My first quilt of 2025 is my version of the Luminary Quilt by Jamie Swanson. This pattern was a Christmas gift from my daughter, which made starting this project feel especially meaningful.
I am currently living in South Korea, and while we’ve been here, many people have been incredibly kind and helpful to my family. I decided that I wanted to make quilts as gifts for several of those people, starting with this one.
With Chinese New Year approaching, I found myself inspired by the symbolism and meanings of colors. The person I made this quilt for is Chinese, so choosing colors associated with luck, prosperity, and well-being felt especially important.
Choosing Meaningful Colors for the Quilt
Each color in this quilt was selected intentionally, based on traditional meanings:
- Red: The luckiest color, symbolizing happiness, good fortune, vitality, success, and is used for weddings, New Year, and red envelopes.
- Yellow (Gold): The imperial color, representing power, honor, wealth, and the earth; gold signifies ultimate riches.
- Green: Health, growth, vitality, honesty, and harmony; linked to jade and life.
- Blue/Cyan (Qing): Growth, immortality, healing, calmness, and advancement (wood element).
These were the colors I chose as the foundation for this quilt.
Another important goal for 2025 is to use only fabric from my stash, and this project fit that intention perfectly. I also knew from the beginning that I wanted to make the quilt larger than the original Luminary Quilt pattern, although I didn’t have a clear vision of what that would look like when I started.
Building the Quilt, One Color at a Time
I began by working with the darker colors, adding small touches of red early on since I knew red would play a significant role in the final design.
Next, I focused on creating the red blocks. Watching those bold sections come together really helped define the direction of the quilt.
Once the red blocks were complete, I introduced the yellow blocks and experimented with several different layouts. I moved blocks around repeatedly, trying to find a balance that felt right.
Eventually, I settled on a layout I loved and moved the finished blocks to the top portion of the quilt.
Expanding the Quilt Size
At that point, I added gray blocks before transitioning into the black background fabric. When I realized the quilt wasn’t wide enough to fit the bed, I added wide red borders to each side. This not only solved the size issue but also reinforced the importance of red throughout the quilt.
Quilting and Finishing Details
I quilted the entire piece using a fireworks edge-to-edge design, which felt like a perfect fit given the celebratory nature of the quilt and its connection to the Lunar New Year.
For the binding, I chose a roses print on a black background. It adds just the right amount of red and black to frame the quilt without overwhelming the design.
The backing is a fuzzy blanket from Costco, which gives the quilt an extra layer of warmth and softness.
A Quilt Made With Intention
I truly love how this quilt turned out, and I feel it is perfect for the person I made it for. This version of the Luminary quilt represents gratitude, intention, and the joy of making something meaningful with both hands and heart.
Starting 2025 with a project like this feels exactly right.