Let’s Get Bananas! 🍌

This quilt was such a fun little exploration for me. I was working from home during COVID and really struggling with the monotony of being a single girl, home alone by herself. I needed something fun to break up the endless days of working, eating, and staring at the same four walls. More than anything, I wanted to push myself outside of what I normally did as a quilter and just play.

Tula Pink had released her Monkey Wrench collection in the fall of 2019, and it was — and still is — ONE OF MY FAVORITES!!! I honestly could not get enough of it. The colors, the monkeys, the bananas… it was just pure Tula Pink fun.

At the time, though, I was living on a very meager income and definitely couldn’t afford to buy much of the collection. I had managed to snag a charm pack and happened to have some leftover black Kona cotton sitting in my stash from another project. So, naturally, I decided that was enough to make a quilt. 😂

I found a free pattern called Race Track on the FreeSpirit website and decided to give it a shot. As I started putting everything together, I ended up modifying the pattern a little bit so I could really showcase that adorable monkey in the center. And honestly? I LOOOOOVE how it turned out.

Sometimes the best quilts come from working with what you have - a little fabric, a free pattern, a questionable amount of confidence, and a whole lot of enthusiasm.

For the backing, I used the bright green banana 108" wideback from the collection, which might be one of my favorite parts of the whole quilt. It really ties all that crazy, happy color together.

Then I sent it off to my dear friends at Primrose Cottage Quilts to be longarmed, and Lindsey absolutely did not disappoint! She used a bright lime green thread paired with a banana leaf pantograph, and it was the perfect finishing touch.

This quilt still makes me smile. It was made during a weird, lonely season of life, but it ended up being a reminder that sometimes you just need to give yourself permission to make something completely ridiculous, colorful, and fun.

A few years later, I entered Monkey Business into a quilt show. The judges, unfortunately, did not find it quite as amusing as I did and gave it some pretty low marks. As a newer quilter, I have to admit, it was pretty disheartening.

But the monkeys weren’t having any of that. 🐒🍌

A few years later, we entered them into another show - and this time, they came home with a ribbon for BEST USE OF COLOR!

That’s right. Our little cutie was a showstopper! 💚

So remember: always have fun. Make the weird quilt. Use the bright colors. Try something outside your comfort zone. And, most importantly, don’t let one judge’s opinion take away the joy you found in making it.

Made by Hand.
Meant to be Loved.

~ Katherine

PS - See how many monkeys you can find!