At the beginning of the COVID-19 summer, I began work on a big project: two large quilts that could be hung back to back to form a room divider. The goal was both to separate our dining room from my husband’s office and also to install a sound muffler for whenever again we are able to have groups of friends over to play roleplaying games, as we frequently did pre-pandemic.

I wanted the quilts to create the illusion of looking out on a landscape. I found two beautiful beach scene panels on eQuilter.com, one of a pathway to the shore and the other of the beach at sunset. Both reminded me strongly of my and my husband’s courtship on Anna Maria Island in Florida when I was in my senior year of high school. We spent many a date on the beach, though since Kirk burned easily, we preferred overcast days and late afternoons. I bought 7 of each panel so that I could sew them as One Block Wonders.

I decided to pay a longarmer to quilt the finished tops, as they were quite large and bulky and I wanted them even and flat to hang straight, something I struggle with on my domestic machine (even my new Janome with the expanded throat space). It was a great decision. Maria O’Haver did a wonderful job with two different all-over designs I picked from her library of patterns.

The quilts are fantastic at their intended purpose and enliven both sides of the divided room.