In January I posted a quiz on my HollyDee Quilts Facebook page – How many of my own Judy Niemeyer Quilts Tops do I have to quilt? The answer was 11 – that was on January 16th. Today is February 1st and I now have an even dozen! I am so excited because I just finished my Captains Wheel Quilt Top, pattern by Judy Niemeyer. (Judy’s Original). (Someday I will count how many other quilt tops I have of my own to quilt!)
I started cutting the fabric on December 16th. (Remember I also am a long arm quilter and we had the holidays in there – I did not sew every day on this project, I just fit a couple of hours in here and there.

A fantastic rainbow of color – I hope this is as pretty as think it is going to be!

I think I am in love!



See the fabric that randomly changes color around the smaller captains wheel block – that is the replacement fabric – much better than tan don’t you agree?

If you have already made this pattern or are currently working on it – you will notice that my corner is different than the pattern. I added a line down the center of the corner so my color wheel would work it’s way around the quilt properly.

The original pattern includes a rope that undulates around the quilt between the border and the Captains’ Wheel blocks

The rope really finishes it off and I love how the colors change as it goes around. I purchased the fabric at Houston International Quilt Festival in November with no particular project in mind – serendipity!

Now for some fun….. The pattern is “Captains Wheel” This is a companion quilt for “Mariners Compass”. Both of these quilts need names – do you have a good idea for a name?

Captains Wheel – “Fireworks”
Mariner’s Compass – “Spirogyra”
Northern Lights — or Celestial Navigation