a whole lot of pieces

This quilt top has been in the works for quite a while. I started it last year when I made one block and it turned out beautiful. Then I made a second block, and it turned out horrible. It seemed like, all of a sudden after 20 years of quiltmaking, I could not piece a block properly anymore. I was frustrated and put it away.

Recently I drug it all back out and decided to make it work. My piecing is still not perfect, but its done! And now its on the longarm and I have started quilting it!

My version of this quilt is based on an antique quilt from the collection of Joanna Rose. When I saw the old quilt, I knew I wanted to make one like it one day, but I didn't know how to do it. So I searched online and found a pattern from Minick and Simpson, called Mrs. Rose's Best. The pattern is for 4 blocks, but I made mine with 9 blocks just like the original.

My quilt is 93 in x 93 in! The finished pieces in the checkerboard are 1 inch each.

Antique quilt from collection of Joanna Rose.

I used almost an entire spool of 50 wt Aurifil thread just on the piecing! Crazy.

I wanted to use a fabric combo that was fun and modern. I tested at least a half dozen combos and ended up with Kona cotton Flame (reddish orange) and Malibu. The quilting will be straight lines, ruler work, in thread that matches.