Believe Circle Quilt Plans for September - Fire and Ice

It's my turn to choose our quilt design for the Believe Circle. I was inspired this month by a quilt I saw on Pinterest. 

It's going to be a fire and ice quilt this month.

I know I'm early, but my first granddaughter will be making her way into the world sometime around August 30, and I know as soon as that action starts, bee blocks will be far from my mind. So here they are, early.

I did not have any particular block in mind, so I drew a few simple ones out and had some fun.

Lately, every time I sit down to play with blocks, some sort of chevron design shows up. I rolled with it this time and let the neutrals take the stage with this block.

For the mixed block, I went for an improv fire.

And since there were already some strips cut from the second block, this third, very hot block was created.

Instructions for Believe Circle Members:

Make three 6 1/2" blocks this month. You may use any design you like... nine-patch, four-patch, stars, half square triangles, paper piecing, improv ...anything goes. 

One block should be neutrals, one block should be a mix of neutrals and "hot" colors, and one block should be all "hot" colors. You can use solids or prints. 

Have fun!

Shadow Block Mini Quilt Quilt Along

Just two short days ago I received a note from Janice at Color, Creating, and Quilting sharing with me that she and her good friend Jen at A Dream and A Stitch wanted to do a quilt along using my Shadow Block Mini Quilt tutorial. How exciting is that?!

And they did not hesitate to get started. They have even set up a hashtag to share the finished mini quilts on Instagram (#shadowminiquilt). The big reveal day is August 29 so make a mini and join the fun. Janice and Jen have all the details over on their blogs so go check it out.

I am definitely joining in on the fun. It's time to make another Shadow Box Mini Quilt!

Thank you Janice and Jen for the quilt along. I can't wait to see what you create!

Memory Quilt Fit for a Queen

A Queen size bed, that is. This quilt is a commission memory quilt made from the night gowns of a special mom. Up until now, the memory quilts I have made were mostly from men's shirts. This is the first one I have done with pastels and florals. It was a sweet change of pace.

This is also the largest quilt I have ever made. It measures 91" x 114" and fits very nicely on a queen bed.

We covered all seasons with the gowns. There is seersucker and cotton knit, satin, and soft flannel. It is quite heavy since many of the fabrics required interfacing to stabilize them for a quilt.

The quilting was kept very simple. I used a cream 50 weight Aurifil thread to stitch through each block horizontally and vertically. Then I switched to a matching blue thread, also 50 weight Aurifil, to stitch down the center of all the sashing. All the crinkles are because the quilt has already been washed and dried, ready to be displayed on a bed or wrapped around a loved one.

The binding is the same blue fabric as the sashing and setting triangles. It is a Kona cotton in the color Evening. Such an appropriate color name for a quilt made out of night gowns.

I delivered this quilt to its owner this week. It was fun to watch her taking it all in. She knew stories behind each of these precious gowns and it was very special for me to share in just a tiny part of that.