Tuesday, March 16, 2010

A new quilt!

  I decided it would be fun to make a northwoodsy (since that is where we live and we love it here!) quilt for Ken for our anniversary. Our anniversary was in December and I did get started beforehand and almost had the top done but there was still quite a bit of work to be done. Oh well! Some day I am going to start projects WAY in advance!

    The quilt is still not completely done but I have been enjoying it so much I was to impatient to wait until it was totally finished to tell you about it. I am working on the hand quilting of it now and that is going to take a while but I decided we would go ahead and use it while it was in progress. (I didn't follow the typical quilting rules and I already bound it together on the edges so it is basically done.)

   This quilt has been especially fun for me because I was able to make it uniquely ours in many ways. Here is a close up of the middle and I will explain the signifigance:
  • There are two loons to represent Ken and me. The loon is Minnesota's state bird which is why I chose them- not because Ken and I are particularly loony! :-)
  • The white fabric on the loons is scraps leftover from making my wedding dress.
  • The dark green fabric is leftover from making the guy's vests and the bridesmaids dresses in our wedding.
  • The purple fabric for the Iris was scraps from other things from our wedding including the flower girl's dress and Candlelighters' dresses.
  • The Iris is one of my long time favorite flowers and Evergreen trees are Ken's favorite.
I did buy the batting and backing fabric (a soft brown flannel) for the quilt (using 40% off coupons at JoAnns) but otherwise everthing was made from things that I had on hand. Some were scraps, some from old  (but not worn out) clothes and some were fabrics leftover from other projects.

 Anyway I have had a lot of fun working on this project and last night when I was doing some quilting I found it extra rewarding to have a project where I have to just sit down quietly. It makes a great time to have fellowship with my family. Aaron came up to me and proceeded to tell me all about a story that he was enjoying, Megan loves to cuddle up to me and watch and I see potential for a lot more of that happening. Sometimes I can be so busy, always going here or there or when I am sitting down there is a purpose- read to the kids, work on the computor, write a letter. etc. It is nice to just have a quiet time when I can listen to them or just be close to them.

 The inspiration for this quilt came from the book "Spirit of the Northwoods" by Debbie Field. It is a really fun book with lots of neat patterns. I enlarged one of the pictures and then added to it.
This is linked to:

 Reinvented's Trash to Treasure Tuesday
 and
A soft place to land's DIY day
and
Today's Creative Blog's "Get your craft on"
and
Market yourself Monday at Sumo's Sweet Stuff


Funky Junk's Saturday Nite Special

16 comments:

Martha said...

Abbi, it is a beautiful masterpiece. I love the significance of the fabric in the picture too. Did you have a pattern for the loons? Or did you free hand make them? Oh, I think you and Ken could be loony. ;) no, just kidding.

Jackie said...

I love it!!! I liked it more after I read the significance of the fabrics. Great job!

Kelly @ Make It Sparkly Mama said...

This is so beautiful, I really love all of the significance!

Anonymous said...

Abbi, that is truly amazing!! The scene is beautiful and the workmanship skill is just incredible. Great job.

Nola said...

Oh I thought it was because you were so loony! LOL just kidding. LOVE the quilt, I am in the north too so its nice to see something northern. I'd love to make a quilt for our bed. But not now. We're using a double quilt on a queen bed...making do. :)

I'd love to hear more about how you did it without following all the quilting "rules" and I'd also love to hear if you have anything more to share about frugal quilting. I'm thinking of using a machine my friend has lent me to make a "quilt" of sorts for my daughter's room, just using stuff I have around with big flannel squares and then a fleece backing and tying, not quilting. Do you know of any places online for frugal quilting/easy shortcuts?

Anonymous said...

Very pretty. You are so talented.

tani said...

I thought it was really beautiful when I first saw it, but then, when I read the story behind it, I thought it was even neater.

I think about how people worked so hard in the pioneer days, but then were forced to slow down, sit by the fire, and interact while doing hand work or something similar in the evenings when it got dark without electricity. It's kind of like God put that darkness in there to slow us down a little and help us to relax. Now, we don't take as much advantage of God's built in relaxation period because we can easily go 90 mph until midnight or later without having to slow down and interact with each other.(Not that I'm complaining about electricity - just an observation.) I think it's wonderful that you and your kids are able to sit and visit while you work on your quilt.

More than Survival said...

LOVE it!!!! Especially special with all the meaning behind it!!! What a blessing to make for your marriage!!
Heather

Paul Barber said...

I agree with all the above comments!! Love the personalization!!! Something to treasure!! You did such a wonderful job!

Greg and Donna said...

Abbi, That quilt is gorgeous. Thanks for sharing all the fabric stories, that makes it even more special and an heirloom. You did a great job!

Anna said...

The quilt is delightful! You did a great job on the center piece! ♥

glor said...

What a beautiful quilt ... you are very talented!

Christy said...

This is amazing!! I wish I had seen it when we were visiting. I esp. like how it incorporates fabrics from your very special wedding day!

Becky R said...

awesome!!!

Unknown said...

That is a beautiful quilt, art actually. I love to quilt but I have yet to make something with such detail and meaning. Wonderful!

Funky Junk Interiors said...

Wow! Incredible work! A work of art to the highest degree.

Thanks for sharing your quilt on SNS!
FJ Donna

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