This quilt was a long time in the making. I started the first blocks in the 2021 Quiltalong, using black and scraps of bright rainbow colors. I didn’t have a real plan or layout in mind, but I did plan to make all 12 Blocks of the Month, and turn them into a lap quilt at the end of THAT year.
Sawtooth Star, January 2021 BOM
But over the course of the year, some things changed; since not all of the BOM’s were the same size, I realized I needed to either resize some blocks or make a few different ones. I also realized that I had rainbow scraps in some colors, but not others, so I filled in here and there with random fat quarters.
Bento Box Block made for fun in 2021
Double Quartet made for fun in 2021
Heart Patchwork, February 2021 BOM, designed by @Edel
All Hallows Block made for fun in 2021
Annie’s Choice, made for fun in 2021
Noon and Light, made for fun in 2021
Since I enjoyed trying new blocks, I went a bit rogue, and just started trying random patterns. Sometimes people liked them and nominated them for later BOM’s. When that happened, I started remaking those blocks I had already created in Halloween fabrics, and continued through 2022, making blocks for both quilts, whenever I could. That meant I now had two growing piles of blocks without an endgame in mind.
Brown Goose (resized to 12"), March 2021 BOM
Lucky Clover Block, made for fun in 2021
Card Trick, April 2021 BOM
Churn Dash, made for fun in 2021
Pat’s Star, June 2021 BOM
Royal Star, March 2022 BOM
Then in late 2022, we decided to move from TN to IL. I tried to finish off as many WIPs as possible, but didn’t get to these. The blocks got packed up and put away for almost 9 months. During that time, I missed quilting terribly, and even with most of my supplies in storage in another state, I itched to quilt. So I started yet another set of BOM’s in a third style, out of a new fat quarter bundle! Now things were getting out of hand. I seriously needed to make some quilts with all of these blocks!
I decided to get all my WIP quilts done in the first quarter of this year. I started piecing the tops of two other quilts, when I bumped into these nearly forgotten blocks! I laid out what I had, removed a few that just didn’t fit in with the rest, and made three new blocks to even out my colors.
Cups & Saucers, made in 2024
Rainy Day, July 2023 BOM, made in 2024
Mosaic, August 2023 BOM, made in 2024
Finally it was time for sashing, cornerstones, and borders. I used more solid black for the sashing, and picked out the cornerstones from my stash of 2.5" squares. That’s when I also bumped into a huge pile of Leaders & Enders that I had made back in 2021. (Leaders & Enders are a way to keep your threads from tangling when you start sewing. But if you make them intentionally, you can turn them into blocks or a quilt later.) I had over a 100 pairs, in various scraps, already.
Leaders & Enders made from random scraps over the course of a few years.
I ironed and laid out what I had, trying to make a nice color wash around the whole thing. Though I had tons of L&E’s, there were certain colors that I didn’t have already made, so I pulled out some more 2.5" squares, and cut a few specific colors, to make about 40 more. The pieced border took 3 days to get put together (I can really only quilt during Ada’s nap time), but I’m so, so glad that I did it. I love how it looks, and how it really frames the quilt top.
The whole thing comes to 70" square. With the vibrant colors, it seemed like a perfect addition to our guest room, aka The Abbeeroad Room. When I went to lay it out on the bed, Ada decided she wanted to climb up and play a game of ‘Nap’ with her owl, from @AntBee. Now I’m contemplating making a throw pillow or bolster for the bed to go with it… Someone please remind me to finish the other two WIP’s first!
