It's new to me . . .

I got a new old quilt in the mail yesterday.  Do you remember Amaryllis?  This is a top I pieced for Monique Dillard at Open Gate Quilts back in of April 2012.  It's Lifetime Quilt #85.  

This is the first time I've seen the finished quilt in person.  I pieced the top, mailed it to Monique, then she added a border, got it quilted, attached the binding, then carried it around to trunk shows and classes for the last 18 months.  Monique promised that once its 15 minutes of fame, or in this case 18 months of fame, was over, she would send the quilt home to me.  I'm not sure how she parted with this quilt so close to Christmas, I think I would have kept it, just a couple more weeks at least.

I love this quilt, the fabric is Sentiments by 3 Sisters for Moda.  This fabric has a nice romantic feel to it.    Did you miss out on Sentiments?  I think 3 Sisters new Christmas line, Wintergreen, would look great made up into this quilt too.

This is  my chair and as I type this blog I have this quilt on my lap, sitting next to the Christmas tree, with the fireplace going.  If I could just talk someone into bringing me some hot chocolate life would be perfect, but just having this quilt home for Christmas is pretty wonderful all on its own.

The pattern is available here, I bet you're thinking you need your own Amaryllis, I could not agree more!

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Christmas in July . . . .

Have you been wondering what to make with that lovely bundle of Sentiments by 3 Sisters for Moda fabric you bought?  Or worse yet, not bought that line of fabric because you didn't know what to do with it?  Well your troubles are over!

This is Amaryllis designed by Monique Dillard for Open Gate.

The quilt on the pattern cover was made using Sentiments.  I know because I pieced it, way back in April, when Monique was getting ready for market.

The fabric has a wonderful vintage romantic feel that I fell in love with.  

Don't like Sentiments, you only need 8 fat quarters of one fabric, 8 fat quarters of a contrasting fabric and 8 fat quarters of a background fabric to piece the blocks. Add less than 2 yards for the border and you've got this quilt.

This pattern is made up of blocks that look hard but are not.  There are a few half square triangle units involved but I love hsts, I always make them bigger then square them up.  Every now and then someone will leave a comment saying they avoid quilts that use hsts, I don't know how they do it, some of my most favorite quilts are made entirely from hsts.

Here's a close-up of the pieced blocks.  The pattern for Amaryllis should be available in your local quilt shop, but if it's not, you can buy it online here.

Amaryllis is Lifetime Quilt Number 85

It has approximately 1,352 pieces.

If finishes at 63" x 79" (perfect lap size)

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