From Meh to Glow

Not every quilt starts with a burst of inspiration.
Some begin with a block that feels just... fine. Not terrible, not thrilling. Just fine.

The original block that eventually became Ultraviolet started with greys, white, and a pop of bright green. It was clean and simple, but something about it felt flat. It sat in a pile in the corner of my studio for months—neither a success nor a failure, just another experiment waiting for its next idea.

When I came back to it, I realized the block’s quiet structure had potential—it just needed deeper, more saturated colors. I started thinking about old-school space invaders, about the kind of glow you can only get from deep blues and purples with a flash of bright color. I bought green fabric first, thinking I’d stay close to the original plan, but a last-second gut feeling pulled me toward bright fuchsia instead.

It was the right call.

When the new blocks went up on the design wall, the quilt came to life. The diagonals popped. The colors hummed. The quilt finally moved the way I had hoped it would.

For the quilting, I knew I didn’t want anything fussy. I admire precise ruler work enormously—but it’s not for me. I love looking at it; I do not love doing it. Instead, I pulled out painter’s tape, marked some triangle spirals and long sweeping lines, and quilted with a bit of wonk (and a lot of fingers crossed). The finished texture is gently linear and slightly off-kilter, which honestly feels about right. Quilts don’t have to be perfect to feel alive.

As always, Gracie supervised every step—from piecing to binding—offering her highly professional opinion by agreeing to pose. (Approval granted.)

Ultraviolet is a quilt that almost didn’t happen, and somehow that makes it one of my favorites. Proof that the "maybe" pile sometimes has the most surprising things tucked inside.