Northern Lights Quilt

Today I’m celebrating a finished quilt with other quilters at Meadow Mist Designs, The Madd Quilter, and Confessions of a Fabric Addict. I made this Northern Lights quilt for my daughter from Terry Atkinson’s Lucky Stars pattern. As you can see, lots of bright batik fabrics sparkle on a midnight background.

This was a fun quilt to make! I especially enjoyed choosing which fabrics would make up a block and then see them twinkle. My favorite colors are bright aqua, turquoise, and lime, which I never use in my decor. So this quilt was a deep dive into color freedom.

As I assembled the quilt, the stars reminded me of people who shine brightly in our lives even in the dark moments. And I thought of the aurora borealis, the beautiful northern lights that shine and swirl across the dark sky: beauty in the darkness.

The quilt back especially reminds me of the aurora. Have you seen the lights in the sky?

One evening when our family was driving home from our cabin, we were startled to see cars suddenly pulling over to the side of the road. Quickly we realized that there wasn’t an accident, but rather a beautiful display of the northern lights. So we joined our fellow Minnesotans alongside the road and quietly watched in awe.

If you’d like to see some gorgeous photographs, search #auroraborealis on Instagram. Be sure to watch a video for the full effect.

This is a fairly large quilt: 75 inches by 90 inches. I started making quilt blocks during June 2008, planning to finish the quilt quickly for my daughter’s dorm room. But I set aside that plan when I unexpectedly found part-time work creating a bimonthly publication. (Thankfully my mom had already made my daughter a gorgeous quilt from amazing Asian prints, so she was indeed covered in love.)

A few years ago I decided to start quilting again because I needed a break from computer screens. I joined the American Patchwork and Quilting UFO challenge and finally assembled the quilt blocks into a top, which sadly decorated the half-wall in my loft for over a year.

I wrestled with the idea of quilting this myself and finally decided to send it to a long-arm quilter. When Megan showed this edge-to-edge design on her Instagram account (@canoeridgecreations), it seemed perfect. I met up with Megan in person to handoff this quilt because she lives near my hometown (and our grandmas lived in the same tiny town in Iowa). I’m thrilled with the loopy design dancing across the quilt.

When my daughter flies home in June, her blanket of love will be waiting for her. In the meantime, Chester is keeping it warm.

I’m finally on a roll, so I hope to finish piecing my Beothuk Star this weekend. I’m already at our cabin, ready to stitch as the rain pours off our roof.

Joyfully,

Tracie

As Points of Light

Ten million lights of kindness,

Each shining in its place,

Would brighten up our nation

And inspire the human race.

Just helping one another

As the problems come each day,

Would chase away much darkness

And put goodness on display…

– Burt Poole