Where a stored gift, friendship, and a bible story gave birth to a Cherry Jack Works tradition.

After completing her bold Day-of-the-Dead quilt coat, Cherie felt something awaken inside her—confidence, purpose, and a quiet certainty that she could create something meaningful with her hands. She wanted to use that new skill to make something special for a friend she admired deeply.

She remembered the advice that started it all:

“Never save a piece of fabric for the perfect project. There will never be a perfect project. Just use it.”

So she reached for something she had treasured for years: a quilt she stitched for her grandmother— she had been keeping it as a treasure but it deserved to be worn, not stored. She also loved the quilt for it’s history. The butter churn block (commonly called Churn Dash Block) quilting pattern is one of the oldest patterns in quilting and dates back to the early 1800’s. It’s patten resembles the butter churn, used by pioneers to make butter, when viewed from above. What a perfect pattern to bring to life and wear as a sharable historic story.

Cherie poured her heart into the work. The quilt’s butter churn block pattern became the foundation of her second quilt coat—her first gift coat, crafted with intention and love. The same intention and love she gave to the original quilt she made for her grandmother. When it was finished, it was beautiful. But something still felt missing.

The Antique Store Discovery

A few days later, while browsing an antique store, Cherie came across a piece of jewelry she might have walked past any other day. A small, vintage wheat brooch.

There’s a saying in the world of jewelry:

“The right piece of jewelry will speak to you.”

This one did. The piece wasn’t loud. It wasn’t flashy. But something about it called to her. She picked it up and, in that moment, the symbolism hit her:

Wheat.

It reminded her of the biblical parable of the wheat and the tares— Jesus tells a story of the wheat and the tares. Most people know what wheat is but a tare….what is tare? A tare is simply a weed that looks just like wheat. In the story, Christ tells of the farmer that sewed his wheat in the field and an enemy came while he slept and secretly sewed tares in with it. When the crops began to sprout, the workers recognized these tares and asked the farmer if they should pull the tares up. The farmer tells his workers not pull the tares because early on, the tares look just like the wheat and pulling the tares up would actually hurt the wheat because their roots are intwined. Instead, he tells them to wait until the harvest. At that time it will be easy to see the difference between a wheat and a tare. Then the wheat will be preserved and the tares will be bundled up and burned. In a world where we are surrounded by evil tares nearly at every turn, it’s a nice reminder that mixed in, there is wheat. The wheat is the good and that’s exactly what her friend is. She’s a wheat.

Steady. True. Faithful.

Feeling inspired further by the brooch, she stitched it onto the lapel by hand. Little did she know it was the start of something more than merely a symbolic tie-in for a good friend.

The Birth of the Signature Brooch

When Cherie saw how much meaning that small piece of jewelry added, it became apparent:

This wasn’t just decoration. It was identity. It was tradition. It was the finishing touch that made a Cherry Jack Works coat complete.

She felt from that moment on, every coat she makes should include a brooch chosen with intention—each one unique, each one symbolic, each one stitched onto the lapel to give the coat its story.

Even her own son now recognizes it:

“Mom… your coat isn’t finished until you’ve sewn the brooch.”

And he’s right.

What began as a gift for a friend and a worn quilt made for a grandmother became the heart of the Cherry Jack Works brand:

Where heirloom quilts become wearable stories

and now they are sealed with a brooch.