Over the past week I've been sharing snippets of my new Portsmouth fabric collection that will be arriving in stores in February 2023. This week I'm going to be sharing some of the new quilt patterns I'm releasing that will coordinate with Portsmouth. AND! a pattern Sale in honor of their release!
You may remember this quilt in progress in my sewing room last summer. I was working on a low volume version of my Land That I Love US flag medallion quilt. Part of the reason I was remaking this one was to update and test it so that it could be included it with the Portsmouth collection release.
I finished it in time to take it with us on our trip to visit family in New Hampshire and Maine last August so I could get some good on-site New England photos.
This version was made using scraps and remnants that I had on hand. The background chambray is the Light Indigo Chambray and binding is the darker Indigo Chambray from Riley Blake Designs. The outside gingham is a Kitchen Window woven in Slate but the rest are mostly from my out-of-print stash.
But good news! The Portsmouth collection is the perfect palette to get a similar washed-out "beachy" look for this pattern! I'm working on remaking it in Portsmouth now.
I'm excited to make it in these prints!
Here's a little sample of what all of the Portsmouth low-volume prints look like for those "x" blocks from one of the medallion rows used as a pillow:
Flag Medallion Quilt in New England
And here are a few more shots of Land That I Love on site in New England last summer:
I had some extra special quilt holders one night when we visited New Castle Beach at sunset.
These two did stellar work and were proud to get to be official quilt holders. These are my husband's two special brothers. They both have Down Syndrome. They're not twins, but they are definitely best friends. They love pizza, cheering on their favorite sports teams (or any team that is winning 😉) and celebrating birthdays - especially their own. We sure love these guys. ❤
Shoutout to other New England relatives who also had their debut as official quilt holders: including Uncle Larry, Aunt Annie and cousin Brian. 🙂
The machine quilting on this one was done by Melissa of Sew Shabby Quilting using the Interlocking Loop pantograph.
Ahh, remember summer? . . .
Portsmouth Coordinating Patterns
I'm so excited to make this pattern again using Portsmouth in time for next summer!
Land That I Love is now available in my Pattern Shop in Hard Copy or PDF options.
Also new in the shop: the updated version of Sugarhouse Star and brand new pattern New Castle Beach. I'll be sharing more photos of these two quilts over the next few weeks!
See the finished quilts in Portsmouth:
Land That I Love
New Castle Beach
Sugarhouse Star
Fly the Flag
Patterns are also available now for shops to order wholesale from Checker and Christensen Wholesale.
Kim
♥️♥️♥️ For your husband’s special brothers. I had a special sister and I would trade it for nothing in the world. (The quilts are ever so lovely too…. But the brothers made my day. )
buddhajames777
I am so excited to see your Portsmouth collection come out!! So excited that I almost bought other fabric from your shop this evening (as opposed to that which I just bought 4 days ago!)...but stopped myself in anticipation of having the money to buy MORE Portsmouth!
But...I also want to say thank you to you. As a born-and-bred New Englander (Berkshires of Western Massachusetts), I am a diehard Red Sox/Patriots/Celtics/Bruins fan, so I loved seeing your brother-in-law wearing a Red Sox shirt in his quilt-holding debut! Please tell him I thought he looked particularly handsome!
The other thing for which I want to thank you is just posting a picture that includes two young men who appear to have some sort of disability. Please accept my sincere apologies if I'm wrong; but, if I'm right, I really appreciate seeing them in your photos.
In 2009, Kolby came into our lives. A b-i-g baby, and a particularly happy one at that! He was always smiling, laughed easily, and loved everyone. But, then I noticed that there was something "different" about Kolby. Long story short: my son thought I was off my rocker, my D-I-L heard me, and the doctors would soon tell us Kolby would not live much past his 2nd birthday.
Kolby will celebrate his 14th birthday (!!!!!!!!!) this March. It's hard to overstate how many times people (adults and children) have shied away from him, how many times people have pointed at him and called him names. And, it's hard to overstate how much it hurts those of us who love him. Kolby's doctors initially misdiagnosed him, but the final diagnosis wasn't much better. He has ATR-X. (Any time you see -X after a bunch of medical letters, it means "syndrome.") Kolby has alpha thalassemia retardation syndrome. In a nutshell, he is globally retarded. And, it is an EXTREMELY rare condition...so rare that no one is funding any research into it. When Kolby was diagnosed they said there were fewer than 200 known cases in the entire world!
Life with Kolby is hard, but he is my heart. I went to BYU (Provo) a long time ago. Though I'm not of the LDS faith, one of the things I learned - and will always remember - is that they believe people like Kolby were angels before they became earthly beings. In essence, they already had their wings, but they were sent to Earth to teach others in our orbit whatever they were missing about people who are "different." It might be that they need patience, or knowledge, or the ability to share and/or accept. (Please correct me if I'm misstating any of this.) But, I've clung to that belief/concept since Kolby came into our lives.
It's heartbreaking to know that children like Kolby are often kept out of the limelight because they don't look like those on the red carpet or those in the movies. So...anyway...I just really loved seeing your brothers-in-law in your post. Thank you.
Lu
Love the fabrics and design! Congratulations to the new quilt holders! I know my family enjoys helping me out in that way, at least they say they do! Thank you for introducing us to your family! What a blessing it is to have such a great family who is willing to help out, even holding a quilt to get a great picture! I have many friends who are considered special and I consider a blessing to have them in my life! Thanks for sharing your work and life with us!
mje2002
How fun to have your brothers-in-law spotlighted. I bet they loved having the honor of holding your quilt. I definitely want to make your Land That I Love quilt. Thank you for your lovely work and for sharing your lovely family!
Joan Hannes
I want to echo the sentiments above! As a retired special needs teacher, and mother of a differently abled adult, it’s heartwarming to see real inclusion!
Pam L
I love this quilt! I’m going to buy more ink tomorrow so I can print the pdf pattern! Thank you for introducing us to your very special family as well. Please let them know that I think they are excellent quilt holders💕
Michele T Redman
Thank you for your patterns, fabric designs, and for highlighting special needs family and the joy your husband's brothers bring to our lives. I also appreciate the story abt Kolby.
Shauna
This quilt is so beautiful — I can’t wait for Portsmouth to arrive in stores! I have admired your faded flag quilts and wanted to make one since I first saw them at GofQ 2021. (Your husband’s brothers are supermodels now!)
PJ Medeiros
Amy, those are beautiful quilts. Love them! ❤️
jantaber
What a beautiful post, in so many ways! I made Land That I Love when it first was published, using your brights pulled from Sunnyside, Gretel and Notting Hill. It hangs in our little lake house and is so cheery! I'm looking forward to Portsmouth, since it is a place I've always wanted to visit. What a special way to highlight two special young men in your family -- they did a great job as quilt holders -- they may have a new career in the offing.
Terri Batt
Love the quilt, but those two quilt handlers made my day!! SO precious!!