Mom's Quilt

Hey peeps! Happy, Happy New Year!

Can we all say good riddance to 2009??? It was a rough year for many people. As such, I wish you all much love, prosperity and merriment in the coming year. Let's put some distance between us and 2009, shall we?

I so wish I were beginning this year with my divorce and loss of my home behind me (don't think I've shared this ordeal with you all as of yet), but alas, unfortunately, this is not my current state of affairs. However, I have every hope that 2010 will bring about an end to the destructive forces that have plagued me during the previous year. It's about time this crafty chick caught a break you know???

At any rate, the holidays were a lovely respite from an otherwise dismal year. I crafted my butt off prior to the festivities so that I might bestow upon my friends and family a bit of LadyLinoleum handmade goodness. As such, my mother was the recipient of my third quilting project...



Yes, while simultaneously working on our wedding quilt for Jenny and Rich, Jenna and I were also working on individual quilting productions.

I know, crazy talk right???

Right. Or at least I thought so while spending many an eve sewing into the wee hours of the morning. But just look at the results...



I am just so pleased at how much better I am getting at this whole quilting thing. AND I have developed such a love for Double Irish Chain during this process, I cannot begin to tell you. I love a piecing challenge, what can I say?


Check out them borders!

It's good that I am falling in love with quilting, because my family and friends have begun a quilt queue, sending me color swatches for quilts that they assume I will be making for each of them this year. No, they're not pushy or anything. Jeesh.

Love you all!


Lining.

Anyway, Mom loved her quilt and I loved being able to make it for her.

Definitely more quilt projects to come in 2010!

Jenny Lee's Quilt

Several months ago, my girl, Jenna, had a brilliant (read "cracked") idea, which she posed to me during our last set of quilting classes at the Sewing Arts Center, while I was under the influence of a divorce induced stooper I might add. This, err, clever conception of hers surrounded our mutual friend, Jenny Lee, and her upcoming nuptials in October. Oh yes, dear reader, you can guess what's coming next...Jenna went on to say that seeing as how we have become such expert quilters (Can you all say coercion?), having recently completed one quilt apiece (you read that correctly...one...quilt...a...piece), that she thought it a splendid idea that we show Jenny just how much we adore her (and her betrothed of course) by making the couple a wedding quilt, a queen size wedding quilt that is. I believe I just stared at her, deer-in-the-headlights like, drool dripping from the corner of my mouth, responding somewhat unintelligibly, "Uh, okay."

Despite my, err, reservations about our collective abilities to tackle such a gigantor project, in hindsight I'm happy to report that Jenna's idea was indeed a masterful one. Not only did we make an awesome heirloom for our beloved Jenny and her man, but Jenna and I found out that we make a pretty darn good quilting team. Before going into the gory details, feast your eyes on the results of our laborious journey...



Oh, and yeah, that would be the Double Irish Chain quilt pattern...I know, we're nuts.

Here are some detail shots...







Now for the gory quilting details!

As it turns out, I rather enjoy cutting PERFECT strips of fabric over and over and over again. Actually, it's kinda meditative. Jenna, on the other hand, doesn't mind chain piecing strip after strip after bloody strip. Oh and pressing? We both are good with a steaming hot iron. Go figure! After having the strips assembled, I sub-cut 'em for more assemblage. This time we both took to our machines for an anal exercise of matching up corners and seams. Once the individual blocks were assembled we both laid them out on the floor and simultaneously gasped at the size of the behemoth we were putting together. I then went back to my machine to assemble the top. Jenna was on iron duty at that point. Once assembled, we tag-teamed the borders and backing, readying ourselves for the homestretch, pinning the layers. Quilt pinned, it was time for Jenna to machine quilt the top (not my favorite portion of the program) and she did a wonderful job I might add. Top quilted, I attached the binding around the entire front edge with my machine. We then put an end to our co-quilting journey by spending a week's worth of lunch hours hold up in one of the cube farm's conference rooms, tacking down the binding to the back of the quilt with needles, thread, thimbles and thousands of hand sewn blind stitches.

Whew, makes me tired just writing all of that! But I gotta tell ya all, it was so worth it. As not only did I have the privilege of spending myriad Sundays in craft with Jenna, but I was able to witness the joy on Jenny's face when we presented her with her gift...



It just doesn't get much better than that...