Originally written Feb 25, 2024
In Spring of 2023, I took part in a quilt block swap! The subreddit is here.
The theme for the season as bookshelf blocks, and could be as simple or complex as you wanted, as long as they were the same size, used Kona black as the background, and had at least one book.
A group of 16 quilters is chosen based on their location so shipping costs aren’t a big concern. Then everyone makes at least 16 blocks: one to keep, and one (or more) to send out to each other quilter.
My block is the one seen above. In the final result, you will see it just to the right of the lava lamp block. For the shelving parts, I wanted fabrics that resembled wood, and I wanted a good grain pattern for the quilting stitch. I was very lucky to find the exact kind of fabric I was looking for at my local fabric store!
Because the quilting stitch I wanted was too complex for me to handle, I knew I would have to send it out to be done by a professional with a longarm machine. I found a local person to do just that! And it came out great!
Here it is hanging up with an invisible magnetic hanger, with wood grain pattern! The corners curl a little, but I think it looks fine. So what was supposed to be late Father’s Day present became an on-time Christmas present!