A Memorial Quilt

I think we've all seen the elusive traveling quilts, where a small group of quilting friends get together to piece together quilts. Each person starts with a theme and a color scheme and creates the center. They mail it to the next person who adds to it, and then it continues on through the circle until it makes it back to the owner, much larger than when it starts. I say elusive, because there don't seem to be that many but they always look so interesting and spectacular. I was always intrigued by them.

And then, my dad died. He had early onset dementia and was not doing well, but he died from a stroke. We all had a chance to say goodbye, it wasn't a sudden death from the stroke and we felt very blessed. But, I was five months (or so?) pregnant with my twins and was already extremely uncomfortable. I didn't feel able to really mourn the way I wanted to, which was to go to the mountains, his favorite place. So I sat and mourned as best I could. I brainstormed quilting ideas. 

First I made a mountain mini quilt, designed by Amy Ellis. I love it and it hangs in my living room. 

And then I thought of those traveling quilts. And the wheels started turning. I started brainstorming memories that could be turned into quilt blocks. Mountains, obviously, specific phrases, favorite books, favorite foods. I originally thought I might assemble it as a traveling quilt but quickly realized that it would be best to assemble the blocks and then try to work out how they all fit together. 

So I made blocks. Lots and lots of blocks. For nearly four years. Periodically I would see a pattern that was perfect and it would get added to the list. Lots are paper pieced and by the end, I was really done with paper piecing. In my mind, it's a necessary evil. I love how the blocks finish but I sure don't love making them. Here are few I liked a lot (not necessarily the making part, but the design, haha). Hufflepuff was from Fandom in Stitches (which has reliably good paper piecing patterns, usually for free) and the aspen leaves are by Center Street Quilts, available on Etsy. The lettering is all paper pieced as well, designed by From Blank Pages.

I also really liked this camera block, a free block of the month block from Fat Quarter Shop years ago as part of one of their charity fundraisers.

Finally, I finished the last block. Somewhere between the first block and the last, I purchased an embroidery machine and so there are several machine embroidered blocks I designed. I love what they add. Possibly my favorite is this digitized version of an illustration from the book Me and My Dad by Mercer Mayer. It took HOURS of digitizing, and at least four attempts at the multi-hooping before I got it right.

Once they were all finished, I laid them out and they fit pretty well together, I got pretty lucky. I added strips of fabric here and there to make them fit, but it wasn't as hard or awkward as I feared. I'm really glad I assembled it this way, I never would have thought of the camera strip otherwise, and I think it's a fun detail. And it turned out to be a great size: generous lap size. Nearly twin? Maybe it is a twin. But it lives in the living room, not on a bed. 

I took it to Marion McClellan, who is absolutely fantastic with custom quilting. She gets all my really special quilts, and she did a great job with this one. 

I love it. I love pulling it out and remembering. And I love pulling it out and telling my daughters the stories of their grandfather. They were too young (or not born yet) and only remember him in his illness. He was among the best of men, and, as Billy Joel says, only the good die young. I ache that they will never know his goodness. 

In Memory, long arm quilted by Marion McClellan, started in 2018, completed March 2021.

Around the World BOM

When Whole Circle Studio announced an Around the World monthly sampler, I knew I had to sign up. The quilt is stunning, and I couldn't pass it up, I think I signed up the first day and got to take advantage of the early bird pricing.

I was not excited to sew more paper pieced blocks, I had just finished a bunch for a memorial project I'll post later, but I thought it would be worth it. I think it was. Originally, I figured with only one block per month, it wouldn't be too tiring, but by the end, I was so done with paper piecing. I wouldn't mind never paper piecing ever again. I know I will. But I'm sure not antsy to do it. :)

I chose really similar colors to the original, subbing in some for others I didn't love. They're all Kona cottons. And I redid completely one of the blocks because I wasn't happy with how it looked, especially with all the other blocks around it. I originally made Dubai with an orange background, and it ended up being too similar to the Cairo. I redid it in pink instead and had just enough to complete it. 

One change I made was using letter patterns I already owned instead of the one designed by WCS. I didn't love some of her letter shapes, and I already had one I really liked, by From Blank Pages. So I did a little math and increased the size of the pattern so it would fit better into the blocks. It also meant I had to be flexible and measure to get the piece the right size and shape to fit into the block. It was difficult, and I think it was worth it. I love it with the letters!

I also decided to add a nice, wide border to it. When the top was completed, I was underwhelmed by the size. If you've been around my blog much, you know I like BIG quilts. Oversized lap quilts are my preferred size, and by oversized, I mean practically twin. Or, if it's square, practically queen. ;-) And after all the work of the paper piecing, I just wanted the finished product to be larger. So I added a nice wide border in a light gray. I love how it turned out, and the size is much more me. 

I knew, after all the work, I had to send it to Marion McClellan for custom quilting and she did a stellar job. I love the winding road in the border with the pebbling, it's perfection. I am never disappointed with her quilting. 

Before I took it to her, I consulted her on the backing; I had purchased more fabric than I needed intentionally because paper piecing is such a fabric hog, and I had lots leftover. I asked her if it would be awful to pair pretty dense paper piecing with a pieced backing and described what I was thinking and she was supportive! Of course she acknowledged normal backings are easier but also said she thought it would look amazing and that if it were her, she'd definitely consider it. So I went for it; I figured how large the back needed to be and then divided that evenly and cut a bunch of squares to make a pieced back. I do like it; it's different than I pictured, and I might like it more if I hadn't tried to use up my least favorite colors, haha. But, in the interest in not wasting fabric, I went with what I'd like most to get rid of. 

I really love how it turned out, and I love having it in our living room!

Come Fly With Me, designed by Whole Circle Studio, long arm quilted by Marion McClellan, completed March 2022