“Good friends are like good quilts; they never lose their warmth.” - Anonymous
My friendship with Dana Hines goes back many years. She taught me so much about the art of English Smocking and was a great inspiration to me in the sewing realm. The clothes she smocked for her children were unique and of a very high quality. I have many fond memories of those days when our children were young. We had so much fun sewing for them and sharing our successes at our local smocking guild. As the children grew up, we lost touch with each other. Imagine my surprise one day when I received a phone call from her inquiring about my quilting services. She found my name on a list of quilters from a local quilt shop, and I now have the pleasure of quilting her beautiful quilts. Her sewing is still impeccable, of course, and I always look forward to what she will bring next. It was interesting to discover how we both transferred our love of sewing from children’s clothing to quilts!
The quilt I’m sharing with you today features pinwheels and feathers. Dana said she was drawn to one particular color in this fabric collection–the soft teal. That fabric was her inspiration for making the quilt, and the final result was well worth her efforts. As I studied the quilt, I decided to break up the rectangles and half square triangles with circles; more specifically, feather wreaths. The pinwheels became my focal point. I did tiny stippling to make the pinwheels stand out, and the feather wreaths gave them motion. I finished the borders with echoed feathers and was quite pleased with the finished quilt.
Congratulations, Dana, on another beautiful quilt to add to your collection!





Cat, thank you for the kind words. You have no idea how excited I was when we reconnected. You have a true artist’s touch when quilting and my quilt top was just a top until you did the quilting. It turned out so beautiful, it makes my heart skip a beat! This will be one that will be treasured for many generations, my friend.