A few months ago, I was asked by a delightful woman named, Barbara, to make a quilt out of a small collection of fleece horse blankets. Barbara’s daughter, now 30, had competed in Hunter Jumper riding events in her teenage years, winning a number of prizes, including these special blankets.

Barbara wanted to commemorate all the years of hard work, dedication, and success her daughter had accomplished as a rider.

Because my experience sewing with fleece was limited, I needed to do a bit of research on how to set up my sewing machine for the best results. Once I had done that and a few tests, I was off and running. I decided top-stitching on either side of each seam produced the nicest look while also keeping the seam allowances in place on the interior of the quilt.

I cut out large blocks with each of the blankets’ event information.

Once the large blocks were finished, then each section came together.

Working with only 4 colors made it really fun to create big, bold, graphic shapes.

I chose a simple diamond shape quilting pattern that felt classically equine to me.

The horse blankets were originally bound with heavy-duty strapping, but given that this quilt was now meant to cover a human, not a horse, I bound the edge with Pendleton wool felt for a softer touch.

The final quilt measured 85″x87″.

Barbara had a lovely patch embroidered for the back of the quilt.

Thank you, Barbara!