Book Cover Quilts

Join me for this crazy little exploration in quilt blocks.

For each book I read in 2025 I am making a quilt block inspired by the cover. Not necessarily by the book or the story itself, but by the cover. So it is really a block inspired by the book designer’s work. And they would have been guided by the contents of the book. Sometimes the covers use original artwork, created just for this purpose, sometimes they pull from existing artwork.

Credit where credit is due - for both the book designers themselves and the woman who gave me the idea for this project. Margaret Fleisher did a similar thing for a 100 day project a few years ago. She is a great improv quilter! I was enamoured with her idea then and am doing my own version now.

I’m not here trying to make a literal interpretation of the book cover. Knowing that I am playing improvisationally I just try to capture the feel of the cover. Not every detail is included, and rarely is the text even referenced.

For example, for The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store above (amazing book by James McBride!) I used the illustration made by the designer Lauren Peters-Collaer as my started point. I picked fabrics from the scrap bin that were similar. To be honest, I debated going a bit more abstract as the human figure can be tough to translate, depending on the posture, and this posture is not an easy one. I am so glad I pursued the play! Of course, it is not exact, but it does have a clear relationship.

Don’t tell the others, but it is my favourite of the blocks so far! Probably also my favourite book of the year.

Someone on Instagram asked me if I was choosing books based on the covers. Nope! I read all sorts of books and choose them based on my mood more than anything. If you look at the books I’ve read this year I have memoir, literary fiction, historical fiction, cozy mystery, cozy Japanese, history, and more. I do consider audio books reading, so they might make the list too. Here are the books so far in 2025:

• Moon Road by Sarah Leipciger, cover art by Grant Haffner

• The Best Kind of People by Zoe Whittle, cover design by Alysia Shewchuk, image by Xavier Noel

• Sunshine Sketches of a Little Town by Stephen Leacock, cover illustration by Alessandro Valdrighi

• This is the Story of a Happy Marriage by Ann Patchett, cover design by Robin Bilardello

• The Wager by David Grann, narrated by Dion Graham (this one is absolutely worth the audio book version)

• The Maid by Nita Prose, cover by Elena Giavaldi

• What’s Mine and Yours by Naima Coster, cover by Sara Wood

• The Sleeping Car Porter by Suzette Mayr, cover by Ingrid Paulson from art by Janet Hill

• Crook Manifesto by Colton Whitehead, cover by Oliver Munday

• The Comfort of Crows by Margaret Renkl, cover design by Charlotte Struck, with art by Billy Renkl

• The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store by James McBride, cover by Lauren Peters-Collaer

• The Blanket Cats by Kiyoshi Shigematsu, translated by Jesse Kirkwood, cover by Vi-An Nguyen

I’m not the kind of person who sets reading goals. As long as I read every day - even if only for a few minutes before bed - I am content. I usually keep a list of books read for the year and I finish about 20-30. So I am looking at the this list and kind of surprised I am already through a dozen!

For the blocks, I wait until I’ve finished 3 books, then I make the 3 blocks. It becomes a little afternoon of playtime and remembering the books. If you want to follow along a little more ‘live’ then make sure to check out Instagram. As for what I will do with the blocks? That remains to be determined.

Ellery - Play with Improv Curves and Hand Dyed Fabric

Ellery

72” x 72”

She’s the kind of girl that smiles with her whole body. Just being around her makes you feel better about your day, your choices, your life. Yet she isn’t a relentless cheerleader or terribly outgoing. She just is the way she is and that way is full of light.

I started this quilt during a very dark time. A few years back I was in the midst of a clinically diagnosed depression. I was put on meds, went through months and months to find the right ones for me. I did some therapy, I went back outside, and I made. Thankfully, making never went away for me when the dark days were strong. But I did need to find a bit of extra joy in the making.

Pink is such a happy colour to me. In a way, I was kind of forcing it, choosing to play with pink. Fake it until you make it! And pink with my ultimate comfort block: the improv curves? I won't lie, it did make me feel better. Not a cure for depression, but a very good step in finding my way again. I am so much better now, but she is still giving me joy.

Hand quilting the entire thing, even when I am not that good at it, was the right call. Sometimes you need to sit with things longer. Sometimes you need to be reminded of what she brings you. Dark beginnings, but a contented outcome. (Even with the wobbly stitches and big accidental deviation from my quilting plan.) I used a collection of pink 8W threads, I think most were Eleganza by Wonderfil. I marked the quilt with my Hera marker only because I never trust marking pens to come out. It was a bit of a challenge when I was quilting in the dark mornings of winter, but nothing is impossible. When I started I was stab stitching, the only way I had hand quilted before. I didn’t like the results, though, so I watched Tara Faughnah’s course on hand quilting and was able to find a rocking motion that helped, even if I could only ever pick up two stitches at a time. My results were more even and that’s what mattered.

Now, I have hand quilted an entire quilt before, but smaller ones. I really liked doing it and can see myself doing it again. Indeed, I am finding that doing my Morning Make at home without a machine available is inspiring some hand work ideas. I see myself adding handwork elements and now entire quilts to the creative routine.

The background I chose was a bold large scale floral from Ruby Star Society. I wanted to pattern match but did not buy enough fabric, so there is one corner that contrasts, with a big yellow curve cut into the floral. Yellow is equally a happy colour so it is a fun addition.

To bind her I returned to the hand dyed fabric stash (all the pinks are hand dyes) and pulled this bold turquoise. Another happy colour! You know I love a contrasting binding and this felt so perfect.

My mental health is a lot better now and while I cannot give full credit to quilt making, I have no doubt that this quilt played a role in my recovery.

Calla - Another Version of the Lilla Quilt

Calla

81” x 81”

Calla is Lilla’s younger sister. Not quite so driven as the first born, but way more fun. She is the free spirited second child, moving to her own rhythm and enjoying life as it comes. She dreams of sandy beaches, big parties, and a good glass of wine. Not content to stay home or stay quiet, Calla loves to live and lives to love.

True confession, I finished this quilt at some point last fall, maybe even in the summer. That was after the top sat for a few years. She is another version of the Lilla quilt pattern, designed in collaboration with Lotta Jansdotter. This version was actually made as part of a blog hop for Scott Hansen’s Tie One On Fabric, in 2018. That’s just how quiltmaking goes for me and I will not apologize for it.

I will, however, apologize for the massive delay in getting this quilt to its recipients. I just gifted this as a long overdue wedding present to some extended family. They had a Covid wedding that we watched on Zoom. Does that mean they should wait 4 years for a wedding present? Of course not. But they have it now, that’s what counts!

I quilted her on a rented longarm with a unique all over design. Mostly, just me doodling. Much like the quilt itself, it is a mish mash of shapes. In all honesty, I wasn’t too fussed about it. One, this is a functional quilt, not a show quilt. That means the quilting is there to hold the quilt together and give it texture. And two, with the 100% cotton batting I use, the crinkle factor kind of negates most detail in a quilting pattern. Best to enjoy the quilting process and do it well, rather than stress about the quilting design itself.

To bind her I used an orange Grunge fabric. It was a great frame for the quilt, with so much warmth in her colours. The original inspiration of the fabrics and my background selections was Sedona, Arizona and this Grunge was a pretty close approximation of the rocks in the dessert.

She sat then, for months and months as I waited to finish a few other quilts. Actually, just one. Her recipients now have two kiddos. The first babe got his quilt before he was even born! The second, well, hers was just finished. Then it took me another month or so to get labels on everything. And we won’t even talk about my inability to get to the post office to mail everything! Then we got a text this week that the family would be in town. I almost went to the post office on Monday and they came on Tuesday.

Needless to say, the quilt is finally delivered!

Bjork - Scandi Village Quilt Complete

Bjork

82” x 86”

She’s a Scandinavian snow princess. Okay, princess is a strong description for her soft, yet strong personality. She is just at home in the forest or on the mountain as she is in a coffee shop with friends. Loyal, but not a fault. Adventurous, but always safe. Bjork is from a small town, up North but makes her home in the city. Longing for open spaces and comfort, she dreams of her little village in the snow.

This quilt is an epic journey into making cute. I don’t normally do cute, but that’s truly what she is. From the little houses and trees to the finishing details, it was a near constant squeal of delight as I made her.

She started as an experiment for a the little tree. That grew to the houses, of two shapes, and even a gnome. I’ve taught the class as a Quilters’ Playcation Playdate a handful of times, always added to the pile of adorable blocks. Eventually, I put them together into a quilt top. Then, a year later, I finished her.

Finishing her was also a delight. I quilted her with a pale pink thread on a rented long arm. It was all free motion waves, with the goal to make it look like snowdrifts. I love choosing a coloured thread versus white, when quilting a predominately white quilt. It adds an extra dimension to the quilt. It’s a little bit unexpected.

The backing is mostly a holiday version of Rashida Coleman-Hale’s famous washi tape design. It is mostly green, so it coordinates nicely with the front. It did need to be pieced so I added in a strip of reds and pinks left over from the houses on the front.

No doubt, I went a little extra in finishing her.

First, instead of standard handstitching on the binding or instead of big stitch with a heavy thread, I made these little green Xes. Using the stripe itself as a guide I did the diagonal lines in one direction first - all the way around the quilt. Then I went around again, adding the other side of the quilt. I used an 8W from Wonderfil for these stitches.

Second, I decided to add little white snowflakes/stars randomly all over the quilt. I chose a bright white 8W thread, also from Wonderfil. The background of the quilt is Kona Snow, which is ever so slightly off-white. It makes these little elements glow. To be clear, the stitches of these only go through the top and batting, they can’t be seen on the back.

Finally, I used a whipped backstitch in two shades of pink, also 8W from Wonderfil, as a type of piping. It’s so very extra, but a beautiful finish.

---

NOTE: I am offering two more Scandi Village quilt workshops in March 2025

March 1 (In Person) 2-5 PM

March 4 (Virtual) 5-8 PM

Register here.