My friend Brenda received her anniversary quilt in December (in only a WEEK!!!) and saved it to open on Christmas Day. She was really pleased with it- and now I am at liberty to share it and it's story with you.
Here is a photo of the completed quilt on my bed:
I chose each block specifically for the story and there are 14 of them because they were married on the 14th of September.
Starting from top left and going across, row by row (like reading), I will tell the story with the block names in capital letters- sometimes they are in the main part of the story, sometimes they will be in brackets. I will write the story in paragraphs to indicate a new row.
Once upon a time, HANDY ANDY (Brenda's husband's name is Andy and he is a contractor), and LADY OF THE LAKE (Brenda grew up in a farmhouse on a small lake and had a lot of parties) fell in love and decided to get married (BRIDAL PATH).
Though they could be as different as NIGHT & DAY, they promised to love each other through SUNLIGHT & SHADOWS. So Brenda and Andy got married on September 14th, 1985 (a HEART block with wedding date in free-motion quilting) and made a home together (LOG CABIN).
Brenda was sometimes a CONTRARY WIFE, but a loving one always. They had three lovely children, Matthew, Jessica, and Adam (a BUTTERFLY block with kids' names), and Brenda was living a MOTHER'S DREAM. The family was able to enjoy many hours together at their favorite summer getaway (CROSSED CANOES).
No matter how busy Brenda got, she always had time to go out for dessert and Diet Coke with a friend (CAKE STAND, FRIENDSHIP).
The Maple Leaf block is because they are Canadian. This story is paraphrased because even though I took a photocopy of the label (which is this whole story plus other details), I can't find that paper right now and I DIDN'T remember to take a photograph of it. Good grief.
On the right side (as you are looking), is an applique vine and flowers- 14 flowers for the 14th again, and 25 leaves for the twenty-five years they have been married.
As any of my blog followers know, I am terrible at following patterns- I always think that I don't need to, or that I can do better, or worse, that I actually know what I am doing without it... lol But it does come back to bite me often- you'd think I would learn! lol This quilt is obviously my own design and it really didn't come out exactly the size I had hoped, but overall, I am pleased with it. And more importantly, Brenda is!
Here are some closer shots of some of the free motion I did in the sashing and on the floral side:
Here is the quilt on my lap while sewing on the binding.
I love making quilts, though I haven't made enough of them for it to feel like an easily-flowing task yet. I still find it overwhelming, but oh so satisfying at the end!
I will be back, I have been doing LOTS of things in the past month, just haven't made time to post!
