Tag: quilt

ASL Wall Quilt Set

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.

The Demo Quilt with a Deeper Meaning

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.

Mandalorian Wall Quilt

Update – there are a couple of these now listed in the shop! You can buy through this site’s shop OR through Etsy.

Click here for the Etsy shop.

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.

Ruth Bader Ginsburg Quilt

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.

I think these will do well at the craft shows.

The Last Unicorn Wall Quilt

Update: There are two now listed for sale on our Etsy page. Click here for link.

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.

Thank you, Peter S. Beagle, for everything.

Love, Kira.

Yoga Sloth Quilt

Here is the Etsy link to this quilt.

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.

When Calls the Heart Quilt

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.

Goals for 2021

I started to write a reflection of this past year, but, honestly, I’m ready to just start looking ahead.

My hopes for this upcoming year have a couple of layers.

From a business standpoint, I have a couple of things left I want to get for my booth.

  1. I want to use some second-hand folding shelves I bought online to make a checkout booth. I was thinking about myself as a customer and realized that I really liked it more when the sales person was at a checkout stand. I felt freer to walk around and look. So I’m taking a cue from myself and working on making one of those.

2. I’d also like to get some padded roof pads, so I can place my grid walls there instead of scraping up the inside of my husband’s Explorer again. It would be nice to drive to shows without having grid walls blocking one side of my car.

3. I also need to get a new phone – if I’m being completely honest with myself here. Mine is old, but I’m stubborn when it comes to replacements.

4. Participate in some new shows for the fall 2021.

From an artist standpoint, I have a LOT of quilts I want to make and have on hand for shows. Here’s a short list of some of my more creative ambitions.

  1. Star Wars quilts – lightsaber duels, they just sell too well to not have one on hand.

2. Mandalorian wall quilt – I had the one I made get claimed before it was even finished!

3. Sloth quilt – that fabric is too cute to have gone this long without being made in to something.

4. Hocus Pocus quilt – the last one sold fairly quickly, and it was fun to make something in the “crazy quilt” style.

5. More doll quilts – they are really fun, and I like the satisfaction of experimenting within a smaller size.

6. Christmas snow globe quilt – I saw some designs online and am wanting to try my own spin.

7. Potty Mouth Quilts – I wanted to make a small line of quilts with grown-up words on them. I like the contrast of a wholesome, traditional craft and a vulgar phrase. Maybe something is wrong with me here, but I won’t be happy until I’ve tried it at least once.

8. Bargello quilts – I made the rainbow and northern lights ones a while back, and I’m geared up to make more.

9. Mariner’s Compass – I just really like making these. They’re so satisfying.

10. I Spy quilt – I have been sorting little 2″ squares for a planned pattern for an I spy quilt with a geometric twist.

11. Zombie girl Pin Up quilt – the first one I made was so much fun!

12. Baseball girl Pin Up quilt – the other pin up girl quilt was so fun, I wanted to keep a good thing going.

13. Crayon quilt – this was such a cute quilt, and I really want to make another one. They are also good scrap-busters.

14. I’m also wanting to possibly make some adult bibs since there seems to be a need for them. I’d make some pretty, but I’d probably focus on making them silly. A little humor goes a long way.

Small Business Saturday

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.

An update – and a new toy!

It’s been a bit since I posted. After the Yellow Daisy Festival bonanza, I have been concentrating on commissions. But even better than that – I upgraded my quilting frame! I’m so excited. I was able to pay for it up front with nothing but funds I’d earned through quilting. This weekend I’m going to finish my current commission top and give the new frame a go.

It’s a Handiquilter Studio2 Frame. My previous one was a Little Foot 5′ frame. This new one is 12′, so I will never have to juggle around a large quilt ever again. I spent most of my quilting time just rearranging those large quilts around on that tiny frame. I’m also proud that I built this all by myself. I just love working with my hands. Any women’s construction companies around Atlanta? I’m your girl!

By the way, the older frame, the 5′ Little Foot frame, is up for sale. Message me for more info if you’re interested. It’s great if you’re wanting to start out with a mid-arm machine. It fits a HQ Simply 16. Thankfully, my machine fits the new frame beautifully.

My Little Foot 5′ frame. It’s been partially disassembled in this picture.

Here are some progression pictures with the completed frame at the end.

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