Quilted Skies

(affiliate links to my designs)

Five and a half years ago, we bought our first house, following two years of looking and growing further and further discouraged because prices were out of our reach.

Finally, we found a few fixer-uppers that weren't totally destroyed we thought we might be able to afford. We spent a month studying these homes, and I shot the sunrises and sunsets almost every day.

One cold stormy night, I got bored and began digitally quilting my sunrises and sunsets, thinking a compilation might be the perfect addition to our new home, if we ever got one.


We finally were the top bidder on a home that had previously sold, but the deal fell through. It went on the market again, and within three days, 14 people had bid on the short sale. Three months later, the home was ours! So much for "short" sales...

After moving in, I played with my Quilted Skies collection a bit more. The above image decorates our living room wall. It celebrates all the heartache and time that went into getting a home of our own.

I entered one of my favorite images in a photography contest, with a theme of imaginary book covers, and didn't win anything, but months later was told by one of the judges my artwork was the sleeper entry of the entire competition.


I then decided my digital quilting might make nice greeting cards.






It didn't take long to wonder how my digital stitching would look on fabric. That was about the time our computer bellied up. The new computer will not run the perfectly good printer and no drivers will be updated because the manufacturer wants people to buy new printers.

Yeah, right.

I did get one print out of the old computer, and I stitched it up into a wall quilt that sold almost immediately when I listed it on Etsy.


Earlier this year, at the suggestion of Mrs. Micawber, I decided to try my hand at having my digital designs printed on fabric by Spoonflower. It's a little pricey, but man, does it turn out well! And Spoonflower's colors have so much more visual impact than what I printed at home.

My third Spoonflower attempt was a collection of my Quilted Skies series, and it arrived just before cycling season took off spinning in full gear. So my test print had to wait until now.


And oh, how worth the wait it has been!






Not true free-motion quilting, but more machine quilting practice nevertheless. My grandmother might be proud. She always taught me the back needs to be as good as the front, or rip it out and do it over again.

I didn't have to rip anything out in this wall pin quilt!






The back and sashing are leftovers from other projects, as are the thread and batting. It measures 24.5 inches across and 23 inches long. It will hold a LOT of pins!


Linking up with Confessions of a Fabric Addict and Crazy Mom Quilts.

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