Northern Lights Medallion

Northern Lights Medallion
Quilt No. 210 • 52″ square

I love these posts where I get to place a quilt front and center, quilting finished, bound and photographed, and even a label made AND sewn on. It’s like that Easter Sunday long ago, where your mother dressed you and your sisters up in fancy new dresses, new patent leather shoes and anklets with ruffles and you all posed for a picture. It’s like that wedding day, where your hair was behaving, and your wedding dress and veil were just how you wanted them, and oh–the love you had for your soon-to-be-yours was shining from your face.

Yeah, kind of like that. Some process photos:

I now pin my quilts on my kitchen counter–the floor is too far down these days.

I’m getting faster at quilting: the dates from start (August 8, 2018) to finish (August 25, 2018). Part of the challenge is figuring out what to quilt, and another part is not to physically wear myself out.

I love the texture that quilting creates.

Northern Lights Medallion Name label — Fun detail: I like to include my name and address on my quilts, but also like to hide that info. So I used the logo from the Mad for Solids Challenge and used it as a disguise.

This began as a challenge to create something using just eight colors of Painter’s Palette Solids, in the March Madness Challenge in 2018; you’ve read posts about this before.

But the other challenge I put for myself was to create a medallion quilt using my favorite quilt software, QuiltPro, which I’ve been using for years. I love it love it love it and their tech support person, Linda, is nothing short of a fairy godmother, always answering questions quickly and succintly. Like she taught me how to do this conversion:

northern lights no pen outlines — to this (no pen outlines)

This creates a more modern look, I think. Anyway. I’m a fan.

So I posted this design up on their Facebook page, and I was contacted and one thing led to another, and Northern Lights Medallion (its real name, in spite of other confusing malarky above) will hang in their booth at both Paducah and Houston this year. I’m honored, and I love working with these lovely people (and it may be the only way I get to be at either of those shows!). So if you go, snap a photo and email me (opquilt@gmail.com) or tag me on Instagram (occasionalpiecequilt). Thanks!

This is quilt number 210, and it’s going up on the 300 Quilts list.

You Are Not Going to Run Out of Ideas — *You’re Not going to Run Out of Ideas*

And I need to keep remembering this.

14 thoughts on “Northern Lights Medallion”

It looks amazing, are you going to sell the pattern?

I really like the quilt.

A stunning quilt. Also fabulously quilted. Congrats, Elizabeth.

It turned out to be a beautiful challenge, Elizabeth. You did a wonderful job quilting it. I always find the choice of quilting to be the most difficult for me.

Learning how to remove the outlines can really transform a quilt design. Congratulations on the finish and having the quilt be on display in Paducah and Houston!

How awesome to know it’s going to be hanging at the two most prestigious quilt shows in the world! What an achievement!!

Such a beautiful quilt, and an honor for you to have it hung in two such prestigious quilt shows! I admire your dedication to the design, piecing, and quilting… in particular. You really made the quilt sing with your quilting designs. I’m so very proud to say I know you!

Beautiful and outstanding quilt! Congratulations on the pattern design and the finished quilt.

It’s awesome! Also you photograph your quilts square on so well!

I’m a fan. Of the quilt and of you. 🙂

Love the design and colors.
Working on Lollipop Trees and it is going fairly fast since I am using the Leslie method instead of the instructions: piece the convenient parts and only appliqué the awkward pieces. We’ll see how it comes out