Welcome Ancient Words and Shorthand to my collection!
Today is a HUGE day for me and my growing family of patterns. This day has been three years in the making and I am so so SO excited that it’s finally here.
As a special pattern celebration, you can get 20% off my Shorthand Templates today!
We had a great celebration sale, unfortunately it’s over now, but make sure you subscribe for email updates on our latest sales!
Today is the official release for my Ancient Words Quilt…isn’t she a beauty?!
But she wouldn’t be a beauty without my secret weapon…my custom Shorthand™ Template!
…That’s right. I have my very own template, and it can be yours too!
These funky looking templates have been getting rave reviews from all of my pattern testers and I cannot wait to see what you have to say about them and all the gorgeous creations you make with them!
…but first, background story:
What’s a great quilt without a great story? All of my quilts are inspired by one thing or another, but this might be my most intriguing story yet!
A few years ago, I was visiting Wheaton College with my husband for his class reunion. I was browsing some of their artifacts in the archeology department (as one does) and came across these beautiful Cuneiform pottery shards. Something about these really resonated with me; the shapes themselves were mesmerizing…they were calming to look at and follow across the clay.
But there was something more to it. These beautiful shapes meant something.
What were they trying to say?
These words traveled so far to get to me, through time and over oceans…but I couldn’t begin to grasp what they were trying to communicate.
As soon as we returned home, I went to work on trying to replicate these shapes, and I just couldn’t get it right. All sorts of curved rulers and templates went through my studio, but I couldn’t get anything consistent without going to great lengths. I flipped that page of my sketchbook and swore I’d come back to it some day.
And then some day came!
Last year, when I attended my first Quilt Market, I made some new friends with the guys over at Martelli Enterprises. We had a great week getting to know each other and they mentioned that if I had the itch to create a template to let them know….I immediately threw a sketch on a napkin and asked if they could make it happen.
And here we are today- it’s my pattern and template release day!
The Official Introduction
I know that releasing two things on the same day that go together is a little confusing, so let me formally introduce you:
Ancient Words
Ancient words is the first in a series of MANY quilt patterns using my Shorthand™ Template. I wanted to translate what I saw in Wheaton that day as closely as I could, to sort of pay homage to my inspiration. It’s a fun pattern that you can whip right through or take your time and really reflect as you sew. I enjoyed this quilt thoroughly and am excited about the response that I’ve received about it already!
Just in case you were wondering, Ancient words is not the ONLY quilt pattern that my template creates, I have about ten designs rearing to get sewn and written up…not to mention what I’ll come up with along the way!
Shorthand™ Template
Shorthand™ is my very own template set. I’ll be the first to admit that I am SICK of having so many templates and rulers floating around my studio. So much so that I was hesitant to create a template at first because of the overabundance of plastic floating around. But when I exhausted all the existing avenues to make this shape, I decided that it is 100% worth it. And I was totally right.
Other than being an exciting new shape, there are some really awesome benefits to my Shorthand Template. If you’re familiar with Martelli Templates, you probably already know what I’m about to say, but if you’re not, keep on reading!
This template is wonderful for curves because there is a suede-like material on the back that actually sticks to your fabrics. That means that you can turn your fabric AND template at the same time without re-placing the template or awkwardly twisting to get those curved cuts in. It makes an accurate and easy cut every time. Don’t believe me? Check out this video!
For more great videos, make sure to check out my Shorthand™ Template page! You’ll find every little detail on there!
Get a free pattern while you’re at it!
If that wasn’t enough, did you know that I’m GIVING AWAY a free pattern with each of my Shorthand™Templates!? You’ll get my other brand-new pattern, Cookie Cutter, for FREE with every Template purchase. I’ll be telling you more about that next week, but the pattern is available now! It’s a gorgeous way to get familiar with this exciting new quilt shape…and also a great way to show off those ombre fabrics that you’ve been hoarding!
Ancient Words & Shorthand™ Available Now!
Inspiration Time!
Now is my favorite time of the celebration! It’s time to show off all the awesome work that my pattern testers did to make this day possible.
My group of testers was SO excited throughout this whole process and some have already started on their second and third Ancient Words quilt tops! Make sure to check out these beauties and be inspired for your own project!
Sarah H created this stunning red and white quilt…I’m just in love with her interpretation of the design!
Lets just talk about the incredible quilting on Lisa T’s baby sized version of Ancient words….incredible!
Jennifer H used the template to create her curved piecing AND her quilting!
Kelsey M. really sweetened things up with her delicate fabric selections.
Beth C. went over and above and bumped this beauty up to a queen size!
Lisa T made a second Ancient Words quilt already! She’s prolific!
Joanne H. created some serious movement with her fabric selections.
I can always count on Sam S. for some awesome contrast- look at how those triangles POP!
Ancient Words & Shorthand™ Available Now!
I’d like to thank…
Before we wrap this thing up, I’d like to thank all the people that made this day possible! First off, my friends B & J over at Martelli Enterprises — if it weren’t for you befriending me, I would have never been able to create this beautiful template! Thanks for all of your hard work!
Now, to my pattern testers: You are the best! You do so much work and have fun while you’re doing it. I appreciate all the blood, sweat, tears, and opinions!
To my family that always supports me: Many thanks to my big sister for taking her days off to photograph my creations, to my dear husband for the constant pattern revisions and website questions, to everyone for believing in me and supporting me on my business adventure!
Thank you all for reading, I hope you found this post inspiring and that you have ideas of your own for this pattern and template! Make sure to get your copy today!
Congratulations, Rachel! I am thrilled to have tested this pattern and love the resulting quilt! The templates are really a joy to use, and the directions are well-written and easy to follow. The templates are so much fun to use that I’m working on my third version of the quilt; and I’m looking forward to even more patterns that use them. 😊
Congratulations! This is such an awesome pattern! The templates are amazing! Between the two you end up with an amazingly unique quilt! This design looks intimidating to one who fears points, and yes that is me, between the instructions and the templates it was a win, win!!!!!! Thank you for allowing me to test this design! I am thrilled as to how easy it went together! Best wishes!
Thanks so much Gretchen! It was fabulous to have you as a tester and I’m so glad you loved it!