I felt the need to share a little more about the process behind this quilt, because it’s a really special one for me. It all started back in January of this year, when Taylor from Toad & Sew gave our brand a refresh with a new logo and color palette.
Taylor and I became friends through the shop and have gotten closer over the years. Having a quilt bud and small biz owner friend? Instant bond.
When she started working on our branding, I told her (in many, many more words) that we wanted a PNW witchy vibe with a little flair. And as you can see, she absolutely nailed it. I’m still over the moon with how it all came together! It was such a fun process to collaborate on, and it feels really special to have a friend be a part of Wyldwood. (I highly recommend Taylor if you're in need of brand work; she’s got the magic touch.)
Once we had a new palette, I couldn’t wait to throw it into some quilt kits in the new color palette. As a surprise to no one, it looks good in basically everything. I had a blast playing around with options and knew I needed to make at least one as a sample for the shop. The Joplin was an easy pick; it’s hands down our best seller for quilt kits. It’s such a fun pattern to play with, though I often find myself rearranging the colors endlessly and struggling to commit to a final layout. The key with it (and honestly, most of Taylor’s patterns) is dialing in a good gradient. That dark-to-light shift really emphasizes the bold shapes and gives the quilt so much movement.
I make all my mockups in Quilt Mock Up Tool and would honestly be lost without it. Big shoutout to our former employee Remy, who created the tool. They even wrote a blog post about how it came to be, if you're curious.
I had my colors, I had my mock-up, and all that was left was to actually sew it. Easy, right?
*cue laughing
Like many of my planned projects, most of the fun was in the planning! This one sat in the metaphorical drafts for a while, as I wasn’t doing much sewing and just didn’t have the motivation to start a project that I knew was going to be a huge undertaking. I’ve made a Toad and Sew pattern before. I knew what I was in for.
Fast forward to April, I'm packing for a sewing retreat I booked six months ago and somehow completely forgot about. I had to decide what to work on. I could tackle some long-neglected garment projects. Maybe finally do that pile of mending (lol, absolutely not). And then I saw the Joplin kit sitting at the shop, patiently waiting. It was time.
This was my first sewing retreat ever. Nine other folks and I headed up to Stanwood to the Maker’s Hideaway. It was an IG group DM that made it out of the chat thanks to Nicole, who rallied us all and coordinated everything!
I didn’t know what to expect from a sewing retreat. I pictured lounging, maybe some nature walks, sleeping in a little, and squeezing in some sewing between snacks. Wrong. I was so wrong. Apparently, sewing retreats are when you do nothing but eat, sleep, and sew for 3 days straight. I arrived Friday evening to find everyone well underway on projects. I jumped in and cranked out a whole quilt top that night! It was a project I’d prepped nearly two years prior. (It now lives in the Waiting-to-be-Basted purgatory)
This is the logo for my favorite band, Manchester Orchestra, I’m planning to hand quilt it… someday…
We went to bed around 11 pm and were back at it early the next morning. I cracked open the Joplin kit and locked. the fuck. in. I sewed for 10 hours on Saturday and another 10 hours on Sunday, finishing it around 10 pm. It honestly was all a blur. I remember taking breaks to eat, but otherwise it was all about getting that quilt done.
I finished the last seam and proudly held up my finished quilt top! It was funny, everyone kind of looked over like “Wait, where did that full quilt top come from!?” I’m still pretty impressed with myself that I made it that fast and as well as I did. It was super rewarding to knock it out in one go, but I do not recommend it. I was mentally wrecked for the next 72 hours and genuinely forgot how to interact with people for a bit.
The vibes of having a hive mind of talented sewing folks were amazing. Being able to get real-time input from multiple people made troubleshooting not so bad. We even all pitched in to help someone seam rip a bunch of blocks they had sewn wrong. I’d definitely recommend planning a sewing retreat with your sewing pals!
I had my quilt top! I was ready to quilt! I emailed APQS to book a longarming session! The earliest appointment? May 19. Nooooooooo. I had to wait over a month to go quilt it.
Finally, the day arrived. Taylor picked me up and we headed out to Issaquah. The day before, I had actually taken the time (for once) to pattern-match my quilt backing. I had the perfect fabric stashed away, the Apothecary print from the Secret of the Oracle collection by Cloud9. I had pulled 5 yds for myself with a future quilt back in mind, and these two were meant to be.
For the quilting, I went with my go-to loops and swirls. The back of the quilt was a little bit Sketchy Seam City™, so dense quilting was essential for its future survival. Once again, I locked in and got to work. I can’t even explain how much I love longarming. Just doodling all over my quilt while listening to a podcast? Yes please! I am so so so pleased with how the quilting turned out! I managed to get a perfectly imperfect little daisy right in the center of the quilt, and I just love that little detail.
The best part of the day was definitely the kitten breaks. One of the staff members was fostering a litter, and I really had to exercise restraint. I wanted that little black kitten so bad! These guys weren’t ready for adoption yet anyway, and our house is definitely at max capacity pet-wise. I trust the cat distribution system to deliver me a little void when the time is right.
We finished up the quilting, and we headed home. (catless but quiltfull)
So now we enter everyone’s favorite phase (lol), binding. I deliberated over binding color for a couple of weeks and finally landed on Eggplant to pull out the purples in the quilt. I had everything I needed to finish this quilt! And then the quilt sat in my sewing room binding purgatory with the binding next to it for a solid month. Travel and other projects (hi, Sky Cabin Quilt) kept distracting me.
Somewhere in that window, Taylor shared a photo of my Joplin from our APQS trip, and it was the motivation I needed. That final push. I had just finished my Sky Cabin top, and the Joplin was sitting there, staring me down like, “Hey. Finish me. Coward.”
So I put my big girl pants on and got to work.
I got the binding on, tacked in place, and sat down to stitch down… only to realize I didn’t have the right thread. Naturally. But I had already made plans to meet up with Taylor to photograph both quilts, so I figured the glue basting would hold for photos. We packed up and headed to Lowman Beach Park in West Seattle, hoping for some magical seaside shots. We managed to get a few, but not without a battle against the wind, intense awkwardness around other people, and the setting sun. If you’ve ever tried to photograph a quilt, you know the struggle is real.
The face of someone who is. over. It.
The next day, I got the thread and finally. Finished. My. Quilt.
It’s done! I am so damn proud of this one. It’s so fun to make and use things that your friends created and get to be a part of their art. I love the friends I’ve made from the shop and am so grateful for the community that has sprung up around it. I’m one lucky gal!
The Joplin now has to battle that one final boss, actually hanging it up. The wooden dowel is in my car. I just need to make some hanging loops and climb a ladder. We’ll see how long that takes. But for now? I’m crossing this one off the list! (and already thinking about the next)
Check out our entire collection of Quilt Kits here.
