I was determined not to be a stressed-out bride. We chose a wedding venue that was already a complete experience and were content to pass on a lot of the traditional opportunities to customize. So I wasn’t expecting, 3 months before our wedding, to suddenly become interested in designing favors. But when I have an idea, I have to make a concept. Concepts lead to a pattern, and then once I’ve drafted it, it’s so easy to just order the materials. People I shared this idea with worried that I was creating stress for myself, but quilting was the most normal, in-control activity I did during my entire engagement.

This “quilt” was a design puzzle. It needed to be intentional in two different contexts: ephemeral yet whole at the wedding and then lasting in pieces at our guests’ homes. The final design was achieved through classic guess-and-check, after which I was confident in each component, together and apart.