*Not my quilt* but I helped with it!
It has been two years since we moved to Charlotte. In the first year here, I had bilateral foot surgery and spent a year recuperating. During that time, I did not leave home often and rarely met anyone new. After a year of healing, I started going to the YMCA. I tried a variety of classes that are new to me and have met many new friends! One of those friends is Jenn. When she found out that I’m a quilter, she asked if I would help her finish a project. Jenn’s aunt had given her a quilt top that she made specifically for her but it needed to be quilted. We made a trip to Sew Much Fun, a favorite quilt store about 20 miles away from Charlotte. Jenn was looking for some border prints and fabric for the back. As we continued to talk about her quilt, she said that since the quilt was made, she learned how to play mahjong. She plays several times a week and is an instructor for Queen City Mahjong. Jenn casually mentioned how fun it would be to have “tiles” on her quilt. I told her that I could easily add those. She spent a few hours at my place and we looked for fabrics to fussy cut for different tiles.

Here is Jenn’s explanation of the tiles:
Top: Bam, Flower, Dot
Middle: Dragon, Joker, Crak
Bottom: Soap, 1 Bam, Wind
According to Jenn, “The egg is the least obvious as a symbol – it’s a “crak’ed” egg.” Jen also said, “The Mad Hatter as a joker was funny to me. Plus it’s a literary nod on the bookshelf.” As a non-mahjong player, these are new terms for me. I hope to learn mahjong one day!

I appliquéd the tiles onto the quilt working with an effort to keep them in the rainbow progression. I then added a complimentary blanket stitch around each tile.

Jenn and I looked at quilt designs and she really liked the Baptist fan. It is such a classic quilt design and the secondary rainbow pattern goes so well with her quilt.

For the back, Jenn choose a gorgeous Nathalie Lethe print. The print required some work in alignment to make sure the repeat felt natural, balanced and had visual flow.

Lastly, so many quilts have personalized details. Everything about this quilt is personal for Jenn. Her aunt even incorporated a piece of her grandmother’s apron, including the lace, in the teacup that sits on a shelf.

I’ve said this before but for me it is worth repeating and remembering. Quilt journeys are human journeys! Jenn’s aunt made her a fun and colorful quilt with so many interesting fabrics representing Jenn’s love of reading. I joined the journey for a bit, heard the quilt story, and helped Jenn add a little more personalization and finish. Now it can be used! The best part of a quilt.
Happy quilting and crafting! ▶︎ ▶︎ ▶︎