I found some batik strips one evening as I was going through a tote of fabric and decided to see what I could make. I thought about what I could do and then settled on the idea of sign language. I sketched an “I love you” sign and heart. From there, I was able to make a matching set of wall quilts.
I believe these have been claimed, but I’ll update this post if I’m wrong. I’m very happy with how these have come out, and I’m loving the sign language idea and will probably make another set at some point.
This little quilt started off very simple but took a turn for the inspiring. Let me explain…
When I first started getting together a booth to do craft fairs, I needed some demo quilts to help people see the options for t-shirt quilt blocks and styles. I went to the local thrift store and found several shirts from a couple of the local high schools. I was one block short for one of them when I found a shirt for the Amanda Riley Foundation. It was the same colors as the school, but I wasn’t sure if it was connected. I figured the shirt was cheap enough to take a gamble and I’d look it up when I got home.
Turns out it was connected to the school in a big way. Amanda had been a student there, very involved with the school, when she was diagnosed with cancer in 2009. She fought long and hard, but she passed away in 2010. Her parents set up this foundation to help support children and their families as they battle cancer.
To say I’m in awe of this couple is putting it lightly. They lost their child and resisted, what I imagine, is the urge to retreat inward. They saw their own experience and used it as motivation to reach out and support others in similar situations. To fall in love with them and their cause as well, check out their explanation of why they do what they do.
Back to the quilt….
So as I was putting this quilt together, I noticed one of the other shirts I’d grabbed was from the same year Amanda Riley was a student. It was an impulse that made me stop and scan the names to see, but, sure enough, her name was there as one of the school’s peer leaders. I couldn’t believe it!
To help raise funds for the foundation, her school has a Riley Run and Carnival FUN Day. I got a vendor booth at their show a couple of years ago. While there, I made sure to show her mother, Mrs. Barbara Riley, the demo quilt with the coincidental Amanda link. Then she pointed out something that gave me goosebumps. She mentioned I’d gotten her basketball number as well. You see, at the thrift store I’d found a #2 reversible basketball jersey and used both sides in the quilt. So the corners both have the number 2 in them. Turns out Amanda’s number was 22. I had no idea, guys, but her mother saw it immediately.
As I’ve done more shows with more ready made quilts on hand, I started only putting up one demo quilt. I knew what I had to do when I realized I could retire one of the demo quilts forever. I messaged the foundation through their Facebook page and got in contact with mom. I’m happy to say that I was able to finally gift her the quilt earlier this week. I hope it brings her comfort as she and her family continue their ministry to other families as they navigate childhood cancer.
A while back, I made a couple of Star Wars themed wall quilts. Two of them were Luke right before he became one with the Force and another two were of Rey and BB8. They were well received, and I’d always planned on making another set. When I finally got around to making them, I did another Rey and BB8 but decided to do a Mandalorian inspired one instead of Luke.
It was claimed before it was finished! I love when that happens.
While at the fabric store, I saw a jelly roll that would make for a nice sunset background, so I grabbed it and inserted other colors from fabric at home. I ended up making about eight backgrounds. Four of them were dedicated to more Mandalorian quilts.
I loved the image where he and the Child are looking at one another, so I went with that one. I tried to give the background quilting pattern a “heat wave” effect. I’ve finished one, and it’ll be delivered today. I have the tops of the other three ready to be quilted.
I went to the fabric store for something specific. I wasn’t shopping for random fabric. I didn’t plan for this. Didn’t ask for this. Didn’t look for this.
But I’m oh so glad it did!
I found fabric based on Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and it’s precious! Some of the fabric features her quotes, some her glasses, some her iconic collars, and my favorite – her small figure with a crown (a nod to her nickname the “Notorious R.B.G.” which is a play off the Notorious B.I.G., rapper Biggie Smalls.)
I mulled over how best to do justice to this Justice that I’ve long admired, and I finally settled on a sort of “dancing” block where the block is tilted and framed. I was surprised when it turned out to have an almost retro look by the end of it. And I was on a roll, so I made two of them. I have just enough fabric left to do a third at some point and maybe a doll quilt or two.
This quilt is particularly personal for me. I’ve loved the movie The Last Unicorn since I was a child. And when I was expecting my daughter, I got the chance to have a chat with the author of the original novel, Peter S. Beagle, at a convention. (We spoke about censorship and The Canterbury Tales, if you must know.) To say this story impacted my love of fantasy is putting it lightly. I owe so much to this film and to Mr. Beagle.
I made this wall quilt as a testament to my own childhood and all those who felt likewise. I used satin on the figures to ensure they stood out from the cotton fabric in the background. The unicorn was tough to cut out and harder to applique down because she had so many small, wavy details that are typical of the Rankin/Bass drawing style. The red bull looked fine, but when quilting I added red thread flames all over him and then went back and added a small layer of yellow thread flames along his back to be similar to the animated version. Overall, I was so happy with how it looked that I made a second one to possibly keep.
The film is much beloved in my house to this day as well. As an adult, I’ve shifted from thinking I’d be the magical Lady Amalthea in the story to identifying more with Molly Gru. In fact, when I heard Molly’s rant about the unicorn appearing to her when she was older and no longer innocent as an adult, I cried. So this story really does keep on giving.
I’ve been wanting to make a Star Trek quilt for a long time. I do have some actual licensed fabric, but I wanted to make something a little more organic for this first attempt. I knew I wanted the major players of the original crew going from Kirk on through Chekov. I made silhouettes for each of them. I ended up redoing Bones and Sulu because their silhouettes were missing their character.
Sulu really took some thinking. I’ll admit I was trying to keep them as a general figure and not specific to an episode, but I broke that rule for Sulu and gave him back his sword from the episode “The Naked Time.” I did opt to leave his shirt on, though!
Making sure I found a blue and yellow hue that matched the uniform was important, and I ended up being pretty happy with my selections even though they were a mottled pattern instead of a solid color.
To get all seven silhouettes in, I ended up having to make this a twin size. I’ll experiment with making a lap size one before too long.
This is the first quilt I’ve made to sell that I’ve considered keeping instead.
I found this fabric a good while back. If I had to guess, I’d say I got it at a black Friday sale a few years ago. I thought it was cute, and sloths are fun, especially when doing yoga. I’d gone through several ideas on which pattern to use, and I finally decided to go with a disappearing 9-patch. I’ve done a couple of others in this design and loved them.
I had just enough of the sloth fabric to make two lap quilts and one matching doll quilt. As always, the name of the game is to use fabric I already have in my fabric stash. That being the case, each of the lap quilts has a different shade of aqua as a result. But I am happy I was able to manage to stick to my goal. The backing ended up being brown flannel-backed satin. I just LOVE the way it hangs and how it feels. I can easily see some toddler using this as a lovey.
The doll quilt is fun because I managed to duplicate the disappearing 9-patch pattern. For reference, the lap quilts were used with 6″ blocks, and the doll quilt was used with 2″ blocks. I’m rather enjoying these little mini-masterpieces!
I made these for the craft fair inventory, so they aren’t going up on Etsy. However, if you’re interested, please contact me.
A while back my aunt commissioned a quilt, and I’ve been working on it in between t-shirt quilts. Funny enough, everyone staying home has led to a lot of people getting around to overdue projects – including getting their shirts made into t-shirt quilts. So for me, the pandemic led to a slight increase in commissions.
As of this morning, I was able to finish the top. I still need to buy the backing this afternoon. It’s mostly red and white fabric, so that rightfully terrifies me as red fabric is notorious for bleeding dye. All the fabrics have been pre-washed, but I’m still somewhat holding my breath. I’ll be using the some of the Retayne dye-set to help ensure no surprises from the red fabric.
The challenge with this quilt was translating the pattern from a single image from the show When Calls the Heart. It’s a Hallmark show, and the quilt comes up in season 5. I’m honestly really surprised the quilting community hasn’t already jumped on this. From what I can tell, it’s applique hearts, lap-sized, and a tie quilt. For longevity purposes, I’ll be quilting it closely instead of tying it. The original image shows 12 blocks that look to be about 15″x 15″ with a 2″ sashing around each. To make this quilt into a king size, I kept the original block size but made the sashing 3″. I increased the amount of blocks from 12 to 25.
So all that’s left now is to get the backing and quilt it. It looks like it has fold over binding which is great because that’s my normal binding style.
Hey everyone, I’m still working on getting my Christmas commissions completed, but I took a break earlier to make some wall hangings. I made a Rey and BB8 silhouette wall hanging as well as two rainbow guitar wall hangings. The guitar quilts are very popular, so I think they’ll sell fairly quickly. I’ve made two Rey and BB8 wall hangings before, and they went fast as well, so I’m hoping little Baby Yoda and the Mandalorian haven’t outshined my girl Rey as far as searches and gifts go. I’ll add these to the store page in a bit.
I’m all up and ready as tomorrow is Small Business Saturday! Here’s hoping some of the smaller crafters are feeling the love tomorrow as the holiday season kicks in to full gear.
The Yellow Daisy Festival Online Market begins on Tuesday, Sept 8th. In anticipation of this, I’m making some posts about the quilts I have ready to go. Each day I’ll feature two or three quilts and tell about their process and what I like most about them. These and other quilts can be found in the Quest Quilts shop on this website or in my Etsy shop.
These quilts were made using one of my favorite forms – the silhouette. I’ve used it for many quilts before these, and I just love it. The idea that you can convey detail and form with just an outline fascinates me.
The wine quilt was one of two that I had made, but the other one sold rather quickly. This one can be draped across a couch or even hung on a wall with the proper curtain hardware. It features a wine bottle and white wine glass silhouette with complimentary wine-themed fabric. In the black area I kept up the theme with a vine quilting pattern. I love this style of quilt and think it would fit in nicely with any wine-enthusiast decor.
The next silhouette set features the often overlooked viola. I like having a silhouette inverted set and think it lends some fun and style to any decor. This set already has a hanging sleeve attached to each hanging. These are meant specifically to be wall hangings. They would look great in any musician’s home or in a school orchestra room. The cool blue, green, silver, and gray tones help it maintain a gender neutral look.
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