Amish miniatures

It’s been a busy holiday week--cooking, eating, cleaning up, visiting with family, and eating again! We had a thankfully short-lived crisis when my daughter Genevieve had to go into the hospital with a bowel obstruction the Saturday before Thanksgiving. But it resolved itself and she got to come home to enjoy the turkey dinner and all the trimmings. My little granddaughter loved the new bedroom/playroom that my husband and I set up for her, complete with my “Tiny Bubbles” quilt on the wall and a vintage quilt on the bed.

I made it back into the sewing studio for a day to whip up some Amish miniatures—perfect for taking on the airplane with me. Another road trip! This time to Colorado and then Laramie, Wyoming, where my youngest daughter will defend her master’s thesis in creative writing. (And I’ll help her write a resume so she can find a job!)

This pattern appeared in Miniature Quilts magazine in January 2000, and I’ve been making it ever since to give away as gifts. It is only 8 inches square, finished—an ideal size for hand quilting when I travel. Cutting directions:

Row 1: (Center square) Cut one 1 7/8” square

Row 2: (Triangles) Cut two 1 7/8” squares, then cut them in half diagonally for 4 triangles

Row 3: Cut four 1 1/8” x 2 ½” strips AND cut four 1 1/8” squares

Row 4: Cut two 1 3/8” x 3 ¾” strips AND cut two 1 3/8” x 5 ½” strips

Row 5: Cut two 1 ¾” x 5 ½” strips AND cut two 1 ¾” x 8” strips

When I give away these little quilts, I always put a nice label on the back that says something like “A Little Amish Sunshine—a miniature quilt made for you by….” In other words, I put too much work into this for it to be mistaken for a potholder! Anyway, I think most people who have received one of these little quilts from me have liked it enough to hang on a wall somewhere and enjoy the colors. I certainly like to make them.