Quilt Festival

Park City Girl is holding her First Annual Quilt Festival. What a fun idea! I chose to blog about a quilt that I made quite awhile ago.

This quilt is an odd selection in many ways because I made it in 1995/96 as a senior in college. It was my first quilt and I didn't really know any of the proper quilt making techniques. I used polyester batting which I never used again but I am not sure that my fabric store even carried the cotton type at that point. I didn't know how to machine quilt so I simply tied the quilt at regular intervals with embroidery floss. And I didn't know how to bind a quilt so I just stitched right sides together, turned it, then stitched the opening. I also didn't really think about how it would wear under regular use. I hand sewed nearly every block and used lots of ribbons, lace and other trims as well as beads. Then I got scared about ruining so we have never used it! It has been new and unused for 13 years. Well, this festival gave me the courage to try to wash it in order to photograph it. I put it in our new front loading washing machine (something I didn't have at the time I made it and when the decision that it should never be washed!) and then dried it on low. It seems to have made it through ok.





This quilt is difficult to photograph because I used only ivory fabrics and trims. The majority of the fabrics in each block are ivory on ivory prints. There is a lot of variation when you look up close. Most of the variation in fabrics is lost in these photos. Each design is an original and inspired by various things. I have a couple of Biblical references in there: a cute spin on Noah's Arc, the Apple Tree in the Garden of Eden, and a Celtic Cross. Then there is a bunch of grapes made using tiny little yo-yos that was inspired by an etched drinking glass that belonged to my mother. A dress form represents my love of sewing. A photograph of me as a young child weeding my mother's rock garden inspired another block. Other reference to my love for gardening include a rose, a sunflower, a daylily and a pansy. Some are simple, modern designs/shapes. Then there are the random designs that I made just because: a mushroom, an owl, a strawberry, a fan, a peacock, etc.





This quilt was made for a fall or queen sized bed with 49 unique blocks. I thought it would be my wedding quilt some day. My now husband helped me come up with some of the block ideas, along with my mom. My mom really encouraged me with this quilt, as she does with all my creative endeavours. That year for Christmas she gave me a selection of ivory on ivory fabrics and a bag full of beautiful ivory trims. I remember really enjoying designing and sewing each block. Looking at the quilt brings me back to 1995/96 in a flash. The quilt combined things that were important to me, my hobbies and loves, my hopes for the future (baby pram, rocking horse, baby blocks, curtained window, house), etc. It is fun to look back at it now, as I have been married for nearly 11 years and am a mother of two, soon to be three. Really, not much has changed except that my hopes for my future became my reality. I guess you could call this quilt a sentimental favorite.






I had fun digging this quilt out and looking it over again. Thanks for letting me share!