Going Away Quilt for S

April 08, 2022 by Laura Hartrich in quilts

In the eleventh hour, I decided to make a small quilt for my son, to mark the passage of him moving out after graduating high school.

Because of the tight timeline, the design needed to be simple, so I decided on some disappearing 9-patch blocks, and some random/improv patchwork. I used some of the same fabrics that I used in the quilt for Michael Brown. I also used some ice dyed fabrics from in a shop in Paducah, KY, from when we went down to see my quilt in the National Quilt Museum. I usually don’t like ice dyed fabric but I fell in love with these.

I put each of our initials on it (N, L, S, P) to symbolize us going with him, supporting him. I don’t think he noticed but it’s okay. I didn’t want it to be obvious.

Going away quilt for S, 49”x52”, completed August 2021. Final pictures by Mitch Hopper.

Disappearing Nine Patch and Leftover Stars

March 20, 2022 by Laura Hartrich in quilts

This quilt was born from a pile of scraps and patchwork left over from another project. I often make more patchwork than ends up going into a particular piece, and that was the case for this mini quilt I made for a guild swap. Once that mini was finished, I had some blocks left, and I was still really loving the color palette. I decided to keep going. I made some standard nine patch blocks and some disappearing nine patch blocks, just having fun with the scraps and the colors. Finally I gave each block a partial border in varying widths. This quilt gets a lot of use on our couch. It’s a good lap size. Molly Kohler quilted it for me. Mitch Hopper took final pictures. It measures 55”x71”.

stitching binding on the dock during a lake vacation

Two Mini Quilts

May 24, 2019 by Laura Hartrich in quilts

This quilt was made for a swap between my guild and the Ann Arbor Modern Quilt Guild. My partner didn’t give me any requests, just told me to make whatever my heart desired. So I used scraps from a previous project (my Good Bones mini quilts from my drawing final) and the design was loosely inspired by the Arne Quilt by Rossie Crafts. I did my own quilting on this one and was pretty happy with the outcome.

And another mini for a swap. This time it was a swap within my own guild. Again, my partner left it pretty wide open in terms of what she likes, so I tried to make something that reflects what I see in her: bright, vibrant, energetic. I had fun improving my way through this mini. My partner liked it and it turned out to be a parting gift, as she soon after moved from Chicago to Milwaukee.