Jen Kingwell Halo Quilt Finished!

I finished piecing this quilt in September of last year (no I didn't remember this info, I just went back and saw my post on Instagram), and I finally finished hand quilting it last month. I have a good excuse for why it took so long... I was making two other quilts for my son who was getting married. That will be another post, but today, I am ready to share this one. The pattern is designed by one of my most favorite Aussie quilt designer Jen Kingwell and called Halo.

Not only do I love scrappy quilts, I just love her authentic design and warmth. To kick start this quilt, I went through all my fabrics from scrap bins to fat quarters to larger pieces. It was so fun to coordinate fabrics and unexpectedly to find great combinations. That is one of the thrills of quilt making in my opinion.

I started a quilt group over a year ago and we meet twice a month. I hand quilted this during those times and machine pieced other quilts when I was by myself. Oh, how I love the look of the stitches going through the quilt!

When people ask me who this quilt is for; my answer is, "For me!". I will have some posts soon about my son's quilt and his wedding quilt. Until then, Happy quilting!

Dresden Plate Quilt from the Past

I was going to post this quilt last year when I finished appliqueing all around the border, but I didn't. I guess I started working on the other quilt while I started hand quilting this one and kind of forgot to post it. Let me tell you a little bit about this quilt...

Why is the title "Dresden Plate Quilt from the past"; you might ask? I actually started making this quilt over 22 years ago. Sometime in my 2nd or 3rd trimester of my first pregnancy, for some reason, I thought I was going to have a baby girl. Please don't ask me why, I don't even remember. I jumped into this quilt project and appliqued all the main blocks and pieced them. Then at my ultrasound, I found out that I was being blessed with a boy! I put away the quilt top deep into my craft bin and forgot about it. I made lots of boy quilts for my boys and time went by... every time we moved, I would reencountered the unfinished quilt top, but then I would put it away again. A couple years ago, I had an impression that I needed to finish all the projects I started in the past; well, I have no strict time limits, but I decided that I shouldn't neglect them anymore. I pulled out this quilt top and designed the whole border applique and worked on it.

It was a lot of work, but I love how it turned out!

I started hand quilting it last year and I am still working on it. I usually have multiple projects going on at once, so I only hand-quilt whenever I feel like it. The process is slow, but I enjoy the time. I guess I could give it to my daughter, or one of my future granddaughters.
It is never too late to finish a quilt from the past.