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Broken Bars Quilt

 by Alisa

Shea Henderson's "Broken Bars" improv piecing by Alisa, quilted by KootsiQuilting

I saw the "Broken Bars" design by Shea Henderson in the Missouri Star Mod Block magazine vol1, issue 1 in 2016, and I loved it. I thought it was modern and cool and just perfect for my house. I purchased the exact fabric -- a fat-quarter bundle of Kona solids in"Patchwork City Winter Palette" by Elizabeth Hartman for Robert Kaufman that September and then, nothing!

The bundles are no longer available but the colors in the pack are all Kona solids: violet, berry, hibiscus, storm, celestial, teal blue, cyan, breakers, pool, azure, jade green, emerald, glacier, spruce, pesto, avocado, bonsai, wasabi, aloe, fog, shadow, medium grey, graphite, coal, and charcoal.

At some point I point I pulled out the pattern and the fabric and cut all the random width strips and then I lost focus again. I think the scrappy, improvisational style of the design was a little overwhelming for my very instruction-focused brain.

In 2020 I had made another quilt that I gave to a friend for her birthday, so I decided that I would continue with birthday quilts and make another one in 2021. Around May, I realized that this quilt would be perfect for my friend, M. Unfortunately her birthday is in June, and I simply didn't make it.

I finally buckled down in November and finished up the top in about three days. The pattern makes a 67 x 90-inch quilt, but I sized it down to about 55 x 70-inches  to use on the couch as a big throw.


I decided on a flannel backing for maximum coziness for M and her cats. I used a sheet from a grey Threshold set from Target. It is so soft! My favorite long-armer -- Laura Jarvis of KootsiQuilting in Stockbridge, Michigan -- quilted it up beautifully in under two weeks; and she even conveniently dropped it off at my mom's for binding. 


There were plenty of times during this process when I thought that this was NOT going to turn out well. I am so thrilled with the finished piece! I sewed up a little storage bag using a pillowcase from the flannel sheet set, and it made a very nice Christmas present.


Comments

Unknown said…
It is a beautiful quilt and the Kona fabrics and flannel backing make it super cuddly!
1/03/2022
Cathy said…
Gorgeous as always. You are so talented and a gifted writer as well.
Keep on sewing!
Cathy
1/03/2022
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