Friday, 28 October 2011

Quilt festival quilt - my biggest quilt treasure

Welcome to my little corner of the virtual quilting community - I am glad you stopped by.

My quilts mean a lot to me – and for a variety of reasons. Some because of the colors, the pattern, or the bold fabric, some because of who I made them for and how they were received (like Grandpa’s quilt or the quilt for my best friend). My quilts are little love letters and there is a piece of me in each of them and a ton of good thoughts to the receiver. So picking just one is hard.

There is however one quilt that is very special for me. And it isn’t about the fabric at all, it isn’t about the design. It’s ALL about the process and who I made it with. It’s the Star quilt.


I made this with my Mum, who daringly took on the project even if she had never quilted before. We live in different countries so a big part of the quilt is made while apart. We started off selecting the fabrics in February 2011. Every time we meet we would compare the progress and plan the layout. The weekend of the Royal wedding in the UK we started adding hexagons (funny how you remember things by events not by dates – I don’t even know what month it was. Only that I estimated that I would be able to make a quick run to the quilt shop before the wedding started). This autumn we made the final personal touch by embroidering our names onto it.


The process – good grief – almost got to me. All the piecing is done by hand and I don’t even dare to count the number of times I threaded the needle. Or the number of times I used the seam ripper.

  
 



Sometimes I wish that we had made it with more modern fabrics but I have to admit that even if this isn’t my favourite fabric choices the blue and brown colors are beautiful and deep. The quilt has calmness that none of my other quilts has. I can’t help but love it because I made it with my Mum.  It’s a quilt I will treasure for as long as I live.




Update august 2013: The quilt was at an exhibition in Sweden in June. Unfortunately I can't get the pictures from Picasa to show in this blog post. Her's the link to the gallery
https://picasaweb.google.com/114626731273016932343/Utstallning2013#

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45 comments:

  1. Selfsewn28 October 2011 at 14:38

    It's beautiful!
    I am entering my star/hex quilt that I also made this year, so I know all about the hard work!!

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  2. Steffi´s Candy Quilts28 October 2011 at 15:08

    Such a beautiful quilt and a very nice story behind it. This sure is a treasure. I love all the blues!
    Kindest greetings from Germany to Danmark, my favorite holiday country! :-) Come and visit my blog if you like, I bought the backing fabric of my entry quilt in Danmark! :-)

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  3. Lonci28 October 2011 at 15:22

    Your quilt is great, congratultions:)

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  4. trish28 October 2011 at 15:43

    What a beautiful quilt and so special!

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  5. Sandra28 October 2011 at 15:48

    Wow, nothing like starting off on an "easy" quilt. I hope your Mum will keep quilting. Beautiful!
    Come see my entries: #29 miniature reproduction quilt and #31 antique 1850 Star quilt

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  6. Mary28 October 2011 at 15:51

    this is such a timeless beauty!

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  7. Elizabeth Dackson28 October 2011 at 16:21

    That is so amazing!! Love that you got to share your love for quilting with your mom, that's so cool :)

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  8. Cecily28 October 2011 at 17:27

    Lovely, lovely, lovely!! I love the color pallet.. just beautiful!

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  9. Abby and Stephanie28 October 2011 at 19:28

    A very special quilt. So wonderful you could make such a lovely quilt with your mom.

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  10. Lynne (Lily's Quilts)28 October 2011 at 19:47

    I love love love this quilt, love the gentle colours and of course totally and utterly love the EPP and the fact you made it with your Mum.

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  11. Cascade Quilts28 October 2011 at 19:58

    LOVE this quilt! Why is it all of the quilts that draw me in, are almost always EPP'd! :)

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  12. Quiltbenaco28 October 2011 at 20:57

    Stupendo!

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  13. Rachaeldaisy28 October 2011 at 22:35

    What a heart warming and very beautiful quilt!! It's so lovely that you made it with your mother!!

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  14. Anonymous28 October 2011 at 23:37

    What a great way to make a really special quilt. So much work!

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  15. Kathy29 October 2011 at 03:17

    How wonderful that you and your mom were able to make this quilt together in spite of not living near one another. Congratulations on a beautiful finish.

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  16. Linda at Roscoe's Ma29 October 2011 at 03:26

    This IS a treasure! The quilt is beautiful and the story is even more beautiful. Thanks for sharing it!

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  17. Anonymous29 October 2011 at 04:32

    great quilt and fantastic memories

    well done to you and your mum!!

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  18. paulette29 October 2011 at 14:38

    This quilt is SEW worth all that hard work!! Magnificent!
    Paulette

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  19. Montseta - Montsecosecose30 October 2011 at 00:02

    Love it! So much work sewing everything by hand! A quilt to cherish definitely!

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  20. Eileen30 October 2011 at 00:43

    Great quilt and so lovely you could make it with your mom! Lots of work to make it. Like your pictures of thr process! Thanks for sharing and have a great day. Were fortunate to visit denmark a couple times when our family was stationed in germany, my husband is half danish, plus some wonderful danish farmers rescued his father after his plane crashed during ww2...so many thanks to your country

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  21. Kit Lang30 October 2011 at 02:48

    This definitely IS a treasure. Thanks for sharing it with us. :)

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  22. laura30 October 2011 at 02:09

    beautiful quilt!

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  23. Sarcastic Quilter30 October 2011 at 04:57

    Oh, I think this is as beautiful it gets as for a quilt. The fabrics, the making, the final product, all beautiful.

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  24. Karen30 October 2011 at 12:10

    I think your quilt looks wonderful. You are so lucky to be able to do this together with your mum.

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  25. Katie30 October 2011 at 19:26

    It's a beautiful quilt and I love the fabrics you used. I think it's wonderful that you and your mom made it though living in different countries. It's truly a treasure.

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  26. Sharon30 October 2011 at 22:14

    What a beautiful quilt! Is it all hand-pieced? Impressive! And how wonderful that you got to work with your Mom on it. It really is a special quilt!

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  27. Julie Fukuda31 October 2011 at 00:52

    A quilt made with Mom, or in my case, a daughter, would be so special. I have helped daughters on projects but we have never made something together except for a mutual friend.
    Putting in all those hexagons would require lots of encouragement to keep going.

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  28. quirky granola girl31 October 2011 at 06:17

    what a beautiful quilt to treasure for a lifetime.

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  29. mascanlon31 October 2011 at 17:22

    What a treasure, I love the fact you made it together even though you were apart...funny the things that bind us together in such important ways.Thank you for sharing.

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  30. Katie @SwimBikeQuilt31 October 2011 at 19:24

    what a labor of love. beautiful.

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  31. Lyanna L.31 October 2011 at 19:37

    What a gorgeous quilt! And such a touching way of making it together - love the hand piecing and it is so great. Thanks for sharing.

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  32. a maidenhair fern2 November 2011 at 02:45

    Wow, this is beautiful. I looked at the first picture and thought, "I'd like to make one like that, then, as the picture went by, UUHH, well, maybe I"ll just admire it. Nicely done.

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  33. Anonymous2 November 2011 at 21:14

    I love hand piecing too so I can appreciate the amount of work that went into a quilt that size. It is truly beautiful!

    Hazle

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  34. Little Island Quilting3 November 2011 at 19:02

    Great quilt and lovely story to go with it.

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  35. Lisa at Sun Naturals3 November 2011 at 19:03

    What a treasure! This quilt is stunning, all the more so because of the hand piecing.

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  36. Needle little Balance3 November 2011 at 22:45

    This is so so so beautiful!

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  37. Staci4 November 2011 at 00:13

    This quilt is just amazing. I love that you made it with your mom. What a great story! Thanks for sharing it.

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  38. Tina in Boston5 November 2011 at 03:58

    Gorgeous! I love the colors - the fabrics are great! It's so nice that you could make it with your mom. I like to make a craft project with my mom when she comes to visit.

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  39. Anonymous7 November 2011 at 02:02

    I want to make this!! I am always impressed by hand-pieced works, but I do not currently have the patience to start one of my own. I love the design and color choices you and your mother came up with. It is a wonderful memory to be able to share with her, too :-) Thank you for sharing with all of us as well!

    ~ meagan

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  40. Maureen T.9 November 2011 at 05:47

    Your quilt is a treasure! Thanks for sharing it!

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  41. Martha18 November 2011 at 11:51

    Your quilt is so beautiful...thanks for sharing it and the lovely story with us.

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  42. Podunk Pretties4 August 2013 at 15:02

    I simply love ready your story of your mum, love the quilt.

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  43. Karen - Quilts...etc.4 August 2013 at 15:07

    beautiful quilt - lots of work!

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  44. Michael Desjardins4 August 2013 at 18:20

    This comment has been removed by the author.

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  45. Susana7 August 2013 at 21:47

    Precioso!

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