Viewer’s Choice Winner
I picked the first spring flowers from my garden in Illinois this week, the daffodils have already bloomed. It reminds me that spring is quickly coming and it will be time to prepare the shop in Sister Bay and open the doors in just 6 short weeks!
Last month I mentioned I was wrapping up one of my oldest projects, a 365 Challenge quilt. I chose the project to challenge myself and the blocks were the right size to take with me while traveling with my husband for cancer treatments. I prepared ‘kits’ for a series of 3” or 6’ blocks and took them with me to sew in the evenings as therapy.
Learn More about the 365 Challenge Quilt Project
After his death in 2019, this project became my travel quilt. Any time I was staying in a hotel, I would take a few block kits and my small sewing machine with me for something to do after I settled in for the evening. I finally finished assembling the king-size quilt in 2022 and long-arm quilted it in 2023.
At the end of March, I got to show it off in the Salt Creek Patchmakers Quilt Show. The theme was Oh, Scrap! My quilt fit the theme very well as all of the fabrics in it, except the borders, were ‘scraps’ left over from other projects. If you look closely you might recognize a ‘scrap’ from an item you purchased from us!
The quilt won 2nd place in the Large Pieced Category and also the Viewer’s Choice Best of Show for the show. “The viewer’s choice award is one that means more to me than any blue ribbon. A jury award is nice, however, the collective voice of all those in attendance is the highest praise to me.”
I won it previously, in 2019, for my Union Sampler Quilt. That Viewer’s Choice award feels connected to the 365 Quilt in that I was unable to attend the quilt show that year as I was out of town with my husband during cancer treatment and was working on the 365 Challenge to stay busy.
While most projects I enjoy the process more than the final project, so I choose to share them with others in the store. You won’t see the 365 Challenge Quilt for sale this year. My family and I are going to enjoy it for now.
Can’t wait to see you in Sister Bay!
