Susan Keck sent me this photo of her Whimsical Garden quilt. This is her 2nd quilting project ever and she won best of show!
Susan, I’m proud of you for tackling this as a new quilter. You have sewing skills and it shows. Well done and may you continue to have many happy stitches as you start on Steve’s Birds, in wool!
Marion Stolmeier from Sale City, GA, sent me these photos of her newly finished Butterfly Garden quilt. It’s a breath of spring-like air :-).
She wrote: “I just wanted to share my version of your butterfly garden quilt with you and say thank you for the great pattern. I altered it a little bit by turning the rows of tulips on the sides. I made the quilt a couple of years ago but didn’t have the confidence to quilt it until now. I’m so happy with it. Happy Quilting!
Thank you, Marion, for sharing your quilt with us. You did a great job on the applique and on the quilting!
Connie Werner sent me a photo of her completed Birds in Toyland quilt and it is fantastic! She changed the design of the top, center, block making the tree bend over with the big ornament. That is super cute and I wish I had thought of it myself!
Connie was in one of the original live Birds in Toyland classes that I taught on Creative Spark during the pandemic. She wrote: “This is my finished Birds in Toyland. Your class made COVID shutdown much happier. Thank you for all your wonderful teaching.“
Connie, you are very welcome. This quilt made lots of us happy during that long, trying time—and if you haven’t made it yet, it can still make you happy! You can find the online class here, or the book here. Happy stitching!
Peggy Schemenauer sent this photo of her Aunt Millie’s Garden quilt that she machine appliquéd and was long arm quilted by Debbie Ramsey, completed in 2005. The color scheme is happy and the layout has space to let the blocks breathe.
I love the scallops around the blocks! They are similar to but very different from the scallops in Nancy Arseneault’s quilt from a previous post.
Alice Smith sent this photo and she wrote:
“I have always loved this pattern and finally jumped in and made it. It wasn’t quick but I persevered and eventually it was finished. The red background always intrigued me so I wanted to do the same which did turn out challenging. During COVID lockdown I spent a lot of time in my sewing room making the flying geese for the sashing I designed. I am so happy with how it turned out. Thank you to you and Linda for your wonderful patterns. (PS this one was in the AQS 2023 Paducah Show)”
The red background is beautiful and eye-catchiing. I love the way you arranged the colors of the flying geese… they quietly lead your eyes through the quilt. Well done!
Nancy Arseneault sent 2 photos of her almost completed Aunt Millie’s Garden. I love everything about this quilt! Notice the scallops inside the sashing… so cute! The background has a gingham-like appearance that, when combined with the sunny orange and grassy green, makes me think of a picnic on a beautiful day. Happy!
Nancy wrote:
I think it should be called The Long and Winding Road.
When Covid hit and I was secluded, this is the first pattern I grabbed. I made the blocks with prepared edge invisible machine applique and set them together. Then I set them aside to await a border. A few months later, I was diagnosed with a serious disease which claimed the next 2 years of my life. No sewing for me at all.
Finally I pulled out the quilt and figured out a border that I could accomplish. The sewing was challenging but it brought me back to myself. I’m not able to manage the quilting part right now so I sent the quilt to Jan Hutchison to be quilted. I’m so happy with the way it turned out. Now I have only to block and bind it. Since I’ve so enjoyed all the photos of this pattern on your blog lately, I decided to show you this one in the works. Nancy Arseneault, Santa Fe NM
Nancy’s story is not picnic-like, but there is joy in this quilt! Nancy, it’s nice to know you are sewing again!
Diane Kirwan sent this photo of her quilt, saying: “I so enjoyed make it Aunt Millie. I felt it deserved custom quilting.”
I love the cool, calm, collected colors that Diane put together. I do not usually have this much self-restraint which makes me appreciate it even more 🤣.
Cathy’s color palette includes all the colors in a thoughtful and balanced layout. Purple sashing adds visual unity to the quilt as a whole. Cathy writes:
Here is my version of Aunt Millie’s Garden. I loved making this quilt and seeing other people’s interpretations. My quilt won a blue ribbon earlier this year at our Pride of the Prairie Quilt Guild show. Your appliqué patterns are among my favorite and I’ve made several over the years. Thanks for being here and being you.
It’s fun to see these quilts together. Each is wonderful in its own way. Thank you, Diane and Cathy, for sharing your quilts with us!