Tiled Quilt {Roma Quilt Pattern}

When I first saw the Roma Quilt, designed by Quiltd Studios, I knew I wanted to make it. I love mosaic quilts that are reminiscent of tiles, and I couldn't figure out just by looking at it how it was put together. Which means it was interesting. I bought it and squirreled it away until I was ready to make it. That time came this year, when I was preparing to go to Sewtopia San Antonio. This was my second Sewtopia event and I wanted to take a project I was excited about, but that wouldn't require a lot of brain power since there's so much going on and so much socializing at Sewtopia. 

At first, I planned to take the Interwoven pattern, by Lo and Behold Stitchery, but after I purchased fabric and had pressed it and was preparing to cut it, I realized how difficult the pattern was. Maybe that sounds dumb; I probably should have realized it would be a difficult pattern before getting that far. But I didn't. I thought, oh, strip piecing...precision, but mindless sewing. Perfect. 

Wrong. 

So wrong. 

I opened it up and started trying to decipher the directions and was SO confused. 

Guys, I have sewn, like, 70 quilts. I've created my own patterns. I don't do crazy hard stuff like applique, or really super technical stuff, but I'm a decently advanced quilter. And I could not figure it out. I realized right then that it was not going to work for Sewtopia. So I switched gears and pulled out my Roma pattern. I used my Kona color board to pick out some colors I thought would be great and bought them quick so I could get it all cut. 

Passages Quilt

This year has flown by. I was trying to explain to my kids (futile, I know) that this time is really so short and so fast. I think they do feel it a little bit, as they return to school in only about a month and they are not ready! But they do not understand really how fast time flies. 

Delicate Arch Quilt

I feel so lucky I got to make this quilt as part of a pattern test for Meagan at Lomond Slopes Quilts. When I saw her tester call, and the amazing design, I applied immediately. What an amazing quilt! I love the tribute to Utah. 

This quilt pattern has two sizes, a large throw and a baby size. I opted for the throw because I like big quilts, and if given a choice, I'm going to make a bigger quilt. It's a great size--some throws are too small in my opinion, but I'm very tall and my husband is even taller, which means our kids are also super tall. So big quilts are advantageous. However, after I finished, I wished I had sewn the smaller one. I think the baby size would probably make a great wall hanging, which would be perfect for the design. As it is, folded up on my couch, you can't really see what the quilt is, and so often that's how quilts live, especially throws. 

Glam Clam Quilt

I kept this fabric pull on my shelf for months before committing to a quilt pattern. Some of the prints are large scale, so I needed pieces large enough to show them off. And, I'm always adding and subtracting fabrics until I actually cut into them. I was pretty sure I wanted to use the Clammy ruler, of which I had bought two at Quiltcon a few years earlier. But, what style? Traditional clamshell? Or orange peel, which I've had on my list for ages? Or, half circles?...in the end, I decided that since I had some low volume prints as well as some really saturated ones, the clamshell was the best choice because I couldn't decide on a background fabric for the orange peel. White would have been out of the question, and what other color would work? 

I'm really glad I went with the clamshell. It's a fun pattern, and it's a quick sew when you use the clammy ruler because they're so large. Of course, the painful part of clamshells is the copious waste from cutting them out, especially if you can't nest them because of directional prints or because the cut isn't wide enough. And, since they're so large, I had to put back a few of my fabrics because they weren't wide enough, but they would have worked for the orange peel. And, it's rather painful to trim the quilt when it's time to bind it: Latifah has a couple extra inches all the way around so you can trim it precisely and not lose any points/curves. The finished product is amazing, but man, cutting that much off...it hurts a bit. 

I am really thrilled with the finished quilt, though. Once I had it put together, I thought how perfectly me the color scheme is. It's bold but not harsh, and warm with enough coolness...and I got the color distribution pretty even. I love it. So very much.

As far as the pattern goes, sometimes I feel like Latifah's patterns are a tad lacking on the explanations. But she makes up for it with thorough video tutorials easily accessed on youtube and her methods are top notch once you figure it out. She accounts for the little details that make a big difference while not requiring extreme precision. 

I backed it with navy minky and bound it with a caramel color I had left over from another project...the travel tags quilt I made a few years ago. It's not a perfect match but I think it works pretty well, and I love clearing out leftovers from my solids drawer. I love the drape and coziness of minky fabric for a backing and this is the current favorite for my girls to snuggle with in the living room right now. 

Horizon Lines

I love a pretty stack of fat quarters, who doesn't? And The Cotton Bolt has an amazing talent for putting together beautiful bundles. I love that she's putting together unique bundles that aren't just a single line or brand, a woman after my own heart! She's also a vendor each year at Garden of Quilts, and I always look forward to visiting her booth. A couple of years ago, I picked up a beautiful bundle that was designed for the Horizon Lines quilt. I figured it was such a straighforward pattern I could figure it out myself if I wanted to go that way, but I also thought maybe I'd do something else...

Efflorescent Explosion

My final finish of 2024 is this beautiful Hexibore quilt. I got it back from Mindy Powell, who did the beautiful custom quilting on it, in mid-December, but I was knee deep in Christmas sewing. I got all my Christmas sewing wrapped up a few days before Christmas, but then I needed to dive into a pattern test I had been selected for, so my quilt had to wait a few more days. I finally got to bind this quilt on December 30, and luckily, I had the binding all ready to go so I could finish it up quickly. 

Happy 2025!

Happy New Year's! This year has gone by so fast, and this time of year calls for some reflection and pondering. It's so contrived to review the previous year and look ahead, but it's also pretty important. This past year was one for the books.

I was able to be home from the hospital in time for new year's last year, so I spent the whole year at home. It was a pretty big year of recovery and challenges, but I feel so grateful our little family survived without too much wear and tear. January was largely a bust, and I spent time sitting in my sewing room wishing I felt up to sewing, but I felt foggy and uncoordinated. By February, I was more agile and able to sew again, though I was still a lot slower than I had been. But, I got my first finish in.