On PatternReview.com
Posted on: January 29, 2007
Pattern Rating: I Highly recommend this pattern

Pattern Description: This is a quilt based on the labyrinths used for meditation. I was lucky enough to get to walk the one at Grace Cathedral in San Francisco. My husband and I happened upon a quilt by Laurel Reinhardt in Asheville, NC. Luckily, she sells the pattern, so you don’t have to buy one for over $1,000.

Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it? Yes.

Were the instructions easy to follow? Yes, I suppose. I’m much more of a visual person, and while Reinhardt tries to explain how to piece the pattern in words, I found it easier just to look at the diagrams and figure out how things would work for me.

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern? LOVE the styling. Pattern also includes how to make this into a tree skirt.

No real dislikes. She recommends triangles on a roll for piecing the angles. I had never heard of the product, so I just cut squares and pieced triangles based on my other quilting books.

Fabric Used: 100% cotton. This quilt is a for some dear friends who are having their first child. They didn’t want a “baby quilt,” so I picked out muted colors. The path is stone is color, the background green, so they go well with my tree motif.

Pattern Alterations or any design changes you made: I made the center piece one large octogon instead of 8 triangles. This allowed me to embroider a tree in the middle on my machine. I stippled around the tree to give it a bumpy effect. (Please note, this is my first time hand quilting, so my stitches aren’t even at all.) Unfortunately, I can’t remember where I downloaded the tree pattern from. It was $10, but worth every penny.

Also, because I could only embroider something so big, I also decided to pull in the wedges as much as possible to make the center smaller. This means that my quilt is 60″ square total, while normally the labryinth itself (without the borders) would be 60″.

Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others? Yes! I plan on making another one for my house sometime. I do recommend it to others, but not as a first quilt. If you’re fine using a rotary cutter, piecing strips and piecing triangles, you should be fine.

Conclusion: Friends have seen the quilt at the love it. I’m glad to be able to give this to them, and to have finished it before the baby is due!

Note: this pattern is definitely “homegrown.” It is printed in black and white with homemaade drawings/pictures. It works great, though. Shipping is prompt and in a tyvek envelope to protect the pattern.

Title: Season’s of Magic; A Girl’s Journey
Author: Laurel Ann Reinhardt
Rating:  Must Read!
Publisher: Llewellyn Publications
Web Page: http://www.llewellyn.com

We all have teachers in our lives; whether we can recognize them for what they are or are thankful for them, they are there. Some teach us about life and love, some teach us about math and science and some teach us about ourselves, and our spirits. Season’s of Magic is the story of a young girl’s journey, with a much loved teacher, through the seasons of a year and a crash course in the seasons of life.

Erin is curious about her family’s practice of celebrating the changing of the seasons. In class she listens with interest as her friend Rachel explains why Christmas is so important to her family, and Erin discovers that she isn’t sure why her family celebrates the Winter Solstice. Her mother suggests that she ask Evangeline, an elderly neighbor, to teach her about the seasonal changes and the magic within them.

Through her studies in the natural world of Mother Nature Erin discovers that with each celebration and changing season, she is changing in her relationships with others and with herself. She is learning about the world and people, and her family’s religious beliefs. A particularly hard lesson is one which we could all use some help in dealing with, the death of a dear friend.

This book is a wonderful guide to the seasonal holidays, for children and adults alike. It is written in a gentle tone that makes it seem as if Evangeline is there for us all, and in a way, she is. It does not put down other religious beliefs but rather encourages an exploration of the similarities and differences between religions, all in a child’s point of view.

At the end of the book is a specific guide to the Wheel of the Year and all of the holidays therein. It is a workbook to help guide the reader through an exploration of the seasons and includes a glossary of terms just to make things perfectly clear. Finally, Season’s of Magic is the guide book you may have been looking for to help children embrace and celebrate the magic of the seasons in a heart touching and loving tale they can relate to.