Get Well Soon and Love Messages in a Quilt

Send Get Well Soon and Love Messages in a Quilt: this beautiful free project honors those going through ovarian cancer. Say “I mean it” with a quilt!

People, I just finished classes and can finally write again on this blog! Phew! And, although this fabric collection (Inspiration by Blank Quilting) won’t be available until September, I must write about this now as I have a dear friend who could use the messages I hid into this quilt design: “Get Well Soon” and “Love”. There is so much we want to say, but I think these messages neatly summarize our feelings, don’t they?

The Inspiration Quilt #1 measures 72″ x 72″ and the blocks finish at 12″. The skill level is intermediate as you will do a little paper-piecing on the ribbon blocks, but that is all. Each paper-pieced unit has only three sections and they come together very easily.

I printed the templates on my printer loaded with regular printer/copier paper. When you reduce the length of the stitches to 1.6 on your sewing machine and use this paper, you will see how quickly and trouble-free the paper removal process is. I wished I had learned this tip a long time ago as I love this technique and have used it in so many of my quilts.

When I began this project, I wanted to incorporate into the design the ‘ribbon’ symbol associated with the cancer journey. After a while, I came up with this concept and my heart said: That’s it! I am so glad that Blank Quilting agreed!

The center of the quilt design attracts the eye and, from afar, the stars have a totally different look! The various hues of the prints contributed to the creation of this effect. Can you tell I had fun working with them?

As you see on the diagram above, the Flying Geese are simple to make. You will just be sewing a couple of white strips of fabric around the scroll triangle, then the Jot Dot teal triangles to the whole thing. Look at the pattern details and you will know what I mean. So, just go for it. I am positive that you will infuse every block with lots of love as you make this free pattern, courtesy of Blank Quilting, to keep or give as a gift.

The Jot Dot collection by Blank Quilting had a perfect teal and I added it to the mix to make the other fabrics pop. You know how partial I am to the Jot Dot fabrics – they are the stars in the Vintage Jewel Block of the Month program I designed for them. There is still time to join it!

The fabrics in the Inspiration collection are dedicated to those who are going through or know someone who is affected by Ovarian Cancer. Blank Quilting says: “These fabrics make beautiful quilts devoted to such an important cause. A portion of the profits of this collection will be donated to the Ovarian Cancer Society.” Think of all the other quilts you could be making with these gorgeous prints!

Tying the fabrics with the purpose of the quilt was very important to me as I worked on this project. The prints are so cheerful with butterflies, pansies, medallions, scrolls, and dots. Check them out:

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The rich tones of teal, the floral and paisley motifs, and the arabesque scrolls were great to play with. They all appear in Quilt #1 and bring a cool lightness to it. The blocks are easy to make and the pattern has detailed instructions to help you through their assembly.

Quilting designing and pattern writing are the best part of my work, I must confess. You will be able to see very soon how I do it, so stay tuned for a cool announcement coming up.

There is a lot of other stuff involved in what I do, but these two are my most favorite things. They can be a challenge as some fabric collections are more challenging to work with, and some patterns can be hair-pulling until I settle on an easy way to explain all the steps so you guys don’t have to pull your hair when you make the quilts.

Download this free pattern from the Blank Quilting website, ask your local quilt store to get the collection so, come September, you will be ready to sit down and make this beauty!

So, how do you like my idea of how to send Get Well Soon and Love Messages in a Quilt? Two-in-one… Now, don’t forget to add a label to the back. Here’s the way I do it: I use Microsoft Word to design a simple box and type inside it what I want. Then, I print it on fabric sheets, soak it according to the instructions, cut it, fold on the dashed lines, and hand-stitch it to the back of the quilt using tiny stitches.

Let me know how you like this quilt! Until you do so, have a great day!