My Favorite Quilt

After spending many years considering tackling a quilt project, I finally took the jump about a year ago. Since then, I’ve made eight quilts—not too shabby for the new kid on the quilting block!

This is my version of Rachel Hauser’s Penny Sampler, from an online class she taught in the fall of 2013. I consider it my favorite because it was a pivotal learning experience for me, strengthening my skills in piecing with precision and introducing me to the worlds of applique and foundation piecing.

My Penny Sampler is composed of my favorite colors—red, green, and blue—in some favorite fabrics. It highlights a lot of Denyse Schmidt fabrics. (I love so much of her work, especially Hope Valley.) I also used this fabulous red fabric with blue and green flowers on it. I bought it at least eight years ago and only had a fat quarter of it, but I used every bit of that fabric in this quilt.

By the end of our journey together, this quilt felt like an old friend—I had witnessed its evolution from a pile of fabric to a work of art. I knew, however, how many hours (and hours and hours) I dedicated to the project, and I knew I wouldn’t be able to enjoy the finished quilt. It was something I’d pack away and bring out every so often to look at. So I gifted it to a little girl who loves picture books. To me, the Penny Sampler seems like the storybook of quilts. There’s so much to look at—trees and houses and horses and flowers. I like to imagine that little girl poring over those quilted images, making stories of her own.