Family Projects and Heirlooms

Tonight's binding project was the finishing touches on a quilt that has made its way through the family. This isn't the first nor will it be the last project that is completed this way.

My mom, sisters and I live across the country from one another. Mom and my youngest sister live in Southern California, the middle sister lives in Houston, Texas and then there's me up here in Massachusetts. Since I started quilting they have showed some interest in but have never taken a class. I bought projects for them early on choosing easy quilt projects and usually walking them through some of the steps to the project on the phone or via Skype.

This latest quilt was bought for my sister, Cherie, for Mothers Day. I bought a My Sister and Me Design pattern called "Cherry Turnover" that used Oh Cherry Oh Moda pre-cuts. The project should have been pretty simple because no cutting was required. Cherie was early on in her pregnancy and I thought she'd like a project to do. I should have known my sister, somewhat of a workaholic, wasn't going to work on her project whatsoever before the baby was born. In fact she

Eventually the quilt got sent to my youngest sister and Mom who put the top together. After trying to explain how to miter the borders to no avail it got sent to me and I finished the top, selected and prepared the back and put it together. I quilted it a few weeks ago and completed it this evening while watching some TV. Two weeks from now it will finally make it to my sister in Texas.

This is just how our projects sometimes get finished and it really is nice to know that each of us have created these projects and they will forever remain in the family.May I be lucky enough to see these passed down to my sister's children.

Create quilts, make memories and enjoy!!

Finished!

Some projects take longer than others. This one has taken me over a year to complete and its been a great project to continue over the year. The bright colors in this quilt lightened my mood in the winter and cheered me up during Yinon's finals and the long months of recruiting. This quilt is the first I will attempt to sell. http://www.etsy.com/shop/shellieme I'm not trying to make a profit, just cover some of the expenses for my hobby, which will allow me to start another quilt.

This quilt was the first which contained a star like shape and it was the first in which I didn't follow the pattern precisely. I used the pattern Lucky Stars by Atkinson Designs, to include some of the fabric from the Tulip panel using fussy cutting. (See the bottom right corner with a butterfly the bottom left with a hummingbird and the center panel). I've titled this quilt, very originally I might add, "Tulips and Butterflies".

The short history of this quilt was that I was looking for a new project and had never made a quilt with star block so I picked up Lucky Stars. About the same time I purchased a few pieces of fabric from the Moda line with these beautiful tulips and butterflies. In less than a weekend I cut it all out. Then I started piecing the blocks together and again it took a few hours the following weekend. Putting the top or blocks together took a few months and was interrupted by our move to Cambridge, MA. I finally got the batting, top, and backing finished and I quilted Tulips and Butterflies over the winter. In the past month I found binding, trimmed the quilt up and today I finished hand sewing the binding. DONE!

This afternoon I put it up on sale at http://www.etsy.com/shop/shellieme and we'll see if I make any money to put towards my next quilt project. Cross your fingers, I'm ready for another project to challenge me - I think I'll try a bargello.

Happy quilting!