Love Without End: A Bunny, a Nursery, and a Quilt for My New Nephew
My brother and sister-in-law are parents! Their little one arrived a week early (momma and baby are doing great) and suddenly, I was in a rush to finish his quilt. I loaded it onto my longarm, quilted it, and even put the binding on—only to realize that I had never sewn the border on! 🤦♀️
Thankfully, they loved the quilt without the border and good news, the pattern still includes the instructions for the border if you want to put it on.
Isn't he so precious? I can't stop staring at him!
He already loves visiting the shop!
When I launch a new quilt pattern, I tell the story behind the quilt and share the amazing versions made by my pattern testers here on the blog. I did that in my first Love Without End blog post, which you can read here.
But since this quilt pattern has two cover quilts, I'm doing two blog posts and telling the story of this second version for my brand-new nephew too.
And this time, there’s a bunny. 🐰
Inspired by a Nursery and Parental Love
This quilt was inspired by my sister-in-law's nursery. On one wall, she has an adorable drawing of bunnies that her grandpa drew. She also has this cute-as-can-be lamp with a bunny hiding in the shade, so of course I had to make the quilt with a bunny hiding in the blocks.
There's something about becoming a parent that changes you. I've already seen a new kind of joy in my brother since his son arrived—a tenderness and protectiveness that wasn't there in quite the same way before.
And having been a mom myself, I know how difficult that love is to put into words. It's fierce and tender and a little overwhelming all at once. You suddenly have this tiny person who matters to you more than you could have imagined, and you want to soak up every little detail because you know they won't stay little forever.
That's the kind of love I wanted this quilt to celebrate.
The first version of Love Without End was made to celebrate the love between partners. This version is about the love we feel for our children and grandchildren.
Five Fabrics, So Many Possibilities
One of the things that makes me so excited about the Love Without End pattern is that the three color options aren't simply three different colorways.
They actually change how many fabrics you can use in the heart blocks. Depending on the option you choose, you can work with 2, 3, or 5 fabrics, which gives the quilt a completely different look.
For my nephew's quilt, I chose the five fabric option, using three blues and two yellows. With this option, the colors bounce back and forth from row to row. This also allows one fabric to be a main fabric in the first row of blocks, then become a stripe in the next row of blocks, tying the rows together.
I also used a few fabrics with texture, to add more interest.
The soft, solid-appearing blue is a Cotton Shot Pearl by Benartex which has a beautiful pearl finish that catches the light and gives the fabric a little bit of shimmer. The solid-appearing yellow is also a Cotton Shot but without the pearl and you can see how lovely the print is. I love these fabric lines because they appear solid but add so much texture.
Traditional shot cottons are woven with different colored threads to create a subtle, dimensional look. Benartex's Cotton Shot line is a printed fabric designed to give you that same shot cotton appearance but without the cost. I love that it reads almost like a solid from a distance but has so much texture up close.
I also chose the yellow herringbone because it is a flannel, which adds another layer of texture. I imagine that when he's a bit bigger, my nephew loving to run his hands over the quilt feeling the contrast between the flannel, pearl, and cotton fabrics.
When I found that adorable bunny flannel (it's even called Bunny Love!), it had to be the quilt back.
If you're making Love Without End, don't be afraid to think beyond color when choosing your fabrics.
Texture, scale, and fabric finish can all change the way your quilt looks and feels. You don't have to use five completely different fabrics to make the quilt interesting. You can use different textures and fabric personalities to make a smaller palette feel much more complex.
When choosing fabrics for a quilt, I often think about more than just color. What happens when you touch it? What happens when the light hits it? What happens when you see it from across the room? Those differences can create interest even when your color palette is very simple.
If you love the way I've put it together, you can get a kit with these exact fabrics (border included).
Six Sizes, So Many Ways to Make It
In addition to having 3 color options, the Love Without End pattern also includes six size options so you can make a table runner for Valentine's Day or Easter, a baby quilt for that new little one on the way, a twin for that growing grandchild, or even a queen or king for the perfect wedding gift!
Construction
When I design a new quilt, I start with a sketch, intentionally shutting off the part of my brain that wants to answer the "how are we going to make this?" question because I want the design to find itself first without being hindered. This has led to developing new strategies for working with fabric and I get so excited when I find methods of construction that totally work.
Reverse appliqué using Cutrite heavy-duty freezer paper and a bit of Elmer's school glue make those hearts oh so smooth on the first try. Watch the full tutorial including how to simplify the plaid design and add the bunny, over on my YouTube channel.
Let's Make Those Hearts Puff!
When it came time to quilt this version, I had an idea.
I really wanted the hearts and bunny to puff up a bit.
For the first version of Love Without End, I quilted a heart-in-a-heart design with swirls, and I loved how it turned out. So I decided to use that quilting design again—but with a little twist.
I loaded the quilt top, batting, and backing onto my Innova longarm as usual.
Then, whenever I rolled to the next section of the quilt, I slipped two additional layers of batting underneath the hearts and bunny.
I stitched in the ditch around them to hold those extra layers in place, then quilted my heart-in-a-heart-with-swirls design around the shapes. By keeping the quilting around the hearts and bunny rather than quilting through them, I left those areas with less compression so the extra batting could create the dimension I was after.
And...
Tada!
Puffy hearts and a puffy bunny. 🐰
Want to try this on your own quilt?
This is a really simple way to add dimension to a quilt. The key is that you're essentially creating a little extra layer of batting only where you want the design to stand out. You could use this idea to enhance appliqué shapes, animals, flowers, stars, hearts—or just about anything else you want to emphasize.
Traditionally, this is done by layering up the batting, stitching in the ditch, and then cutting off the extra batting but with some careful cutting and stitching, I cut the shapes out of the batting before quilting instead of afterward.
And you don't need a longarm to experiment with the idea. You could add the extra batting and secure it with your domestic machine, too.
And Then the Baby Came...
There is something pretty special about making a quilt for a brand-new baby in your family.
I started this quilt knowing exactly where it would go: tucked into my nephew's nursery, with a little bunny peeking out of the quilt blocks just like the bunny in his lamp.
Then he decided to arrive a week early and gave me absolutely no time to spare. 😂
Which explains how I managed to quilt and bind the entire thing before realizing I'd forgotten the border.
But honestly?
I wouldn't change a thing.
The quilt has a story now.
And someday, when my nephew is older, I'll be able to tell him about the bunny lamp that inspired his bunny quilt, the fabrics I chose for him, and how I was so excited to finish his quilt that I forgot the border.
Maybe he'll remember the quilt. Maybe he'll remember the bunny. Maybe he'll just remember being wrapped up in it.
But I'll remember making it for him.
That's what I love about quilts. They're not just something we make. They're something we remember.
Which Version Would You Make?
Love Without End is officially here and there are so many ways to make it your own.
Will you use 2, 3, or 5 fabrics for the heart blocks?
And will you add the optional bunny?
One of the things I hope this pattern does is give quilters permission to play. The pattern gives you a framework, but the fabric placement, number of fabrics, bunny, border, and quilting can completely change the personality of the finished quilt and I would love to see what you make!
Send us photos at support@snapdragonquilting.com and share it using #LoveWithoutEndQuilt and @SnapdragonQuilting. We've also got a thriving Facebook group, Snapdragon Stitchers, where you can find like-minded quilters, share your Snapdragon projects, and be part of a welcoming community.
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