Do you ever stop and think about how many new friends you’ve made through Instagram?

Our quilting community truly is awesome. I know, I rave about it all the time, but I can’t help it. I don’t think I’ve ever met a more caring, helpful, inspiring and supportive group before. And I consider myself super lucky to be a part of it!

Which is why when Wendy, from The Weekend Quilter, reached out to invite me to participate in testing for her Urban Quilting book, I was ALL in to support her!

We met on Instagram and have been encouraging one another ever since 😊

As with most books, they take awhile to plan. So, this quilt project actually started back in early 2020, well before we knew anything about COVID.

So, the evolution of this quilted wall hanging is interesting as she was pieced pre-COVID but hand quilted during lock-down while self-isolating by the lake. This is just one of a few hand quilting projects I brought with me and helped see me through that really strange and stressful time. A great reminder of the health benefits quilting can offer us!

*This post contains affiliate links, meaning, at no additional cost to you, if you click through and make a purchase, I may receive a commission.

URBAN QUILTING BOOK 

Here are just some of the fun features I noted while perusing this modern quilt book:

There are 10 modern quilt patterns to choose from. You really can’t go wrong with any of the modern designs!

I love that Wendy includes several colourways for each of the patterns. If picking fabrics is a challenge for you, Wendy takes the guess work out!

There are lots of quilty tips sprinkled throughout the 150 pages.

There’s an entire section on spray basting and machine binding! Yup – we can all use some tips on those steps 😉

LANDMARK QUILT PATTERN

The pattern I opted to make is the Landmark quilt, which is inspired by the 108 St Georges Terrace building in Wendy’s hometown of Perth, Australia.

I had such a fun time stitching her up!

She’s super quick. Super easy. And, above all, super FUN!

Perfect for beginners to get a good handle on cutting and strip piecing, but always cool for advanced quilters to play with the colourway. Lots of fun to be had there.

FABRICS FEATURED IN THE LANDMARK QUILT

I stepped outside my quilty comfort zone and explored brown. I forget who, but there was a quiz or question on Instagram about our least favourite colour and my response was “it used to be hands down brown, but then I played with *Curry and I’ve been open to it ever since”. Shaye (from Studio McGee) even mentioned it in one of her videos and this post saying it was making a comeback. And then Friday’s Off Fabric invited me to be a guest Kona bundle creator and challenged me to use brown. Clearly, brown was on my radar! Well, this is the project I finally explored that curiosity to see what I could do with brown.

Knowing me by now, you know I also had to sneak in some texture. And this time, it was all about denim + linen + linen. Yes, there are 2 different types of linen in there + an AGF denim. Some of these I had just played with in my Cloud Surfing quilt, but I couldn’t resist including them with this pairing. It just all came together so organically. Well, I did hum and haw a little on whether to go with denim or white as the background. But I was drawn to the earthiness and depth the denim offered. So, I went for it. A little unsure where it would land but determined to see what I could make of it.

LANDMARK QUILT PATTERN HIGHLIGHTS

Here are some highlights of my impressions after making the Landmark quilt:

That’s sometimes exactly what you want in a quilt pattern – quick make with a super satisfying result.

HAND QUILTING

I’ve shared my love for morning makes with you before, and one of the best ways to kick off the day is with a nice cup of coffee and some hand stitching while watching the sunrise. If you haven’t tried it, I highly encourage you to give it a go.

It was starting my mornings in this manner that helped me during that initial lock-down.

The rhythm of the slow stitching physically reminded me to slow down and just enjoy the process. It was quite soothing!

I kept the quilting quite linear and simple as I didn’t want to compete with the linear nature of the pattern, rather I wanted the stitch work to highlight the design of the Landmark pattern.

It’s a beautiful simple design that appeals to my appreciation of “less is more”.

QUILT BACKING

I opted to go with the denim on the back for a seamless look.

The dark indigo allows the hand quilting design to pop, which I really love.

This is what I love about pearl cotton thread -- the prominent stitch it offers. Just look at that quilty texture! Yummy nummy 😉

BINDING

She sat unbound for the longest time as I was caught up at the lake without my sewing machine. But that also gave me time to think about how I wanted to finish her off.

At the time, I had recently given faced binding a go on my Guiding Lights Mini Wall Hanging and really loved the effect it offered. I wanted to explore that a little more + I felt it was a good compliment to the design. The bottom buildings look like they go to infinity, without any bottom barrier stopping them. I felt it allowed the original design to shine without any borders.

MATERIALS FEATURED IN THE LANDMARK WALL HANGING

Here’s a full list of the fabrics I pulled solely from my stash for this one:

 

For more quilted wall hanging inspiration, check out these posts:

 

I can’t express enough how quick this lil’ cutie was to stitch up! You can now grab Wendy’s gorgeous *Urban Quilting book and dive into these modern approachable designs for your own home!

Happy quilting!

xo,

Shannon

_________________________________________________________________________

Never miss a post - sign up for the weekly newsletter.

This post uses affiliate links. For more info, visit the FAQ page.