Traditions Quilt Pattern as Seen in Quilter's World Magazine

September 30, 2026

Traditions Quilt in Quilter's World Magazine

Traditions has been published in the Winter 2026 issue of Quilter's World Magazine and I'm so excited to finally be able to share this very special quilt with you!

Inspiration

When I received the call for submissions for this issue I was inspired when I read the following:

This issue will celebrate Christmas and holiday-inspired quilting, focusing on projects that capture the joy, warmth, and handmade magic of the season. For color inspiration, think cozy seasonal vibes paired with rich holiday hues and grounded with warm neutrals, a palette that feels timeless, warm, and inviting.

The thought of snuggling up with a warm quilt, next to a roaring fire, surrounded by holiday decorations, brought back memories of a very special place where my family and I used to live. This place is magical in my mind. It's a place where I was surrounded by a gorgeous pine forest, complete with the smells, colors and wildlife native to the forest.

In the spring and summer, I used to love exploring and hiking in the mountains near Placerville, CA, about 45 minutes from Lake Tahoe in the Sierra Nevada mountains. In the winter, I loved to curl up with a warm quilt, a good book and a cat in my lap and look at the snow out the window. It was these feelings I sought to re-create when I designed this quilt! Traditions seemed like the perfect name for it as well, connecting me to memories of the past and holiday celebrations in the present.

Method

To create the overlapping and braided effect in the quilt, I used the Plaid Knots quilt block. The original block used templates for the block pieces, which I felt were cumbersome and entailed too much work! Instead, I opted to make the blocks oversize and cut them down. Below is a picture of the completed block before trimming:

To trim the blocks, I used the Cute Cuts 11" ruler from Lori Holt shown below:

Here is the block after trimming:

For the fabric, I chose traditional Christmas colors of red and green and added brown and tan to bring in the earthiness of the forest. The fabric shown is from the Foundations collection from Island Batik/Lumin Fabrics. The color names are Sand, Brownie, Pineneedle and Candy.