The Tea Quilt

In July I gave my sister-in-law a quilt I made for her. I used a pattern from the book Quilts For All Seasons. She loves tea and drinks it constantly so I thought I would find a tea fabric. It actually took me a few months to find the right one (I had been planning her quilt for a while). I also found a matching calico print fabric. Her favorite color is purple so I wanted to make her a pretty purple tea quilt. This was the most challenging quilt I’ve made thus far (granted It was only my 9th quilt). I don’t think I was precise enough in my cutting of fabric and I should have bought a new blade for my rotary cutter (I learned my lesson from this quilt). It was difficult aligning things when I started to piece the blocks together, though I saw it coming. However, for the most part, it came out very well. I was satisfied with the results.

For the applique that I added to the backing, this was NOT in the pattern from the book. I actually drew it up myself and worked on it. It didn’t take me too long and was fun. I used one of the teapots and teacups from the fabric as a reference for my drawing. I then chopped it up for various fabric uses. I sewed it on but realize now that I should have made one of the teacup handles on the opposite side (another lesson learned). My plan was that when she folded down the top of her quilt on her bed, she’d be able to see the teacups and teapot.

I put a free-motion quilting design of tea leaves on the border and for the rest of the quilting I just made horizontal lines throughout it. I really like how it turned out. It is always fun to give a quilt away that I spent hours working on in hopes that it will keep someone warm, cozy, and brightens up their bed!