Sarah Lynn's Quilting: Biblical Blocks Quilt, Finished

The Biblical Blocks quilt is finished.

Here is a recap of this quilt's story:

My daughter-in-law Amy found the partially-done quilt and the pieces that went with it when she and other members of the family were helping her grandparents clean their house, which had gotten out of hand, especially after a water leak. The fabric smelled mildewy, and Amy considered throwing it out; but then, seeing that it was Moda, one of the better quilting fabrics, she decided to carefully wash it. It came out beautifully.

Amy asked me if I would finish it, and I said I would be glad to. The elderly couple, who have been friends of ours ever since I can remember, are not well, and I was pleased to be able to do something for them. When our children were still living at home (we have 9), Elaine would sometimes bring us produce from her garden, or something she had baked.

After their house was clean, Elaine began asking if anyone had seen her ‘lighthouse quilt’. No one had seen a lighthouse quilt. BUT!!! – a couple of weeks ago when I pulled out all the pieces from the tote they were in, lo and behold, I discovered that the outer border, already cut, was a lighthouse print! We think this must be the quilt Elaine was worrying about. If it is, she started it in the early 1980s, she said.

She does not know I have been quilting it. We did not want her to be troubled all over again, wondering if it would be finished properly... or if it’s actually the quilt she was worried about... or if she’d get it back soon. Amy will surprise her with it.

This quilt pattern, Biblical Blocks, by Rosemary Makhan, was not an easy pattern. I think Elaine cut all the pieces with scissors rather than a rotary cutter, which would explain why some of the patches were not uniform. The pattern uses 16 blocks in the quilt, and there are a number of alternate blocks. Elaine had made 20 blocks. 16 of them were partially put into rows, and one of the rows was attached to the central Tree of Life section. Four were unused, probably because they were of varying sizes, from 8 ½" to 10". Not wanting them to go to waste, I added a skinny sashing to the 8 ½" block and trimmed the 10" block. The too-big one lost a bit of its points, but it's still pretty, I think! I then set these four blocks into the corners of the quilt. I had to add the red border in order to make them fit. The other borders were already cut.

The blue inner borders, in particular, had proved troublesome for her, what with the points of the first one being hand-sewn onto the next, and that second one having mitered corners. When I see how striking and lovely the quilt has turned out, I kind of wish I had've dismantled it a little more and tried to fix that mitered border that caused so much trouble, and which was very likely the reason for the quilt being put aside, unfinished. But... there was no more of that particular blue fabric; I just don't know if redoing it would've done any good or not.

So... I doused the trouble spots with starch... pressed with a hot iron... and quilted as best I could. There are a few unavoidable tucks, and the quilt does not lie perfectly flat... but it's square, surprisingly enough.

Anyway, too late for regrets! It's done. Tomorrow Amy will take it to Elaine, and we'll find out what she would like the label to say. I will machine-embroider it, then take the label there and sew it on for her.

The quilt has now been washed (in order to get all the starch out of it, and to make it have that soft, crinkly, heirloom feeling). Right this minute as I type, the quilt is in the dryer. It'll take a good half an hour to dry, as I only spun it on medium-gentle in the washer, so it's quite wet, and I have the dryer set on 'cool dry'.

Quilt details:

The quilt measures 97 ½" x 97 ½".

The batting is Quilters' Dream wool.

There are several different colors of thread in the top. Some is Omni 40-wt., some is Signature 40-wt., and some is So Fine 50-wt.

I used Bottom Line 60-wt. in the bobbin.

Quilted with rulerwork and free-motion.

I spent 54 hours finishing this quilt, with 41½ of that in the quilting.

Here are pictures of the quilt in its entirety, plus highlights from the quilting of it.

Tree of Life center medallion

Heavenly Problems

Cross & Crown

Heavenly Problems

David & Goliath

Children of Israel

Joseph's Coat

Jacob's Ladder

Joseph's Coat

Garden of Eden

Robbing Peter to Pay Paul

(That's not a Bible story, in case you're wondering.)

Solomon's Puzzle

Golgotha

Tree of Life

Job's Tears

Bethlehem Rose

Cross within a Cross

Star of the Magi

Carpenter's Wheel

Road to Jerusalem

Hosanna

Crown of Thorns

Jacob's Ladder

This is the one I had to add sashing to. And... either the sashing had to be lopsided, or the block had to be trimmed lopsided. I chose to lopside (should be a word) the sashing instead of the block.