Love Without End – A Quilt Inspired by a New Little Love
- Jen Wagner
- 5 hours ago
- 8 min read
My brother and his wife are having their first baby next month, and naturally, one of my very first thoughts was: What quilt am I going to make for this baby?
I had every intention of making it a surprise.
Then, during a family dinner, I started casually asking about their nursery plans. What colors were they using? What was the overall vibe? What were they thinking for décor?
My husband immediately looked at me and said, “Oh, you're asking so you can make them a quilt!”
Well... there went that surprise. 😂
Thankfully, they loved the idea and my sister-in-law soon started sending me photos of her nursery inspiration. The room was filled with the sweetest combination of hearts and bunnies in soft blues and yellows.
And just like that, an idea started taking shape.
P.S. As always, I’ve created free coloring pages for Love Without End and you’ll find the download link at the end of this post—so keep reading for the story behind the quilt, plenty of inspiration, and your free coloring pages.
When Two Ideas Come Together
Around the same time, my friend Belle Brunner of Seams Sew Me was getting ready to launch her newest fabric collection, Always, for Benartex Fabrics.
Inspired by love and weddings, Always is filled with beautiful floral prints inspired by Belle's own wedding bouquet—just take a look at the beautiful floral backing on my quilt! The same print also appears as the cream fabric in the quilt blocks. While the flowers on the backing are outlined in pink, the cream version is a subtle tone-on-tone print with gorgeous pearlescent accents that unfortunately don't completely show up in photographs. Trust me, though—it is absolutely stunning in real life!
Want to see Always for yourself? The collection is currently available at Snapdragon Quilting! Stop by the shop to see those gorgeous pearlescent details in person, or shop the collection online and start planning your own version of Love Without End.
When Belle invited me to create a project using Always as part of her project hop, the timing couldn't have been more perfect.
The nursery inspiration. The hearts. The new fabric collection. The two ideas came together beautifully.
And that's how Love Without End began.
Belle's project hop is filled with so much inspiration from talented designers and makers, including Sharla Hartzell, Gracie Gibson, Sandy Saengsuk, Amy Chappell, Kate Eberius, Sarah Fulks, Amanda Whisman, Siobhan Fitzpatrick, Lisa McCarley, and Belle herself.
You can see all of the beautiful projects here: Always Project Hop
But Why Stop at One Version?
Of course, once I had a design full of hearts, I couldn't stop thinking about all the other possibilities.
Because honestly... a quilt full of hearts practically begs to be made in Valentine's Day fabrics, doesn't it?
So the Love Without End pattern includes three colorways, six size options, and plenty of opportunities to make the design your own.
And then there is the bunny.
The original nursery inspiration included the sweetest little bunny hiding inside a lampshade and I knew I wanted to bring a little bit of that playful personality into the quilt.
So, you also have the option to add a darling bunny playing hide-and-seek behind one of the quilt blocks.
Because sometimes a quilt just needs a bunny. 🐰
The Design Process: Sometimes You Have to Break It Apart
One of my favorite parts of designing a quilt is figuring out how it should be made.
I don't just sketch a design and immediately write instructions. Once I have an idea, I start exploring different construction methods, making test blocks, pulling things apart, trying again, and asking myself:
Is there a better way to do this?
Once I have a method that I think will work, I send an early version to my pattern testers. Then we continue the process together, finding places where the instructions need clarification and refining the construction as everyone makes the quilt.
Love Without End went through exactly that process.
The hearts originally started as solid reverse appliqué shapes. But as I worked through the construction, something wasn't quite working the way I wanted it to.
The sharp points of the heart required the fabric to bend and turn in a way that made the construction more difficult—and I knew there had to be a better solution.
So I split the heart in two.
Suddenly, everything worked.
By dividing the heart, I eliminated the need to manipulate the fabric around those sharp points, and the result was cleaner, smoother, and easier to construct.
But then I started looking at the design differently.
If I could divide the heart...
What if I divided the entire block?
And then the border.
And then even the binding.
And somewhere along the way, I completely fell in love with the result.
Sometimes the best solution isn't to force a design to work exactly the way you originally imagined it.
Sometimes you have to break it apart to discover something even better.
Why I Keep Coming Back to Reverse Appliqué
If you've followed my patterns for a while, you know that I have a bit of a love affair with reverse appliqué.
The variation of the technique I use has a wonderful quilting lineage. Sharon Schamber developed it, taught it to Sue Heinz, and then I had the opportunity to learn it from Sue.
The first time I saw the technique demonstrated, I was hooked. It is such a clever way to create small, smooth, accurate, and flat curves. There are no specialty rulers required and no need to wrestle with tiny curved seams.
Naturally, once I discovered it, I couldn't stop experimenting with it.
I've continued to explore what this technique can do through my patterns and every time I think I've pushed it as far as it can go, another idea comes along.
For this method, one of the things I've found makes a huge difference is using a sturdy freezer paper. I use CutRite Heavy-Duty Freezer Paper Sheets, which hold up beautifully throughout the process and make excellent reusable templates.
And because tracing and cutting templates is not everyone's favorite part of quilting, we also precision-cut the templates for Love Without End in our shop. It's one of those little things that can save you time, energy, and help improve accuracy from the very beginning.
Carrying the Love Into the Quilting
Once the piecing was finished, I couldn't stop there! The hearts throughout Always inspired the quilting, too.
I free-motion quilted a heart-within-a-heart design, filling the spaces with soft, flowing swirls. It felt like the perfect way to carry the theme of love from the fabric and piecing all the way through to the finished quilt.
I especially love when quilting becomes part of the overall design rather than simply the final step.
Those little hearts add another layer of texture and meaning—and feel like the perfect finishing touch for Love Without End.
The Best Part? Seeing What Everyone Else Creates
As much as I love the design process, one of my absolute favorite moments is when I send a pattern out into the world and start seeing it through someone else's eyes.
I am incredibly lucky to have an amazing team of pattern testers who pour their hearts into every project while helping me find the gaps in those early drafts.
Throughout testing, we communicate in our Slack channel about everything from construction questions to fabric choices. Photos start appearing. Ideas start bouncing around. And suddenly, the design that has been living inside my head begins taking on completely new personalities.
One of the things that stood out during testing Love Without End was just how much everyone seemed to genuinely love making it.
In fact, several testers are already starting a second version!
Mary Kay's Floral Version
Mary Kay was one of the first to show me just how beautifully this design could work with larger-scale prints.
She used the same floral print in two different colorways and paired it with a playful dot. I'll admit, I had been a little worried about using larger prints with the skinny strips that create the plaid effect.
But seeing her finished quilt?
It made my heart sing.
And of course, she included the darling bunny too—which is, quite frankly, ridiculously cute.
Cath's Puffy Heart Version
Cath is one of our power quilters. She catches technical details while somehow sewing up projects incredibly quickly and beautifully.
She also makes and donates many children's quilts, so I love seeing the projects she creates.
Her version of Love Without End includes the sweetest puffy heart centers, with a double layer of batting under them and hearts and curly-qs quilted into the border. The quilting adds so much personality and texture to the design.
Bojana's Valentine's Version
Bojana has been working on two completely different versions and I am loving every peek she shares along the way.
Her Valentine's version, complete with the heart border, is absolutely adorable. And she is also working on a second version featuring honeycombs and bumblebees. I cannot wait to see that one come together!
Teri's Long-Awaited Valentine's Runner
Teri told us that she had wanted to make a Valentine's Day table runner for a long time, so she was especially excited to jump into this project.
Teri loves celebrating the holidays—and even hosts our quilt guild's holiday party every year—so I already know this quilt is going to shine in her home every February.
Stasi's First of Two!
Stasi of @tennesseequiltretreats loved making Love Without End so much that she is already starting on a second version!
Her first quilt is absolutely adorable, and I especially love the way she added more reverse appliqué heart halves in the border peeking from the edges.
It's such a perfect reminder that even when everyone starts with the same pattern, the fabrics and little design choices make every quilt uniquely their own.
And What About the Baby Quilt?
You may be wondering what happened to the original quilt that started this whole idea—the one for my brother and sister-in-law's new baby.
I'm still making it! With the baby arriving next month, I've got a deadline now. 😂 I'm using the soft blues and yellows from their nursery inspiration, along with plenty of hearts. I'm thinking that I'll make that sweet little bunny in flannel so he's extra soft. Here's a mock up of what I've got planned:
Once it's finished and gifted to its newest little owner, I'll be back to share it and maybe even a little peak at my new nephewwith you!
So be sure to check back—I can't wait to show you how the original inspiration for Love Without End comes to life!
Love Without End
This quilt began with a baby on the way, a little nursery inspiration, and a fabric collection all about love.
But somewhere along the way, it became so much more.
It became an opportunity to play with construction, rethink a design, experiment with a technique I love, and watch an amazing group of makers bring their own creativity to the pattern.
And honestly, I think that's one of the things I love most about quilt making.
We start with fabric and an idea.
We cut it apart.
We sew it back together.
And somehow, along the way, we create something that holds far more meaning than the individual pieces ever could.
The Love Without End pattern is available now and includes three colorways in six sizes, with the option to add a little bunny hiding among the blocks.
I can't wait to see what you create with it!
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