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We can all agree that 2020 was one hell of a year, and to think that one of my posts at the end of 2019 was about how crappy that year turned out to be! Thankfully, myself and my friends & family have been healthy throughout the turbulence of the pandemic, and one of the things I am most thankful for is being able to find a way to stay connected with all of them during this time. This is where we are shifting to the quilting part of the story. 😉
A bit of background… I have been on the Fat Quarter Shop bloggers team for several years now. It is a great partnership and I love being able to help them spread the word about their amazing shop and patterns. At the end of last year they put out a call for an upcoming quilt along, The Best Friends QAL, and I immediately jumped at the opportunity and signed up my friends Tina, Marisa, and Carol without asking them first. 🤣
Y’all, these babes were, and continue to be, my saving grace over the past several months. ❤ We text on a daily basis, have zoom sewing dates, share all the memes, and have a mutual love of Pedro Pascal. As long as I can remember, I have always struggled with feeling like I could never really find my people, but our little quartet feels like my safe space. I’m so thankful for them and can’t wait to show off their gorgeous quilts!
Sewing zoom date 
Best Friends Quilt Along
Now that the sappy stuff is out of the way 😉 here’s all the details about the quilt! Fat Quarter Shop hosted this quilt along to celebrate the 10 year anniversary of Kimberly Jolly’s & Lori Holt’s friendship! The FREE Best Friends Quilt patterns include fabric requirements and instructions for 6″ blocks and 12″ blocks. The four of us made the 6″ blocks that finish into a lap-size quilt that measures 48.5″ square. I used A Blooming Bunch fabrics by Maureen McCormick aka Marsha Brady for my version of the quilt. 🌼❤
The quilt itself is made from four classic blocks – Log Cabin, Economy, Pineapple and Courthouse Steps, and the pattern is written for use with Foundation Paper Pads by It’s Sew Emma. The best part about using the foundation papers is how accurate all of your blocks will turn out. I liked that this quilt presents a perfect opportunity to use pre-cuts, the pattern calls for a layer cake or fat quarters, but I took a chance on using a honey bun and a charm pack + a fq bundle of coordinating solids for a bit of variety.
One small change the four of us were inspired to make to the pattern was to position the four center log cabin blocks together into a diamond shape, also known traditionally as a Barn Raising setting. Sewing this quilt “together” even if it was just over Zoom, brought us closer and we wanted to reflect that in our versions of the quilt.
All four of us made the smaller version of the quilt, and I was tempted to add a border like Tina, but I decided to actually finish the project! 😉 I know crazy talk, I finished a project before starting another one.
I kept things simple with my quilting and used Aurifil 50wt thread for an all over stipple design. It has been over a year since I attempted free motion quilting and it took a bit to get into the grove, but I ended up finishing it in one night. (It helped that the quilt is on the smaller side. I made a slew of TikToks about the entire quilt making process, and filmed an IGTV tutorial showing how I pattern matched my backing fabric.
Like all quilts made in the Jordan household, one of my sons laid claim to this one before I could even finish sewing the binding. 🥰
Did you quilt along with the #BestFriendsQAL?
