Garden Party Quilt

When Maureen Fiorellini sought out talented sewists to showcase her latest masterpiece, the Garden Party collection for Studio e Fabrics, I eagerly stepped up to the plate. Bursting with the whimsy of strawberries, sunshine, ladybugs, hummingbirds, and playing cards, this collection swept me away with its charm. Enveloped in a soft, dreamy palette of blues, greens, yellows, and pinks, each fabric exuded its own story.


Maureen graciously sent me a delightful assortment of fat quarters, featuring twelve enchanting designs from the collection. Knowing that I had a limited quantity of fabric to work with, I immediately envisioned a scrappy design to maximize every precious inch. Despite juggling a hectic work schedule, I craved a project that was both swift and satisfying. My heart yearned for simplicity, coupled with the versatility of utilizing white precuts as a backdrop.



Delving into the realm of inspiration online, I stumbled upon the Crossroads design, a design that instantly resonated with me. This timeless quilt pattern intertwines 16-patch blocks with captivating X or Cross blocks, offering a canvas ripe for creative exploration. Armed with 5-inch precuts for my background fabric, I meticulously sliced my fat quarters into slender 2.75" strips, ensuring that each precious piece would find its place in the quilt.


Driven by the desire to maximize every last inch of fabric, I painstakingly pieced together my quilt, weaving a symphony of colors and patterns into a harmonious whole. With determination as my guide, I endeavored to expand the dimensions of my creation, pushing the boundaries of possibility with each carefully calculated stitch. In the end, my quilt unfurled to a magnificent 57" by 57", a testament to the power of ingenuity and resourcefulness.



As I embarked on the quilting journey, my trusty longarm machine became my faithful companion. Inspired by the timeless elegance of the orange peel motif, I knew that it was destined to adorn my creation. Using the Ruby Butler Robotics and the mesmerizing Jewel Orange Peel design by Epic Quilting Studio, I set to work, infusing my quilt with a touch of timeless sophistication.



In the end, as I gaze upon the finished masterpiece, I am filled with a profound sense of satisfaction. Each stitch, each seam, bears witness to the journey embarked upon—a journey fueled by passion, creativity, and the boundless beauty of the Garden Party collection.


Note - if this doesn't sound like me, you are right. I used ChatGPT to help me write this blog post because your girl Aimee is exhausted. Please send coffee.


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Delectable Mountain Quilt

One of the attorneys that I have worked with over the years is retiring soon. I will miss working with him. I wanted to make him a quilt to show my appreciation for always taking the time to walk me through all the legal options when  confronted with an  issue. I decided to make a Delectable Mountain Quilt for him in shades of green and blue in  a gradient.  


I had seen a few variations of this style of quilt made by Molli Sparkles. See an amazing rainbow version that he made HERE. While there really isn't a top or bottom to the quilt in reality, I envisioned it, and built it on my design wall, as pictured below. 


The finished quilt isn't quite a square - it is slightly longer in  one direction. I looks great sideways too.


Almost all of these fabrics came from my remnant/scrap bins. Many fabrics were random fat quarters that I had collected  over time. I did grab a few fabrics from my shelves of yardage to fill in some colors that I felt were missing. 


I wanted to make sure that all my directional fabrics were going in the same direction, but figuring our which way to cut fabrics just to get the right shaped mountains was hard enough and I decided not to worry about fabric direction. 


I tried to use as many nature themed fabrics as possible in this quilt. I even included some of the fabrics that I have designed that are based off of photos of rocks and minerals. 


This quilt was so fun to make and I want to make one for myself. I hope my friend loves this quilt and will think fondly of his time at EPA when he uses it/


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Twilight Garden Flannel Quilt

I was sent the Twilight Garden collection by Mary Jane Carey of Holly Hill Quilt Designs to sew up for Henry Glass Fabrics. This collection is printed on a two ply flannel and its oh so cozy.


I will admit that these colors are not my favorites. While I do love the dark plum color, I'm just not a fan of pastel colors. I struggled to decide on a quilt pattern to make and looked through my collection to find one I had not yet made. 


I selected the Melody Quilt pattern by Kitchen Table Quilting as I thought I would love the scrappy version with these fabrics. 


Unfortunately, I ended up not liking the darker plum sticking out so much more than all the lighter fabrics. I struggled with an arrangement of blocks that I felt was pleasing to the eye. I finally settled on orienting all the darker blocks in the same direction to give a visual flow. 


I feel like the lighter fabrics just get lost in the design and it was very hard to photograph to get the darker fabrics not looking too dark and not washing out the lighter designs. 


I backed the quilt with the leftover pieces of fabric and I used a cotton/poly batting when quilting it on my longarm. The seams on this quilt ended up being very bulky (the flannel back and batting did not help). My longarm would not go over them easily - I checked this before quilting. To combat the thickness, I decided to use the "A Wave in the Sand" pantograph from My Creative Stitches. This pantograph come in 3 widths and I selected the shortest width, then upscaled it on my Ruby Butler to make the lines farther apart. This worked out great and my quilt has such a great texture from the quilting.  


This quilt is probably the snuggliest and coziest quilt I have ever made. The flannel feels so good and it has a nice heft to it with the batting and a flannel back. 

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Black History Month Quilt Auction 2024

In honor of Black History Month starting on February 1st, I have made this quilt using African print fabrics and have it up for auction on eBay. You can find the listing HERE


The Ankara fabrics are a mix of wax prints, cotton, and cotton blends from House of Mami Wata. The solid black is from FreeSpirit Fabrics. 


The pattern I used is Underground by Villa Rosa Designs


I love how colorful these prints are. I took the photos at the Douglass Community mural in Plano. The mural is made of tile and is beautiful. 


I took the photos at the Douglass Community mural in Plano. The community was the original all Black community in Plano and named after Abolitionist Fedrick Douglass. 


The mural also depicts other prominent Black figures in Plano's history. 


I quilted the quilt on my longarm and used black thread. 


The backside is a cotton lawn. 


The print reminded me of some of the African prints. 


Bidding on this quilt will end on February 4th.   All proceeds will go to the NAACP legal defense and education fund. 

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Week ending January 21, 2024

I had a busy week with work, but I'm happy to report that I finished my Delectable Mountain quilt.  Here is where it was at the end of Monday.
I just had one row left. I laid them out on this cutting mat as I cut them.
It's been so cold and we have been running the fireplace in our bedroom every morning and evening. The cays love it and I keep my faux fur blanket there for them. I plan to make a long cushion to go here and I'm waiting on the fabric to get here. 
Here's a sneak peek at the finished quilt top.  It's too big for me to hold up.  I'm hoping to quilt it soon. 
I received a fat quarter bundle from Maureen Fiorellini of her newest collection for Studio e Fabrics. 
I got all my fabrics cut and got a good start on my quilt by the time Sunday came around. 
I left home Sunday to go to New Orleans for work and won't be back until late Tuesday. My goal for the coming week is to get my blocks made for the quilt using Maureen's fabrics. 

Week ending January 14, 2024

I got a lot done this past week. I finished my quilt to auction off for Black History Month.  It's quilted and bound. It will get its official photoshoot soon.  


I quilted my flannel quilt made with the Twilight Garden Collection. 


I received my next Collection to sew for Jaftex - Out of Farms Way. 
I got out my blue and green scraps / remnants and started pulling fabrics for a quilt to make as a retirement gift. 
I put the pieces on my design wall to figure out the color flow. 
I'm making a quilt inspired by those made by Molli Sparkles. 
After cutting my first block wrong twice - I made a cheat sheet. 
Here's what I got done by Sunday evening.
Here's the other side. 
I'm hoping to finish this Molli Sparkles inspired delectable mountain quilt this coming week.  

Week ending January 7, 2024

I started off the New Year finishing my New Year Blessings Wall hanging. 2024 will be the Year of the Wood Dragon. I was born in the Year of the Fire Dragon and am looking forward to what this year may bring.  

I got started sewing together the blocks for my Black History Month Quilt Auction. 

I was finally able to post my finished Victory Block quilt and announced I will be in FreeSpirit Fabrics Circle of Makers for 2024. 


I have a bunch of work trips coming up and went to the thrift store to buy a few blouses.


I washed them and embroidered the EPA logo on them. 


I will be taking some time off from work this coming week and plan to finish my Black History Month Quilt and maybe get started on a second.