Tuesday, April 12, 2016

An Extended Birthday Comes To A Halt

Not everyone wants to celebrate their birthdays for a month.  I know I would rather not!  But some do, like my daughter.  Of course, it is partly my fault.  

First, I gave birth to her a full month before her due date thirty years ago!  Second, it took me much longer to finish her birthday quilt than expected.  Like many children, she took full advantage of the situation!!  

I started the milestone '30' row by row quilt in the middle of February ~ Rowing Along ~ playing it all by ear.  Working, cutting, figuring everything as I went.  I knew I was going Southwestern-ish and using my April Rhodes 'Wanderer' bundle.  That was all I knew at the time.

Sometimes it's the hardest thing to do, and multiply that by ten when you are trying to impress your daughter!  Who coincidentally, is your number one fan and the one who taught me to quilt! Pressure comes to mind! 



I couldn't be happier with the results.  All the fretting, fussing, pressure and indecision was worth it in the end. 

First of all...she did love it!  Whew!  I mean, what if she hated it and said so? Or hated it and didn't say so?  See what we put ourselves through?!

Once I finished the top, I settled on a backing.  I kept in the same style and went with April Rhodes 'Bound'.  Like many collections, the colors are carried through to the next.  The hardest part was lining up the pattern when I made the backing the right size.  I never knew it would be so hard!

When my daughter quilted, she also hoarded quilting related things.  Like batting.  She happened to have a huge piece of wool batting stored at my house.  Being in the mode...use it or lose it...we decided it would be perfect for her quilt.  With that decision, I knew I would not be quilting something so lofty as that!  Yikes!  It would have been a nightmare!


The quilting was done by Vickey @ Studio V Quilting.  Who happens to be a member of our guild.  The pantograph design I found was exactly what I was looking for and Vickey was more than happy to use it on this quilt.  



The texture blew me away!  I was so beyond happy with it.  I immediately squared it up and attached the binding!  Excited...just a bit!

Maybe 8-9 years ago, I made a quilt and had it long arm quilted with wool batting.  We use it every single winter.  The warmth from the wool is amazing!



No secret, Britt turned 30 February 27th.  Monumental, right?  I ended up making three X's in roman numerals for a discreet patch on the back.  While I want her to remember when and why she received it, I didn't want it to be in your face!  Or her face!  It also resembles 'X' and 'O'...hugs and kisses!  Totally appropriate!



The quilt has a bit of paper piecing, regular piecing and filler piecing.  Filler piecing meaning...I gotta add something...it isn't long enough...OMG!



See that texture?!  Even though this quilt is far from perfect, the quilting seems to balance it out.

When I showed my son the finished quilt, I said by next winter she will love this!  His response was 'she'll get sick three times before winter'!  And he was right!  She is sick right now!  Who doesn't curl up under a snugly, cozy warm quilt when they are sick?! Awww...kids!




Before the sickness we brought her quilt outside for a few photos and far too many laughs! The quilt is long...looong!  Add the wind and the Boomerang App and we were rolling on the 'lawn'!  


  
I love, love, love seeing my kids happy.  Who wouldn't?!  Having them act like a two-year-old on Christmas morning for a simple basic quilt at the age of 30...can you say my heart was over flowing....??? 

LINKING:

37 comments :

  1. Jayne, this is perfect quilt! So so beautiful and all the design, details, colours, backing and quilting are so well thought! x Teje

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    1. There is always bits of doubt when making a quilt this way and making one for my daughter heightened that by a lot!

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  2. I love your new header! I missed the threads! x Teje

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    1. I ended up missing it too! So I tried another approach!

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  3. This is the perfect quilt, and you can see it was made with lots of love. Beautiful!

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    1. It was made with love and a lot of pressure too! Whenever I make a quilt for my daughter, I try to create something that will knock her socks off!

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  4. Terrific way to approach an ad hoc improve quilt! It's beautiful and Vickey's quilting motif was the perfect choice.

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    1. The quilting was just perfect for this quilt. I found a design I liked and Vickey was kind enough to purchase it just for this quilt!

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  5. This turned out beautifully - wonderful colors and such a happy quilt.

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    1. I was aiming to make my daughter happy…and I'm happy to say she was happy!

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  6. Jayne, I see absolutely no imperfections in this quilt - it is beautiful! And the E2E quilting Vickey did was a splendid choice! And it is clear that you hit a home run with your daughter!

    I have to comment on your not wanting to quilt with wool - it truly is not a nightmare but just like quilting butta ;) I have been using exclusively wool in my quilts since the day I discovered it. It is warm but it breaths, perfect for summer quilts as well. I scoffed at the ladies at the quilt shop when they told me that little tidbit. How could that even be possible? I don't know how but it is true. We sleep under our wool batted quilt year round. . . in AZ! And you can't beat the drape of a wool quilt!

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    1. I'm happy with the quilt, happy to have it finished and really happy with the quilting! There is no better quilt for the winter than a wool batting quilt! I love ours! What kind of wool batting do you use? The batting I had was really lofty and I'm afraid if I tried to quilt it, it would be a disaster. Cotton batting lays and stays when I pin baste, but this wool does not seem like it would be so easy to do that with. Maybe I need to try it one day, in the future, the far future!!

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  7. Another beauty you just whipped up;-) I love wool in quilts, it's loft gives just great dimension and you certainly achieved that-fantastic quilt. So your daughter no longer quilts? But how wonderful she loves what her momma makes!

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    1. I would love to say I just whipped it up, but it was a tough one! I know she will love having a wool quilt especially this winter! I wish she still quilted! Over the years she has slowly decreased her sewing. We use to make a couple quilts a year together, but that has all but stopped. She has moved on to other interests!

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  8. Beautiful quilt Jayne! I can see why Britt was so excited!

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    1. I couldn't be happier with the quilt finish and the fact that she loves it! She'll be happy she has it on a cold winter night!

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  9. I love the label idea so, so much Jayne! When you pieced it and shared it on Instagram I definitely saw X's and O's, but knowing the "30" connection now is so awesome. The quilting and texture really is perfect, and I love that there are so many great connections to your daughter in the quilt (using her batting, after all). <3

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    1. Originally I was going to piece a big 'X' on the backing to match the two on the front of the quilt. Didn't happen! The next idea was a patch. I didn't want to go to loud 'HEY YOU ARE 30'! It needed to be subtle, which I think she appreciated! She's a hard one to impress sometimes. I try to wow her and for the most part it works!

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  10. It's beautiful! Sorry to hear she's under the weather, but glad to hear the quilt is being used and loved.

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    1. I guess the timing was perfect, just in time for a cold! She'll be comforted by it, I am sure of that!

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  11. It is lovely! The perfect balance of beautiful colors and negative space. I love your choice of designs!

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    1. Jayne, what a terrific quilt. The shapes and colors in your design are so intricate, yet so clean and modern. My birthday is Feb 27 (1948!), too--any chance I might get the next quilt? ;)

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  12. What a pretty quilt, and such fun photos at the end. I think you can never go wrong with a row quilt. I like the idea that it is light in color but warm in feel. (Love the creative label, too!) I'm sorry to hear your daughter got sick, but now you know the quilt has healing properties. And although it might be just a bit sad for you that she has moved away from making quilts, it's awesome that your daughter got you started on quilting so you can now make quilts for her! (and do this great blog about them).

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    1. You know, I am so thankful to my daughter for teaching (making me) to quilt. It showed me that I can have a talent too! Honestly, I never thought of myself as creative until I learned to quilt. I am forever thankful to her. Healing properties…oh my goodness…quilts soothe the soul!

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  13. Everything about it is gorgeous. The colors the quilting, the roman numerals on the back. I can see why she was so happy and acting like a little kid - who wouldn't. A gift she will cherish forever. thank you for sharing it with all of us.

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    1. She was acting like a hold at Christmas! I was brimming with delight when I saw that she was willing to play and have fun during the photos!

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  14. This is beautiful! I hope your daughter thinks it's absolutely beautiful--because it is!

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    1. I couldn't be happier with the quilt and my daughters reaction! Even at 30…there is still room for squealing!

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  15. Lovely quilt! You surprise me with all the numbers you share lately :)

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    1. I may over post! Since it is my job…one that I love…I take time every day to quilt. In a way I feel like I'm making up for all the years I didn't have a passion or something that I felt I had a gift for. Hopefully that doesn't sound bad, but I honestly love, love what I do!

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  16. Great quilt, and how sweet/thoughtful is that little "label" on the back. I love things with little hidden meanings. :) And what lovely memories you'll both have from that photoshoot. lol

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  17. I think this could fall under best birthday present ever! I've tried to get my mom into quilting but so far it's a no go. If she ever made me a quilt I would probably fall over. I love the little label on the back with the X's. Perfect touch. I've never tried a wool batting, but you have me thinking maybe I should. Congrats on a great finish!

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  18. This turned out beautifully! Love the XXX on the back! Your daughter & my son are the same age. ;-)

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  19. I loved reading this. And the label! :)

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  20. It is a beautiful quilt. You should be so proud of it. I have never used a wool batting before, only cotton, I would love to hear your views on the pros and cons.

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  21. First up, I love that it was your daughter who taught you to quilt! That makes it even more special that you made her this gorgeous quilt. I really love the all the negative space that allows the design to breathe.

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  22. What a beautiful quilt! I have been meaning to try wool batting as everyone raves about it. Those are the cutest photos of the quilt and a windy day!

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