Visiting a Quilt I Made

10 Replies

I’ve given away a lot of quilts over time, and most of those I’ll never see again. Even when they go to loved ones, I don’t always have the opportunity to see them, for various reasons. Right now, though, I have the pleasure of visiting one of them. And with that visit I can see it is well-loved.

In the fall of 2012 I made a quilt for each of Jim’s siblings. There are eight of them, and I wanted each different and suited just to that person. This one was for a younger brother and his wife.

It’s been loved since I gave it, with a little sun-fading and evidence of being washed. I’m so glad it is being used, rather than stored in a closet somewhere.

The block is a variation on an Ohio Star and is easier to do than it might look. The star points units don’t have fancy seaming. They’re just hourglass blocks that have been trimmed. You can find some photos of other uses for the blocks and directions for making it here.

Here is the same quilt design but using a standard Ohio Star block. I gave this quilt to a friend of my son’s on the occasion of Son’s commissioning in 2013.

You can find the pattern for it here. Note there are a few differences in placement of fabric. And if you want to make one using the star block from the top quilt, make that block instead. They both finish at 15″.

 

10 thoughts on “Visiting a Quilt I Made”

  1. Thread crazy

    I love to see quilts that I’ve made for family and friends being well loved and used. Plus you know they like them or else they’d be stuck away in a cabinet. Beautiful quilts and love the pattern.

    Reply ↓
  3. snarkyquilter

    I love seeing how different quilts made with the same general structure can turn out – often due to fabric choices. In your two quilts, splitting the border squares into triangles gives the second quilt a lot of movement. And what a good idea to cut down the hourglass bits in the first quilt. To my eye it makes the Ohio Star more welcoming.

    Reply ↓
    1. Melanie McNeil Post author

      I’ve used that hourglass trick in the borders a lot, splitting the running triangle colors. You can get movement and a sense of depth with it. As to the big block hourglasses for the star points, I don’t claim credit for that idea. But yes, I think it makes the Ohio Star a little more graceful. And other than trimming the units, it is no more difficult than the traditional method. A nice variation.

      Reply ↓
    1. Melanie McNeil Post author

      I use it a lot. But with the medallion quilts generally it’s to try out a particular border rather than to design a whole quilt. I think the trick is to use it to DESIGN, rather than to use it to make quilts. If you don’t go ahead and cut and stitch and quilt, you don’t get a quilt out of it. 😉

      Reply ↓
  5. katechiconi

    I do love seeing my quilts being loved and used, it’s so satisfying. Many of my siblings have them, and I’ve started working my way through nieces and nephews and their children now!

    Reply ↓

Thanks for your comments. I don't check them often. Please email me if you have questions.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.