Halo Blocks, Quilty Hearts for Olivia, and Quilty Friends Who Lead Us Into (NewFO) Temptation

Hey there, quilty peeps!  In the ten days since I last posted about this project, I have completed exactly FOUR more Halo quilt blocks.  Don't let my slow progress discourage you from attempting this pattern, though -- I've also quilted three pretty intense quilts for clients, prepared music and sang at a funeral, and drove up to the mountains to visit my son in the past 10 days.  I am fitting these blocks in here and there when I have time, not at all chained to the sewing machine for hours at a time.  You can read more about this project and find links to the Jen Kingwell pattern, templates, and other must-haves for making this quilt in my previous post here.

My Latest Favorite Halo Block

Since this quilt will be a gift for my mother-in-law, I'm thinking about her favorite colors (light pink, medium pink, and hot pink!) as I'm picking out the fabrics for each block.  Looking at the ten blocks I've finished so far on my design wall, I don't know if there's ENOUGH pink?  😂

10 Halo Blocks Down, 26 Blocks (Plus Border Blocks) to Go

One thing that really helped me make some progress was packing up my machine and prepped block pieces and taking the project "on the road" to the Charlotte Quilters Guild's monthly Sit & Sew.  

Ramona's Pineapple Log Cabin, Betsy's Sea Glass Pinwheels + Pesky Little Halo Curves

Good morning and happy April, quilters!  I hope everyone who was celebrating enjoyed a wonderful Easter or Passover last week.  The Spring weather has arrived in Charlotte and there is a little gold butterfly fluttering around in the sunshine outside my window as I'm writing this.  It's so hard to stay inside and get work done on a day like today!  Of course, it helps when the work that keeps me indoors is as beautiful as Ramona's pineapple log cabin quilt!

Ramona's Pineapple Log Cabin with Radiance E2E, Glide Thread in Sea Foam

I just love her watery blue and green batik fabrics against that crisp white background, and the skinny sashing with sapphire sashing posts is absolute genius.  It's a beautiful variation on the traditional pineapple log cabin that also eliminates having to match up all those seams when the blocks are sewn together.  Brilliant!  

Ramona's 95 x 95 Pineapple Log Cabin Quilt

We used Hobbs Tuscany 80/20 Cotton/Wool batting for Ramona's quilt, a luxury all-natural alternative to the more common 80/20 cotton/poly blend batting (this post contains affiliate links).  The Cotton/Wool blend has a little more loft, a little less weight, and breathes better than a cotton/poly blend.