The Homebody Company – Two Terriers Studio

I’m BACK!

I’ve been a little quiet in this story telling space, but today is the pattern release day for the Holiday Hills Quilt and time for me to get back to the writing of these quilt stories. As the leaves change from vibrant green to red, yellow and now a tinge of orange, it’s clear winter is on the way. It’s perfect timing to prepare for the holidays and handmade gift giving, or to even make something festive for yourself. Truth be told, I will most certainly be keeping this quilt for my family.

A New Quilt

I was fortunate to work with Raye, thehomebodyco.com, who designed the Holiday Hills pattern. She began the initial discussion with testers in 2020 and as you might imagine, there were a few other things that needed attention in that crazy year. Quilting was certainly a positive distraction, but when you’re offering a product to so many people, distractions may not be the best element in the equation. Fast forward to 2021 and this quilt was entirely worth the wait. While we all wanted to go-go-go in 2020, it was wise to settle in and wait; make it perfect. It is well-written, with precise details, easy to make and might I add, FUN.

I have been mindful of “sewing from my stash”; Lord knows I don’t NEED more fabric, as fun as it is to shop and add to my collection. I did want to make a quilt with a traditional color scheme, so I headed straight to my Christmas bin of textile goodness. I pulled this collection, called Merrily by Gingiber for Moda Fabrics. Adding in some coordinates by Cluck Cluck Sew and Sweetwater, I was all set. Let the cutting begin.

There’s always something a little delightful about seeing these fabric trimmings piled together. It’s a sign of what’s to come, but also indicative of little waste, which is a good thing!

A Forest in the Making

Seriously, just having these beauties lined up on my cutting mat was the inspiration I needed. I could already tell how much I would love this quilt.

The Backing

If you’ve been around here for very long, you have seen the photos and heard the stories of all the creatures, great and small, we see in our neighborhood. The black bears seem to be the ones who garner the most surprise and awe, but we also have almost daily visits from deer; the occasional bobcat sighting, and often the hooting of an owl in the trees behind our home. It continues to be magical, if not also frightening at times. I mean, nobody wants to find themselves 15 feet from a bear without any warning (and it happens!). Long story long, that is what drove me to purchase several yards of this fabric. It looks and feels like home. I was shopping with my daughter and stopped the moment I saw this bolt, “isn’t this perfect?” Her reply, “what are you going to do with it?” I had no clue in that moment, but the pine boughs, deer, owl and vibe of it, drew me in. It came home with us that day! I knew I’d figure something out & that it would be used and loved.

A Pieced Quilt Top

Another common thread is my love for summer. It might seem odd that I was as thrilled as I was to dive into a winter holiday quilt. It’s not hard to be excited about changes when things go smoothly. That smoothness isn’t always the case, but in the wait for this pattern and seeing how well it all came together, I was mostly on board for letting summer fade away to focus on the next thing.

Quilting, Edge to Edge

If I’m quilting a small item or baby size quilt, I’m comfortable with doing that on my domestic machine. This quilt’s size and my vision for the pantograph meant sending it to be professionally long armed. This quilting work was done by Jenn at knottedthread.com. It’s exactly what I imagined. The ornaments give a feeling of snow and wind gusting through the hills of trees, but also a nod to favorite Christmas decorations. It finishes the “story” perfectly, in my opinion.

I’m staking claim to this one, for snuggles by the fireplace this holiday season. It’s a simple theme, but each element ties together feelings of home for me. To think the fabrics were purchased years apart and that the pattern was a year in the making, it was just meant to be. Timing is everything, correct? I think timing worked out pretty well on this one.

Pattern Release

The Homebody Company is releasing this pattern today, November 10, 2021 for purchase. You’ll find this quilt in both printed and pdf versions, as well as an extension for making a pillow and even a paint-by-numbers kit. It’s a win-win. Special thanks to Raye for including me in the tester team. It’s always a joy to work together!

Holiday Hills Quilt, by Stacey at Two Terriers Studio

Thanks for stopping by! More projects coming soon.

This is not a sponsored post; all opinions are my own. Content not to be copied or distributed without written permission of Two Terriers Studio. All data and photos property of Two Terriers Studio.

Golden Light. What do you envision? Sunrise or sunset, autumn colors as they fall upon us? When I began to work on this pattern by Julia Raye Bednorz, http://www.thehomebodyco.com, I thought about how we can see rainbows and clear skies after a storm. There is golden light if we stop and look for it. It also reminded me of a time when I lived on the west coast and often carried an umbrella, because their hazy skies meant “impending storm” to my midwest rooted mind. So many colleagues would say, “you’re not in Kansas” and we’d laugh. I eventually understood the marine layer; I still had my umbrella.

The pattern includes six sizes from a wall hanging to a king size quilt. I opted to make the baby size quilt first, but having seen other versions in larger sizes and colors, I look forward to exploring those options.

Fabric by Robert Kaufman and Windham Fabrics

With strip sets, half-square triangles and flying geese, this pattern offers the opportunity to work on and improve matching points.

This rainbow print by Wilmington Prints perfectly complements the raindrops of the Robert Kaufman Fabric next to it. I noticed how the drops are saturated, faded and feature little stars within the “splatter”.

Finished! This pattern has a lot of individual pieces, but it does come together quickly. I like how the blocks and finished quilt have primary and secondary patterns. I made mine in a two-toned palette, but there are other testers with ombre, scrappy, halloween and multi-color quilts. If you’re on Instagram, take a peek at the hashtag, #goldenlightquilt, to see the variety. It’s really impressive how we all interpreted this pattern.

Yes, babies improve quilt photos! It may look like she’s studying the cloud themed long-arm stitching, but she might have been wondering why I was standing over her on a step stool taking photos and not holding her instead. When she’s with me, I rarely set her down.

This backing fabric is by Henry Glass Co. Isn’t it just wonderful to find fabric from multiple manufacturers that work so nicely together in a finished piece? Sometimes when I quilt or make other projects, I strictly follow one designer or manufacturer for the entire project and I love the outcome. This quilt has so many things going on and I love it too. In my opinion, when you follow your eye and your gut, it tends to work out. When I see this rainbow dot binding against the two-toned front, I think it hints at what you will find on the back. The circles mimic each other in different sizes throughout the quilt.

Again, babies for the win. Before anyone asks, no, this isn’t my baby. She’s so sweet & I’m blessed to have young neighbors.

I’m often asked if my quilts are for sale, and to date, I’ve not sold any. I have made so many for my family and I’ve made some to gift for birthdays, weddings and new babies. As I’m making new quilts, the thought does run through my mind of who I’d consider gifting it to and when I finish, it’s sometimes hard to part with quilts I love. The day is coming when it’s going to be time to unload some finished projects. How many does one person need? If you don’t sew, do you look for quilted gifts?

If you’re new to quilting, I would rate this Golden Light Pattern, beginner to intermediate friendly. Check out the designer’s website, Instagram (@thehomebodycompany) and consider purchasing the pattern for yourself. Be sure to look at the Instagram hashtag and see how versatile it can be given different fabric choices and color themes. I think you’ll be impressed by what has been created.

Let’s finish with a quilt and a baby. This is truly a “Golden” moment.

Tag: The Homebody Company

Holiday Hills Quilt