I made this quilt especially for the 2025 Portland Modern Quilt Guild’s annual Rainbow Fabric Challenge Quilt Show on display at Powell’s City of Books (!) for Pride Month (see my quilt from last year here). For readers unfamiliar with Portland, Powell’s is the world’s largest independent bookstore: it takes up an entire city block and houses one million books! The gallery is located on the Pearl floor near the Rare Book Room.
This year we were all required to use the same fabric featuring a skull and ribcage print (designed by local quilter Rose City Originals). I paired the fabric with a sweet schoolhouse block as a nod to a song I listened to on repeat in 2018 (Bring you Shame by Denai Moore). “May you find a home within yourself” is my wish for all queer folks (especially trans, immigrants, and folks of color targeted by the Trump administration): even as we continue to resist intersecting systems of oppression and fight for a more equitable future, I hope that in the meantime we find a sanctuary within our authentic selves, our chosen families, and our communities.
Pattern
- Hurry Home Block & Quilt by Spaghetti Western Sewing and SarahB_Sews
- I sewed the 9 1/4" by 10" beginner Hurry Home Block, then added the blue and green background for a finished quilt size of 20” x 20.”
Fabric & Supplies
- Rose City Originals Damask Fatale quilting cotton in Bleeding Heart, Fire and Brimstone, Sulfur, Envious, Glaucus Atlanticus, and Spector provided by Portland Modern Quilt Guild
- All quilt submissions were required to incorporate this fabric to ensure a cohesive show.
- Quilter’s Dream Request Lightweight Cotton Batting from Modern Domestic
- Shoutout to Gram for giving me his remaining monthly employee stipend so I could get batting for free 💕
- Bias tape maker (18 mm)
- Wash-Away Wonder Tape
Quilting
I decided to keep my quilting minimal and simply stitched-in-the-ditch along the patchwork seams to draw attention to the details of the house. I added some simple lines in the background, again following the piecing lines.
Finishing
I cut out 1 ⅝” fabric strips on the cross-grain and joined the strips. Then I used a bias tape maker to create ¾” single fold bias tape and pressed the whole thing in half to make ⅜” double fold bias tape.
I used my home sewing machine with a regular presser foot to sew the binding on to the front of the quilt. I used a few pieces of wash-away Wonder tape to secure the binding to the back to ensure the binding covered the previous stitch line, then I stitched in the ditch from the front.
I made a label with stamps and a fabric-safe ink pad, heat set it with an iron, and then sewed it on to the backing. Before closing it up, I slipped in patches of each of the fabrics I used. If I ever need to patch the quilt in the future, I'll have the exact match (and it will have been washed the same number of times as the quilt fabric).
Make It Yours
This quilt is available to purchase for $245 plus shipping if outside of Portland. I also have coordinating risograph prints available for $18 plus shipping. Contact me if you’re interested!
Keep In Touch
Thanks very much for reading! If you’d like in-person support and instruction, please sign up for my classes at Modern Domestic or reach out to schedule a private lesson. If you have any questions, feedback, or corrections regarding this post, please don’t hesitate to contact me!
Further Reading
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