The Glitter Quilt Journey: From Hand-Piecing to Machine-Made Progress

Some quilts just take time. My Glitter Quilt journey started back around 2016 or 2017 with big hopes, a lot of fabric, and a (maybe overly ambitious) plan to hand-piece each block. Well, five years and 19 blocks later, I’ve learned a lot about myself—including that I might not be the hand-piecing type! With so many quilts I want to create, with the promise to myself that I don't want to many projects on the go. I’m ready to speed things up and finish this one on my machine. Here’s a look at how it’s going so far.

A Bit About the Glitter Quilt Pattern

The Glitter Quilt by Jen Kingwell is a single block quilt that could be perfect for a long-term project. The pattern is available in Jen’s book Quilt Lovely and you can get some templates or as a separate project the More Glitter Tempter from Amitie Textiles it seems is a bigger template set (which I am regretting not having ) lol. Out of all the quilts in this book. I knew right away I wanted to give it a try, but the hand-piecing part was perhaps a bit optimistic on my part! Still, I’m glad I started this way because I hadn't hand pieced before and now I understand it more and how handy to take it away with no machine.

Hand-Piecing

I started this project with acrylic templates from Amitie Textiles, carefully hand-piecing each block by drawing stitching lines on the back with pencil and ruler, then joining pieces with a running stitch. It was slow and peaceful—until I realized just how many blocks I’d need to make. I’ve got a million quilts in my mind, and waiting years to get this one done felt a bit too long. So after finishing 19 blocks by hand, I’m switching to machine-piecing to get this beauty done.

Progress So Far: 19 Blocks Hand-Pieced, Machine to the Rescue!

Right now, I’ve completed 19 blocks by hand, which means I’m roughly 12% of the way there. With 152 blocks needed, the plan is to cut and sew with my machine to bring this project to life a little faster. I’m sticking with my original colour palette of purples and greys blues and mostly low volume for background.

Why I Love the Glitter Quilt (Even Though It’s Been a Journey)

Despite the time it’s taken I have had it sitting around, I still love the block and the Glitter Quilt has kept its charm. I will persevere although I’m shifting to machine-piecing, I still feel connected to the slower process that got me started and the friends I went to the workshop on the Gold Coast all those years ago. I think all quilts and quilters take on their own journey—and sometimes they need a little help from a sewing machine to reach the finish line!

At my machine, I’m ready to tackle the rest of these blocks and see the Glitter Quilt come together. I’m still experimenting with contrasting fabric combos within the green and purples, I will be adding scraps to these blocks as I work on other projects. So I’m excited to make quicker progress. Ill keep posting pics as we add to the stack of blocks needed.

Can you tell which on is machine pieced and hand pieced?

Final Thoughts The Glitter Quilt has been a journey a long expansive uneventful one, I know every quilt has its own pace. Whether by hand or machine, I can’t wait to see this one finished and on our bed. Thanks for following along—I’ll keep you updated as this project unfolds.

Thanks for reading

Kelly