Bow Tie Doll Quilt

Between cancelled vacation plans, having to wear masks everywhere we go, and not being able to enjoy a lot of our normal summer activities, it's easy to overlook the positives that are undoubtedly surrounding us during this summer of quarantine and social distancing.  One positive I'm choosing to focus on is the extra time and energy it's given me to finish up some long forgotten projects.  I actually pieced this quilt top nine years ago, and after brushing off the dust I finally quilted it!  Better late than never! 

I like that the bow tie quilt block is a traditional block that can be made to look more modern with your choice of fabrics.  You can also completely alter the look of your quilt by switching up the direction of your bow tie blocks...they're actually kind of fun to play around with to see how many different looks you can create.  However, matching up those seams was tricky, and it's far from perfect.  I think this quilt tells the story of my journey of finding confidence as a new quilter.  I used to doubt my sewing abilities a lot, but you really don't know what you are capable of unless you try it.  And honestly once your finished quilt is washed and dried to give it that soft, crinkly texture, a lot of those mistakes that seemed so obvious before, suddenly disappear.

I used the edge of my walking foot to quilt closely spaced straight lines across the top and around the borders, and I love the texture it gives to these beautiful Tanya Whelan fabrics.  This type of quilting can be tedious, but I actually enjoy quilting row after row of straight lines...especially if I'm listening to a good podcast or audiobook!  Yesterday I was listening to the audio of Sylvia Browne's book Prophecy: What the Future Holds For You, and I had to stop sewing and rewind the recording when I heard her describe to a tee the pandemic we're going through now...she didn't use the word pandemic but she did say in the year 2020 more people than ever would be wearing surgical masks and rubber gloves in public due to an outbreak of a severe pneumonia like illness affecting the lungs and bronchial tubes that is ruthlessly resistant to treatment...talk about eerie, considering that the book was published in 2004!  She also claimed after a winter of panic that this illness would mysteriously disappear, at least for ten years...so hopefully we have that to look forward to if we can keep social distancing and wearing our masks a little longer! 

I pieced the back of my quilt using leftover scraps...even though a pieced back takes more time, that little bit of extra time and effort also makes the finished quilt that much more special in my opinion. 

I also used leftover jelly roll strips to create a pieced binding, which I've never done before, but I love how it looks.  It also saved me some cutting since the jelly roll strips are already precut to the 2.5 inch binding width. 

I'm glad I finally decided to give this little quilt life by finishing it!  My daughter, Emmie, has already claimed it for use with her dolls...I imagine it will also find purpose as a backdrop for lots of future tea parties too!