Welcome to the
Fall 2013 Blogger's Quilt Festival! I am excited to share Something Blue - the wedding quilt I made for my son and daughter-in-law.
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| Something Blue - made with scraps of old clothing and special family quilts |
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| Something Blue - a wedding quilt |
The quilt pattern is
Marmalade by Elizabeth Hartman whose class I took at QuiltCon where I made two of the blocks. The remaining blocks were completed during my annual Gruber's quilt retreat. I could have rushed and finished the quilt in time for the wedding, but I chose instead to put it aside and just enjoy this
special time with family and friends. I tend to stress a little ;-)
I strayed from the pattern just a little. The quilt pattern calls for half diamonds on the two sides. At one point I considered adding borders to make the quilt a little wider and the half diamonds wouldn't work with borders. As I completed the quilt top using full-size diamonds in place of the half diamonds I realized the quilt was the size I wanted without the need for borders.
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| makeshift clothesline |
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| tons of scrappy fabrics |
I also went with one main color for the diamonds rather than two and only one background color. I really like how Elizabeth used two different colors for her diamonds and the one background square in a different neutral, but I couldn't get that to work with the theme I had in mind.
What makes this quilt extra special is the makeup of the scrappy diamond fabrics. I included old clothing of not only the bride and groom but also my grandson, husband and two other children. Additionally, there are scraps of fabrics from quilts made for said family members. When using scraps that weren't old clothing or from a special family quilt, I tried to select fabrics that would mean something to Alex and Kasi. For example, there are some coffee cup prints (they love their coffee), fabric that Kasi gifted me and fabrics she has admired in my studio. Towards the end of piecing the diamonds, I did purchase some new fabric because I was getting bored. With these purchases, I found some organic fabric in blues (organic being important to Alex and Kasi) and a camera print for obvious reasons.
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| the back with KONA Aqua, scrappy strips and Amy Butler LOVE |
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| the back where you can see the quilting lines better |
The backing is pieced with the cutaways from the diamond shapes as suggested in the pattern, but instead of inserting that strip in between two different solids I used the same background solid as the top and a favorite Amy Butler LOVE print that I used in a
previous quilt made for Kasi.
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| "Pause friend let beauty refresh the spirit" |
My daughter helped with photographing the quilt at a favorite park. I wish you could more clearly see the etching on this structure which says "Pause friend let beauty refresh the spirit" and the plaque on the bench which says "Family is Everything". Love these!
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| "Family is Everything" |
My husband and I both are blessed with very special in laws. I am thankful the same can be said of my son's in laws. They have welcomed Alex into their family so generously. Of course, I couldn't have asked for a more wonderful daughter in law than Kasi. She truly is my daughter now, and anyone who reads my blog regularly knows how much I adore their son Leo.
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| Love these two |
One more photo of the quilt and a photo of the couple. Thank you for stopping by and taking the time to ready my quilt story. A big thank you is in order to Amy for hosting the festival as well as her generous sponsors. You can see
all the festival entries here.
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| Love this photo |
Quilt stats:
Name: Something Blue
Category:
Favorite Scrappy Quit
Pattern:
Marmalade by Elizabeth Hartman
Size: 64 x 73
Fabric used: KONA Aqua for background, numerous scraps for the diamonds, KONA Aqua and Amy Butler LOVE for the backing
Quilted: by me using my walking foot and
Aurifil 50wt #2805
Previous Festival entries:
Oh.my.goodness!!! Your Something Blue is gorgeous!! This quilt will be treasured so much by Alex and Kasi! What a blessing for them. Thank you for sharing the beautiful story (and pictures) of your quilt. So beautiful!!
ReplyDeleteA fabulous port Rene. Such meaning and purpose in the making of this quilt. Beautiful setting for photos
ReplyDeleteIt's beautiful! I love that there are so many bits of memory - other quilts, old clothes - in it. So glad you decided to soak up your time with friends and family, too, instead of rushing. This one deserved the patience! Love the back, too.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful quilt with touching memories.
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely lovely!
ReplyDeleteThere is so much beauty about the quilt- the story of the fabrics, the photo settings, the bride and groom and the love of family! Thank you for sharing it all!
ReplyDeleteJust wonderful Rene. I love how you used fabric from their clothes in the quilt. How special.
ReplyDeleteHaving actually watched you work on this quilt, it was especially wonderful to read the post and see your beautiful photography. What special meaning there is to this quilt, so many bits and pieces all combined. I love it so much.
ReplyDeleteThat is so beautiful! I love the diamonds and the story behind it!
ReplyDeleteBeautiful! And I love that the scrappy fabrics had meaning too. A treasured keepsake.
ReplyDeleteIt's a gorgeous quilt and a heart warming story! The wedding photo is radiating with happiness! :)
ReplyDeleteWhat a pretty quilt...so special, too. Congratulations to all!
ReplyDeleteDear Rene', I don't usually get personal on your blogs but I felt that today should be the exception. After reading the wonderful blog about Alex and Kasi's quilt, I went back to your Spring 2010 posting "Got Pink" and reread the story behind the quilt. This quilt is so special to me because it was made by my wonderful daughter. Each time I look at it or wrap myself up in it, I am reminded of the love that was sewn into each stitch. You have taught me that quilts have a story and I am so glad that you shared this one. Your Mom
ReplyDeleteGorgeous! You have a very luck son and DIL!
ReplyDeleteA special quilt made with SO MUCH love!
ReplyDeleteLucky couple to receive such a gorgeous quilt! :-)
ReplyDeleteThis quilt is gorgeous! What better gift to give!
ReplyDelete