Note: I wrote this blog post a few days before Mike left - but it got pushed ahead and ahead for various reasons. Instead of rewriting it, I’m leaving it as if it will happen in the future. But it didn’t. He’s in Central Asia now.

My husband is going to go to Central Asia to teach again in a few days and I had made this top for him to take to a young lady who talked with me when we were there in 2019. At that time she was working with a Campus Outreach there in that country.

I’ve not forgotten about her and I know that she is still there. Last time Mike went to this country, he saw her. I’ve wanted to make a quilt featuring the animals and sights of Kyrgyzstan that I remember or have researched (and have fabrics as such) but needed a reason to do so.

So I came up with this simple top. The design is just plain squares plus an alternating 2-rail rail fence sashing with plain cornerstones.

In this case they are 8” blocks (cut 8.5”) and sashings were cut 2”x8.5” so combined they finish at 3” (3.5” before sewing into the top). I did put that little outer white to separate the sashings/cornerstones from the outer border. I just think it looks better that way.

That’s all.

It would work for pretty much any size of block - say, about 6” or larger. I’ve actually seen this idea with a sampler quilt and it really helped tie those blocks all together into a cohesive unit. In this case, I wanted the fabrics big so the designs could be seen so I chose to make 8” blocks. I wanted to use neutral tones as this is a young lady and they all seem to like neutrals - meaning beiges, grays, etc.

I seriously love this backing fabric. One negative is that this backing is not all cotton. However, it is a common fabric available in Kyrgyzstan. I believe it is acrylic.

I also used some of my fabric that I bought when we went there in 2019 on the back. The piece wasn’t quite large enough so I added a couple of strips across the back to lengthen it so it was long enough. I had previously tried a blue and red piece but the color kept bleeding every time I washed it that I abandoned that idea and chose this fabric instead. (It does better, anyway.)

I hope it all makes sense now. This one is about 59”x79” or thereabouts.

Did I mention snow leopard fabric? I have no idea where it came from, but it was perfect for this quilt since they have them there.

These gift quilts really make me happy to make as I imagine the recipient’s excitement.

This young lady has no reason to know that I’m sending this with my husband.

I hope he can manage to find her and give it to her. He will be in a couple of different places while there. A small part of me feels bad for asking him to be the courier. On the other hand, I know in the end, it is fun for him.

Each of the squares represents either animals that are there or the landscapes that we saw as we traveled around. I had to look on the internet for the information so I could find animals that are there AND that I have fabrics with these things on them.

I was actually thrilled that I had enough of these animals to make a quilt! One thing I did discover was that a lot of animals represented by Central Asia (AND Africa) do not exist in the current fabric lines.

But I did manage to find enough to make this top and yes, that snow leopard fabric is the cream on the milkshake. I used pretty much all I had, however, with these two blocks.

I did quilt this on my long arm - freehand.

I was taking photos today in the wind. As such it was hard to get a great photo with it hanging down - but lots of this kind! :) Our days have gotten so much shorter since we’ve already had time change and it’s dark by 4 pm.

I did choose to just use tan and off white as the sashing colors because they are neutral colors and young people often like these colors. Plus, they kind of “went” with the fabrics I had.

Thanks so much for coming along with me on this journey!

Have a great day wherever you are reading this!

I wrote the first part before Mike left to go to Central Asia, but he is there now.

On the first day he landed, which was November 10, I decided to check on the young lady that this quilt was going for and I saw on her Facebook page that people were wishing her a “Happy Birthday”! I checked the date and it was that very day - November 10.

No, I had no idea whatsoever that Mike would arrive with a quilt for her on her birthday. I decided to make her a quilt long before Mike had even bought a ticket! I wrote my husband this as soon as I found out but he didn’t have any internet at the time. Later in the day he sent me a photo of her getting her gift and saying “She told me it was her birthday!”

Anyway. The chances of that happening seem like they are 1/365 - which isn’t all that high. I think the Lord guided all that. Obviously I didn’t make it for her birthday, but she got it as a birthday present anyway.

She wrote me on Messenger, sent me a photo and two voice messages telling me how much she loves her new quilt!!!

And that’s why we do it - to bring joy (and warmth) to people!

Be sure to check out what my sis has for you in the store here!

Feel free to browse the site.

Gift Quilt - Heading to Central Asia