritty
Pattern designer: Tascha Marie at Diamond J Quilting
Fabrics: Lily and Will by Bunny Hill Designs
Quilting motif name and designer: Globz by Melissa at Sew Shabby Quilting
Dimensions: 54.5” x 54.75”
Batting: 80/20 cotton/polyester
I started piano lessons when I was 37 and again in my 50s. It is hard. So hard. Making a piano keys border is not hard, and I love how it looks! I love the variety of the “keys.” I chose this Sweetwater panel about love because I believe it: love is kind and patient; love does not envy or boast; it protects and trusts; it hopes and believes; love never fails. I chose the wave of this quilting motif because, unlike love, I am not perfect and my efforts shift depending on the circumstances around me, yet I do my best to focus on loving others.
The Nitty Gritty
Pattern designer: Tascha Marie at Diamond J Quilting
Fabrics: Sweetwater Printworks panel with Urban Farmhouse Gatherings by Primitive Gatherings prints
Quilting motif name and designer: New Wave
Dimensions: 72.25” x 76”
Batting: wool
This quilting motif is called Florence and, when I saw it, I knew I needed it for this Sweetwater panel about love. Florence is my great-grandmother, and she was a teacher, too. Her mother Mary was a teacher, as were her son and grandson, and so am I. Yep, I am a fifth-generation teacher. If teaching is not a profession of love, I’m not sure what is. How can I teach my students if I don’t love them?
The Nitty Gritty
Pattern designer: Tascha Marie at Diamond J Quilting
Fabrics: Sweetwater Printworks panel with Urban Farmhouse Gatherings by Primitive Gatherings prints
Quilting motif name and designer: Florence by Melissa at Sew Shabby Quilting
Dimensions: 72.25” x 76”
Batting: wool
This happy quilt was a group effort. My friends and I traded trees so we could all have a large variety. We used Amy Smart’s pattern, but I created a few more sizes so our forests could have some short and wide trees, as well as tall skinny trees. I loved making these trees so much and putting fabrics together that I ended up making enough trees for three or four quilts! I think these little gnomes in the quilting motif are fun to look for, too. This is just a quilt of joy.
The Nitty Gritty
Pattern name and designer: Holiday Patchwork Forest from Amy Smart with adjustments from Tascha Marie at Diamond J Quilting
Fabrics: So many fabrics from several ladies’ stashes
Quilting motif name and designer: Gnomes 02 by Karen Marchetti
Dimensions: 70” x 84.25”
Batting: 80/20 cotton/polyester
Laying out this quilt was a group effort that started with two cousins and ended with my husband. I stopped in several quilt shops to buy more fabrics to create this beautiful flag. It was such an interesting experience for me. Usually when I make a quilt, I know just who it is for and I have chosen a pattern and fabrics with that person in mind. That loved one stays in my thoughts and heart as I spend the time cutting, sewing, pressing, quilting, and binding. As I went through the motions with this one, I kept hoping the right person would find the right flag quilt—a subtle flag with rich prints. I smiled to myself that the fabric designer is French General because the colonists might not have won independence from Britain without the help of the French! When I finished this quilt, oh, how I loved it! But I knew it wasn’t meant to be mine.
The Nitty Gritty
Pattern designer: Tascha Marie at Diamond J Quilting (inspired from lots of photographs)
Fabrics: several lines from French General
Quilting motif name and designer: Sublime by Kelly Gallagher Abbott at Jukebox Quilts
Dimensions: 82.25” x 58.5”
Batting: 80/20 cotton/polyester
I love how this quilt combines hearts and an Irish chain. I really enjoy family history and learning about my ancestors. I have been looking for records of my Great-great Grandma Johanna and her husband Dennis who immigrated to New York, in 1855. I think they left Ireland for Canada and then made their way across Lake Oswego. Her obituary in 1905 states that she “was an esteemed and well-known resident” of her community. I don’t know her, but I love her.
The Nitty Gritty
Pattern name and designer: Heirloom Hearts by Brittany at Lo and Behold Stitchery
Fabrics: From the Heart by Sandy Gervais and a bit of Notting Hill by Amy Smart
Quilting motif name and designer: Maggie’s Roses by Designs by Deb
Dimensions: 69.5” x 69”
Batting: wool
I have a pretty big soft spot for Halloween fabrics! I think they are so fun! When I saw this quilt tutorial from Miss Jenny, I knew I had to make a few of them! These fabrics are primarily from Riley Blake, but I added some oranges and blacks from my stash and from purchases made as I traveled across America, visiting family. I wanted the eyes, nose, and mouth to look like a candle was lit inside, so I chose fabrics with lots of white running through! I really love how this guy seems to peek around a corner. In the quilting motif, there are some ghosts that seem to be doing the same thing! Oh! This quilt has an extra touch on the back, too! The ricrac next to the binding makes me really happy! I hope some family loves snuggling in this as they watch Hocus Pocus!
The Nitty Gritty
Pattern name and designer: Peek-A-Boo Pumpkin from Jenny Doan at Missouri Star Quilt Company
Fabrics: Riley Blake bundle along with my stash
Quilting motif name and designer: unknown
Dimensions: 71.5” x 85”
Batting: 80/20 Cotton/Polyester
I really love a crisp-patterned batik and these Island Batiks are beautiful! The swirls of the quilting motif remind me of pumpkin vines. Some of these fabrics are from my stash and others I purchased as I travelled to the Seattle area and upstate New York, visiting family. I love how the eyes, nose, and mouth light up with the more yellow fabrics!
The Nitty Gritty
Pattern name and designer: Peek-A-Boo Pumpkin from Jenny Doan at Missouri Star Quilt Company
Fabrics: Island Batiks bundle along with my stash
Quilting motif name and designer: unknown
Dimensions: 71.25” x 84.25”
Batting: 80/20 Cotton/Polyester