Quick Rotary Cutter Quilts – Lazy Saturday Quilts

Several years ago our oldest daughter received a bedroom set from her grandparents. This bedroom set has been in the family for many years. As the only grandchild who seems to be interested in old things and antiques, she seemed like the perfect person for this set to be passed down to.

I can’t recall who the original owner of the set was. I only know that for a period of time in my childhood, before I, strangely, wished to downsize to a twin bed so I could have more space in my room, I had this furniture in my room. I especially loved the bed as it had a footboard that made a daring balance beam. Yes, I walked along that narrow footboard whilst pretending to be an Olympic gymnast, keeping my hands on the popcorn ceiling for balance. Don’t tell my mom. What she doesn’t know now can’t get me in trouble back when I was a kid!

I had made lovely nearly matching quilts for our oldest and her sister, which I will share at a later time, when they were younger. With a larger bed, and being a bit past the age that the original quilt pattern was intended for, she needed a new quilt. I let her pour over the pages of my quilt books and she selected the Water Lily pattern from Quick Rotary Cutter Quilts by Pam Bono Designs. She wanted purple fabrics for her quilt just as in the book, so I chose a pretty assortment from Joann’s.

The nice thing about this quilt pattern was that the quilt was made of just two different blocks. One was a bit more complicated. The other was rather “plain.” I wasn’t sure about the “plain” block, but I ended up liking how it all came together.

Our oldest daughter has since moved away from home, moving over 2 hours south of us to start her “Big Girl Job.” She’s still a lover of antiques and everything old. Her room here is still full of antique store “finds.” The quilt is still on her bed here at home. One day she’ll take that bed and the quilt and the rest of the bedroom set. Maybe she’ll even take all those stuffed animals she’s held onto for 22 years. Maybe she’ll take all of those antique store “finds.” Though, if she locates the antique shops in her new town and fills her new place with “new” stuff, we may be providing storage for antique fans and glassware forever.

(She came for a visit recently and brought a backpack to carry a few of her things home with her. A backpack. Is there an eye roll emoji I can add here? I offered her a box. Or two. She declined. She said she’ll fully move out when she has a house. Who knows when that will be, but she’s got her eye on her goals, so I know she’ll make it happen.)

Recently I posted a photo of the very first quilt I started. That quilt took MANY years for me to finish. I began working on it when I was pregnant with my oldest daughter. I finished it after she graduated from high school. Shortly after starting that quilt, I discovered I was pregnant. Wanting to make a quilt for the baby (who everyone was certain was a boy due to a family “curse” that had been responsible for no girls being born for 17 years), I put aside the Feathered Star quilt and chose to work on this bunny pattern from Quick Rotary Cutter Quilts. I was convinced I was having a girl and thought this quilt would be perfect for either gender. (We didn’t ask baby’s gender when we had the ultrasound, preferring it to be a surprise.)

I learned so many things while making this quilt. First and foremost, I learned to never, ever cut out all of the pieces for a quilt at once. Being still rather inept at sewing, I think I ended up with every bunny block being a different size and none of them matching the size of the strips that I had cut that were to be sewn to the side of the block. This wouldn’t have been such a big deal if the bunnies were smaller than those strips, but as the bunnies were bigger, I ended up needing to cut new strips. Thankfully I had purchased plenty of fabric! I also learned how to properly attach the walking foot to my machine. There were hours of frustration, hours spent wondering why it wasn’t working properly and what even the point of the foot was as it didn’t seem to be doing anything, before one phone call to my mother provided the answer. I hadn’t attached it properly.

Each bunny block is comprised of approximately 70 different pieces! This was definitely not an easy project for a beginner, but I am not one to be stopped by a challenge. I also made crib bumpers from the cloud fabric and the dark blue fabric.

When we pulled this quilt out of the my daughter’s cedar chest to take a photo of it today, I was struck by how thin it is, evidence of how well-loved and well-used it was.