When I first saw the advertisement for the 2015 Jinny Beyer Block of the Month Quilt, I was torn.
LUMINESCENT FABRICS FROM AQUA TO PURPLE
Beckoned by the gorgeous fabrics, I signed up with Craftsy and ordered the fabric kit, which humorously arrived not far from me at Jinny Beyer’s Quilt Studio.
Quickly opening the package, I read all the material to assess the adventure ahead of me.
Inspired by the 18th century garden in her backyard, Jinny Beyer used fabrics that she designed herself to create meandering paths through an assortment of flowers.
After drooling over the gorgeous luminescent colors from turquoise to purple, I set it aside.
At last, the day after Christmas in 2018, I determined to conquer the quilt.
CRAFTSY
Each month’s lesson available through Craftsy contained a video of Jinny teaching the class, something I feared I would miss out on since I started the quilt nearly four years after the project debuted.
However, as promised, my account and access were still good, so I accessed every video as needed, with all the pdf files needed to download the instructions and patterns.
After printing out all the instructions and patterns for the year, I dug in, only to learn that I apparently printed incorrectly, since the blocks did not come out to the perfect 9.5 inches.
Due to too many variables beyond my control, I made the most of it, 18th century piecing as needed. 😉
LOTS OF TECHNIQUES LEARNED
Using a variety of techniques from applique to paper piecing, including new skills for me, like sewing with partial seams, I did my best with each block.
As I felt overwhelmed at the beginning of each block, I took each step one moment at a time, and soon I had a recognizable block.
By the end of February, I completed the quilt top.
Although the result isn’t perfect, it’s not too bad from a distance. 😉
Packing it away in an opaque box, I decided to complete the quilt on the other end of my impending move.
APPLIQUE
Last year, after hand stitching my Autumnal Harlequin Quilt, then my Starry Night Quilt, I began hand appliquing my 2015 Jinny Beyer Block of the Month Quilt.
Ironing on the appliques when I sewed the quilt top, now I took the time to buttonhole stitch each of those raw edges by hand.
Since it was summer, sewing only the quilt top was much more comfortable than having an entire quilt sandwich on my lap.
After completing the hand applique, I created the quilt sandwich with a layer of wool batting.
HAND QUILTING
By the time winter arrived, I was ready to keep warm under the snuggly quilt while hand quilting the layers.
By the end of winter, I finished the quilt with binding.
PICNIC AT MOUNT VERNON
Epilogue 2022: Enjoying an Independence Day picnic at Mount Vernon, I brought this quilt with me to enjoy a picnic on the grounds while enjoying 18th century entertainments before the fireworks.
Although I intended to take pictures of the quilt on the grass, with Mount Vernon in the background, before the crowds arrived, I completely forgot.
18TH CENTURY SYMMETRY
When my daughter’s husband saw this quilt, he was totally wowed by the colors, which include his favorite color of blue, and my daughter’s favorite color of purple…so I gifted them the quilt.
Preparing it for wrapping, I had a thought…which revealed my suspicions.
Since the design was inspired by an 18th century garden, of course, it’s symmetrical!
