Journey of a Quilter

When Material Girls quilt shop first opened, they had a block of the month class.  There were 10 blocks (patterns), and the class met once a month.  The name of the pattern was "Journey of a Quilter" by Leanne Beasley, an Australian designer.

The quilt is small, about 40" X 40", and was meant to be a wall quilt.  There were little pieces in the blocks and lots and lots of embroidery which really appealed to me.  My friend Marianne took the class with me, and I met Betty in the class who became a good friend as well. 

Betty, me and Marianne

 Therein is the quote in the middle of the quilt.

I have stitched, formed friendships,laughed,

shared secrets, eased burdens, and learnt lessons.

For this I can be grateful.

This is the journey of a quilter.

The colors I chose were very similar to the designer's choices.

Marianne chose jewel tones for her quilt and put sashing between her blocks.  Betty's was very striking with blacks and rich tones.

On all four corners of the quilt, was this block with the embroidered bouquet of flowers.  Lots of embroideries of buttons and accents of flowers here and there.  

See the embroidered scissors and the needle and thread?  This embroidered design is in different areas on the quilt.

Besides the main quote in the center of the quilt, there are others.

the seam of friendship 

is joined one stitch at a time

there's nothing more enjoyable than

the journey of making a quilt

sisters by stitches

enjoy the journey

Some of the words found in the quilt are reflect laugh be happy enjoy stitch by stitch share remember celebrate give thanks

Look at the "remember" block.  Do you see the embroidered straight pins and spool of thread?

I remember how painstakingly I chose each and every fabric, matching them, laying them side by side.  Even though the pieces are really small, I made sure I was pleased with each and every one.

I enjoyed appliqueing the little purple hearts.  That was before I learned Lori Holt's method of applique :)

I loved embroidering the three daisies, they are outlined in solid and dotted stitched lines.

I always looked forward to going to the block of the month class and seeing the other ladies in the class.  It was great fun to see the blocks they completed and the colors they chose.

Wouldn't it be fun to have a "reunion" of a specific quilt class?

  Has anyone ever done that before?

For the back, I chose an antique rose print that reminded me of the prints on the front.  I enjoyed sewing those skinny little rectangle pieces of fabric together so much that I sewed a strip onto the back.

My quilt hangs in my sewing room.  

I hope you have enjoyed "the journey of a quilter".