Reflections - Amish Shadow Lap Quilt

Amish Shadow Quilt

I made an Amish shadow lap quilt for my sister Anita for selfish reasons. I wanted a picture of a quilt in my 2022 shadow calendar. The Amish would have used pastel strips to contrast with the black, but, when I asked Anita, she said green, brown, and black were her favorite colors. She also needed sturdy fabrics on account of her Tibetan Terriers. These requirements limited the selection.

I added a piano key border for her piano expertise then quilted two Tibetan Terriers in each of the thirty blocks.

 

Tibetan Terrier Quilting

Both the piano key border and the Amish Shadow quilt were firsts for me. When calculating yardage for the lap quilt, I mistakenly accounted for squares not triangles. I bought twice as much material as the quilt required. 

 

Quilters never have too much fabric.

Ever since a woman at a quilt retreat collected our scraps to stuff her dog mattresses for shelters, I’d pondered making dog mattresses for Anita. So with dog strength material, I made my first dog mattresses For Anita’s Tibetan Terriers—Mr. Mumbles, Emma, Smidge, and Gilbey. I sewed zippers into the ends and stuffed the covers with old blankets for easy laundering. The mattresses have quilt blocks but no quilting.

Dog Mattresses - Tops