Sofia’s Quilt

This was the second quilt commission that I got in 2023. One of my neighbours asked me to make a quilt for another neighbour who had a baby girl in the middle of December. Technically the quilt should’ve been easily finished by December 31 but the flu that weekend prevented that from happening so it only got completed on January 2.

I gave some glimpses on Instagram during the construction and quilting process. It is the third time I’ve made my pattern, Sunset strip, which you can see on my sideboard where there is a link to it in my Etsy shop.

It is a really quick make and I had the top done well before Christmas. Marybeth, my customer, couldn’t get over the difference from flimsy…

To quilted quilt (first photo) to laundered, soft and crinkly, cuddly quilt:

The weather has been abysmal for more than two weeks with very little sunshine, so the best photos are actually inside photos. Of course, today it was sunny, but I’d already delivered the quilt!

After she had seen the flimsy, she had asked if I could put some “material hearts“ on it, and I think it was because she didn’t see the vision that I had for the negative space even though I had showed her Abigail‘s quilt. I said I'd see what I could do... 

But I couldn't, knowing what I wanted that negative space to be.

So this is why I decided to use a meandering hearts overall quilting motif, and then do the same flowing feathers which echo the swirl of the x’s and o’s as I did on Abigail‘s.

Sofia‘s feathers are traditional, echoed separately twice, whereas Abigail‘s were Kathleen Riggins’ echoed feathers

Well, she was moved to tears when she saw the quilt before I’d put the binding on it. 

Binding in progress and a view of my initials in the lower corner. The colours of the sweet backing fabric are very true here.

She had picked out the five fabrics for the sunset strip section from my healthy ‘store’ as my daughters call my stash. She gave me free rein to use whatever I wanted from my stash for the backing. I happened to be in Fabricland before Christmas picking up some sewing machine needles on sale when I saw this sweet rainbow hearts cotton that I thought would be perfect since she had mentioned hearts. I picked up the yardage and got her resounding approval. 

She wanted a cloth label put on as well as Sofia’s name quilted into her quilt. Marybeth has had another quilter make quilts for Sofia's big sisters in the past, and asked her to quilt in their names, something she said the quilter had never heard of or done until Marybeth asked. I think that is so neat as it’s something I’ve done since…forever, and Marybeth is not a quilter; she just loves quilts. 

Marybeth told me exactly what she wanted on the label

I had originally quilted her name in white thread, subtle, but Marybeth asked if I could go over it in pink. So I did. I had the idea to make the dot over the i a tiny heart and she loved it. 

I did get one outside photo. The grey weather washes out the colours as you can see.

She called me today to say how very much they love the quilt!

Quilt Stats:

Pattern: Sunset Strip

Size: 38.5" x 44.5"
Fabric: Stash

Batting: Pellon polyester

Backing: Fabricland cotton

Quilted: on Avril 46 244 stitches

Threads: pieced on my 1947 Featherweight with Gütermann cotton; quilted with So Fine 401 polyester.

Linking up

My Quilt Infatuation

Confessions of a Fabric Addict

From Bolt to Beauty

Alycia Quilts

Quilting & Learning - What a Combo!

TGIFF at Devoted Quilter