Quilts for quilters

I recently made a quilt for a friend who quilts. It was a milestone birthday for her. She is so adorable, she deserves a quilt every day of the year, but I just made her the one.

Back in the spring, I gave her a long list of questions to help me get what I would make for her in focus: solids or prints? cool colors or warm? scrappy or controlled? blocky or overall pattern? Etc, etc, etc. I finally chose a palette & pattern, but then I was nearly frozen with anxiety over whether or not my choices were right. I can't explain it, it isn't that I put less love & effort into a quilt for a non-quilter, but somehow it feels different making a quilt for a quilter. Not that a quilter will be more picky, probably less so. But something about making something for someone who knows how make the thing themselves, I just want it to be just right. Anyway, I finally bundled up my courage & dove in. Because of the interlocking design, laying out the colors was challenging, but not difficult & the piecing was quite easy. I free-motion quilted it it a pebble pattern -- again, challenging but not hard & I certainly improved from the beginning to the end. Overall, a pretty successful quilt.

And she loved it!