A Mother's Memories

I wouldn't have thought that my friend Beth was the sentimental type, so when she approached me and told me that she had saved each little outfit that she had brought her boys home from the hospital in and their first blankets and several other things including the nightgown and robe she wore to the hospital and wanted me to make them into a blanket, I was surprised.

But of course I told her yes.

I'm pleased with how it turned out and I know she is too.

You can't really see it in this picture, but I had the machine quilter add her boys names and birth dates on the big yellow square near the bottom left hand corner.

When I asked her what she wanted on the label she said she wanted it to say something about where the pieces came from, but she didn't know how to say it so I wrote a little poem.

As parents watch their little boys grow,
delighting in laughter that flows,
and antics that follow a twinkling eye,
that speaks of mischief and sometimes strife,
this quilt is meant to remind them of each little lad,
just brought home and snuggled warm
under softest cotton blankets.
Of chubby cheeks, and dimpled hands
and ten tiny toes that wiggled and squirmed in outfits worn,
keeping them warm on that cold winters morn.
-Sydney Larson

I'm linking up today with Amy for her semi-annual Bloggers Quilt Festival, hope you enjoy the show.

Oh, and one more thing, I posted about my friend Krista and the quilt I made for her during last years festival, her cancer has returned (metastatic Stage 4) so please would you say a prayer for her and her family.  She is on her last chemo treatment and will start taking Herceptin indefinately.  I hope her quilt is a reminder that she beat this thing once and she can do it again.

Cheers.

Scrap Happy

A lot has been going on here of late but not all of it is pleasant or even news worthy so instead of blogging about that I am joining Amy today for the semi-annual Bloggers' Quilt Festival.

The last few quilts I have made have a scrappy look and I am loving them, this latest one is a particular favorite, because the only fabric I had to purchase was the outside border and the backing.

I have mentioned here before that I participate in one of our local quilt shops free block clubs, this is one of those quilts.

Krista's Quilt

It's time once again for the Blogger's Quilt Festival, a bi-annual event that takes place over at Amy's every spring and fall.

I made this quilt for my dear friend Krista.  We have only known each other about 4 years but in that short time I consider her a kindred spirit.  In that four years she has seen her share of struggles.  One of which has been a bout with breast cancer.  She has now been in remission for a year and is on the road to a full recovery.

With the exception of the sashing and the border the top was pieced using the scarves and bandana's that she wore during her treatment.  Not long into her treatment she discovered that a fat quarter was a perfect fit.

This for her is a reminder of where she has come from and how much more she has to look forward to and is thankful for and she is glad to use the scarves to cuddle under instead of a covering for her bare head.

I enjoyed designing the top but had a few challenges.  First, because all the material had been washed and washed often, I needed to find something from my stash that had been washed and was more than a couple of years old.  Then I washed all the fabrics again, and set out drafting the design.

Second, the biggest challenge in designing this quilt was figuring the yardage requirements for the sashing.  I had intended this to be a lap quilt, but as I sewed it grew, therefore I did not have enough of the white material to put a border sash around all of the pieced blocks before adding the final border.

Finally, finding a border fabric that would tie all the different fabrics together.  I picked the batik, because of the color and the paisley design.  I am happy with finished product and I know that Krista is too.

The machine quilting was done by Stephanie McGee over at Quilt Etc. and she did a fabulous job.

Now hop on over to Amy's and check out everyone's quilts.

Out of my Box

So today is the last day of the BQF hosted by Amy at Amy's Creative Side and I almost didn't make it.  I have wasted enjoyed many hours browsing through everyone's entries.   Even though the quilt I am showing off today is not the one I originally intended too, it is still one of my favorites.

One of my favorite local quilt shops does a first Saturday block class (basically a block of the month thing) and the year we did this quilt the theme was "Get Out of Your Box" and all the block patterns given to us were of differing sizes, either 6" 9" or 12" with just enough material to make a different combination of each, one month you might do a 12" block and the next you might do one or two 9" blocks and the next three or four 6" blocks, you get the idea.

I enjoyed making my block(s) each month but as the year drew to a close I started to get nervous about how I would set it together to make a complete quilt top and I must confess that my finished blocks sat in their box for more than a year before I settled on a plan.  I really love the way it turned out, but am not anxious to make another one.

After putting a white sashing with cornerstones around each block I filled in the rest using 3" squares and used up a lot of my scrap stash.  If I felt like there were too many 3" squares in one spot I did a 6" block with an appliqued flower in the middle.  I am really pleased with how it all turned out.  It was my intention to give it to one of my nieces or nephews as a wedding present but since they are approaching their thirties and not one of them has any prospects, well, except for one who is now engaged, but he has chosen a different quilt, I decided to use this one and it has graced my bed all summer.  Beside I'll be making more quilts, of that I am sure.

If you would like to see some more fabulous quilts go visit Amy's Creative Side.