The Guilt Quilt

Oh boy!  Throwback Thursday is here!  I have so many from years gone by, it was hard to decided which to share next.  I decided the infamous 'Guilt Quilt' would be worth a revisit!

By this time, I was well on my quilting journey (2010), quilts had been made for everyone imaginable...except my own kids!  My daughter Britt, made me a second quilt for Christmas hoping once I received it, guilt would set in and I would make one for her.  

She choose Tanya Whelan's ~ Dolce fabric and told me to go to town!  I was referred to Fresh Modern Quilts on Flickr for inspiration, which was so overwhelming!  The task at hand, design something...for the first time...EVER!

It was agonizing designing my first quilt!  I wanted to knock her socks off, impress her and surprise the hell out of her!  

Eventually (and I mean weeks), I came up with a rectangle inside a rectangle.  The inside piece is place differently inside the blocks.  Center, horizontal, vertical, top, bottom...all over the place.  

  

Finishing the blocks was pure relief!  You would have thought that was the end of it, but no you would be wrong.  Just finishing the blocks was not enough.  Always wanting to impress my dear daughter, I had to come up with a layout!  

I could have gone simple.  Rows of blocks.  But that 'knock her socks off' thought kept creeping in!   This is where husbands cower and hide!!  Usually!  Mine helped me!  He suggested the diagonal layout.  Seriously, I think he got the T-Square out too!  He even drove me to get the grey fabric for the sashing!

How many times have we said how much we love the backing of a quilt as much as the front? I did, she did!  Plus, I didn't have any scraps left over after this!  

Eventually there came a time when the quilting needed to happen.  I hadn't really played with designs at this point, but came up with what I called my 'Chicken Scratch' quilting.  

Which was inspired by this print.  Randomly placed all-over lines.  It worked.

This quilt gave me confidence.  It started me on the path of designing my own quilts.  It was the beginning of what has become a daily adventure!

You know how I know she loved it?!   

This picture said it all! 

I look back on this quilt with pride and joy!  

Britt said this on her blog: 

'This is one of the best gifts I've ever received.  Mama, you outdid me.  Moreover, you outdid yourself!' 

End of story.  

LINKING:

Throwback Thursday

Needle & Thread Thursday