Quest Quilts

Online Market Quilt Showcase 10 – Bookshelf Wall Hangings

The Yellow Daisy Festival Online Market begins on Tuesday, Sept 8th. In celebration 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 were some fun wall hangings I made to resemble a bookshelf. I made too many “books” for a bookshelf quilt a while back, and they’d been sitting around for a while. Originally I was going to make another larger quilt, but the idea of a smaller wall hanging was too tempting.

When I made these, I had in mind that someone could take them and get them personalized with their favorite book titles. I imagined them in a classroom or even in an office or library. I went ahead and put hanging loops at the top, so a cafe rod would be perfect.

I’ve sold a third one already, and the friend who bought it did end up getting titles embroidered. It looks gorgeous!

She took it to a local shop and got all her favorite titles embroidered. I love the final look!

Online Market Quilt Showcase 9 – Science, Firefighters, and Boy Scout Quilts

These four quilts are rounding out the kids’ quilts series. The firefighter quilts come in two sizes. One is 4′ x 5′ and the other is 4′ x 4′. I always thought they would make a great set for an older sibling and a new baby. They feature firefighters and fire engines that have a sort of vintage look. Again, I rather like the non-cartoon look, especially in quilts for younger kids because I feel like they’ll outgrow them slower. Of course, these would also be good quilts for…you know…actual fire fighters. I tried hard to make these fun without being overly childish.

I actually have two of the Boy Scout quilts as well. These are neat because they have smaller details in the fabric. Look closely at some and you’ll see the Oath. My favorite fabric on these quilts is the knot fabric, but the merit badges design is a close second. They have flannel on the back, and I thought they might make a great cover while on a camp out. I played around with the mosaic design here and ended up liking the effect.

I’ll admit something about this science quilt – I thought it would have sold long before now. I just love it. All the periodic table and elements and lab equipment and formulas are so neat and quirky. I love how it could be for a small child but just as easily for a chemistry major in college. I added a matching bib as well because a cute little STEM baby is perfect. The blue flannel backing makes is extra cozy.

Online Market Quilt Showcase 8 – Rainbow Mariner’s Compass Quilt

I’m going to be honest here; this quilt is my pride and joy. It’s a technique called paper piecing, and, as you can imagine, is quite time consuming. I’d wanted to make something like this for ages and had the paper templates printed over a year ago at least. They’d sat in a box in my sewing stuff, and I’d all but forgotten about them. When Covid hit, I had the time to focus on something that would take a while to do. I’d made a couple of these before, so I knew it would be a commitment.

I’m in love with the colors and really wanted to show a gradient with the rainbow shades. I’m proud that I was able to use all fabric that I already had on hand except for the white fabric. The border was an afterthought when I realized it needed something it help bring all the colors in line. The backing was fabric I’d bought on a whim, but I was in love with it. I used the rainbow on it to adjust the colors on the front. This has to be one of the prettiest ones I’ve made; it’s certainly one of the more technically difficult. My hope is that it finds a home where someone will hang it on a wall as a central focal point.

Online Market Quilt Showcase 7 – Unicorn and Dragon quilts

The unicorn quilt began with one simple, silly goal. I wanted to make the absolute stereotypical girliest quilt ever. I included unicorn fabric, sparkly pink fabric, pinwheels, and a smooth hot pink flannel-backed satin for the backing. Even the quilting pattern was in theme as I drew hearts, stars, and flowers throughout the quilt. I have also made a matching bib for those who thought this would make a great baby shower gift. I do think this may be my most over the top quilt to date!

The dragon quilt was fun to do because the fabric itself isn’t over the top. It has a stylish East Asian design that includes a dragon motif. I like this one because it isn’t over the top and would look nice in a lot of living areas and not just in one of someone who was dragon obsessed. This quilt strikes me as great for someone who maybe likes anime but is also trying to have a more mature presence. Like the other quilt, this one was part of a run I did when I was very fascinated with flannel-backed satin. It just feels so awesome that I ended up making several quilts with that fabric on the back.

Online Market Quilt Showcase 6 – kids quilts

This evening features a Care Bears quilt, a Justice League quilt, and a Muppet quilt.

I often like to play a game where I find some fabric that is interesting, and then I see what I have at home and try to build a quilt around that fabric just from my fabric stash. These quilts are just some of the results of that little game.

I bought the Care Bears fabric from a fellow quilter who was moving, and I let myself go full 80’s nostalgia. I actually had a fair amount still left over, so I was able to use it for the backing as well. I like the colors on this because they’re gentle without being overly feminine. Part of me thinks this quilt would be awesome as a baby shower or toddler gift for a mom like me who grew up watching Care Bears. It’s a definite throwback once you realize I was also able to work in some Star Buddy fabric as well!

The Justice League quilt came about because I’d been holding on to some neat fabric and finally was able to make a quick, fun quilt with it. My favorite part of this quilt, though, is definitely the smooth backing that is flannel-backed satin. I like to think some child with a sensory issue would particularly like it as it seems to be made for rubbing between two little fingers. It does come with a reversible bib the feature comic book word splashes.

The last one in this series is a fun little Muppet quilt that features the old gang from the original Muppet Show! The feature fabric was fairly busy, so I had to try and build a quilt around it that would make the feature fabric pop without everything being overly busy. I focused on less typically feminine colors because part of me thought that a more mature Muppet fan might also like it. It does also come with a matching Muppet bib for the younger fans, though.

Online Market Quilt Showcase 5 – twin size quilts

I have two twin size quilts that are ready to go. One is a gorgeous pattern that features a rainbow-colored medallion with nature images inside. I couldn’t decide which color I wanted to bring out in the medallion, so I went for all of them. The color variations give this a neat, whimsical look. I imagine it on the bed or draped on the couch of a lady who loves to garden and spend her days outdoors. It could also be perfect for a little girl who is obsessed with rainbows and outdoors. I decided to finish this off with a leaf quilting pattern.

The train quilt was originally meant to be a lap quilt, but it was so long that I realized I could make it a twin size very easily. I really love the 3-D shadowbox effect and decided that the train panels needed to be shown off through that style. The back is blue flannel, so it’s especially warm for those cold nights. I like the train pictures on this one because they aren’t overly cartoonish. I feel like if this were purchased for a child, the child would like it for a good, long time. But I also feel like it would do well for an adult, too. It would make an awesome quilt for an easy char.

Online Market Quilt Showcase 4 – T-shirt and Memory Quilts

This evening I’m featuring my other service. A large part of my business is from t-shirt quilt commissions. I use all sorts of materials and have sewn/quilted fabric as thin as a nightie to as thick as hockey socks. Jerseys, t-shirts, uniforms, jeans – I’ve incorporated them all. I offer anywhere from lap to king size. Take a look at the T-shirt Quilts page for more information.

If you’ve never considered or don’t know where to start when it comes to t-shirt and memory quilts, here is an article I published in my community magazine on tips and what to look for when commissioning a t-shirt or memory quilt. I hope you find it useful.

This is a standard style – nothing fancy.

This is a one featuring borders.

Braves t-shirt quilt from when they won the World Series

This one features borders with squares at the intersections.

A lacrosse coach quilt. This is an in-progress picture because I forgot to take a picture when it was finished.

This one features a mixture of sizes I like to refer to as “jigsaw” style.

Here are some of the less conventional styles I’ve used for a more creative slant.

Online Market Quilt Showcase 3 – silhouette quilts

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.

Online Market Quilt Showcase 2 – the child’s quilt sets with matching teddy bear/doll quilt

These quilts were made originally just to be children’s quilts, but as I finished up I realized there was enough fabric left over to make a smaller version for a doll or teddy bear. It was a lot of fun trying to make sure I had the proportions correctly scaled down so it would look like a convincing miniature. I’ll admit I’m very proud of the way these turned out.

The llama set came when I bought some llama fabric on a whim at a Black Friday sale. As I was looking it over, I really wanted a pattern that would do it justice. One of my favorite things to do when making these ready-made quilts is to experiment. I tried a pattern I’d been meaning to try for ages – the disappearing 9-patch. It’s a neat pattern that can give a quilt a busy and whimsical feel, and I felt that it would compliment the llama and cactus fabric perfectly. Scaling it down for a mini-quilt was a fun challenge, and I think I nailed it.

The dinosaur fabric was bought at the same time as the llama fabric if memory serves correctly. I really liked the colors and detail in this fabric, and I couldn’t figure out a way to cut it to where the pattern was emphasized. I’d run in to this problem once before, so I decided to do the same style. I went with long horizontal cuts and set them off with a mixture of colors and widths to make sure it wasn’t too tidy-looking. The other fabric is dinosaur footprints, and I decided to use it as a sort of buffer for that middle section, giving the pattern a nice visual stratification. I actually had fun scaling the little color strips down for the mini-quilt.

When I made these, I was envisioning some child toting it around and tucking in a doll, teddy bear, or other stuffed animal beside them at nap time. They’re meant to be used and loved and are easily washed on cold and dried on medium in your own home.

Online Market Quilt Showcase 1 – the Shabby Chic duo

These two quilts were made in anticipation for a Vintage Market Days show last spring. Most of my quilts have bright colors and maybe more whimsical designs, so I wanted a couple that would blend in better with that Southern Living style decor that most of the other vendors had.

**Update – the beige chevron lap quilt has sold. The one with the brown diamond pattern is still available.

These were both made from a layer cake I had as well as a burning passion to show that I could master the half-square triangle. I like the softer colors and the more traditional piecing. But I especially like the dark brown offset fabric in the second one They are both lap size, 4′ x 5′. They have tea-dyed muslin backing to give them that extra “homey” look. I played around with vine-style quilting on one and a leaf pattern quilting for the other.

When I made these, I was thinking about how they’d look draped across a couch or chair in a living room or across a rocking chair in a nursery. The soft pink, beige, and green colors would lend themselves well to a classy-looking nursery that wasn’t overly cartoonish. They would look fantastic as a wall-hanging as well.

But I’ve always gone for usefulness first and foremost. These are meant to be used and toted around. I could see them being draped on a pew during a service and tried to make them pretty enough to bring to church. They’re washable, and the close quilting ensures they’ll last for a good while.

I like the complimentary style of these as a possible set, too. They match, but they’re also individual. A set of twins might like them for that very reason.

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