A keepsake quilt.
Monday, January 4, 2010 at 3:00PM I've wanted to make a special Christmas quilt for my mother-in-law for a very long time. I actually bought the fabric for it when I was pregnant with Will two years ago. Since she is a mother of all boys (and her two boys have all boys!), we have a lot in common. Specifically, I know what it's like to live in a house where the majority of the occupants don't get all worked up by the nice linens and other whatnots that adorn their home. It's a big deal when my MIL or I visit the other's house because when we haul out our pretty kitchen and bath towels, for once, someone else notices. So I wanted to give her something pretty.
I also wanted to make her a quilt because, quite simply, it's hard to express just how grateful I am to the woman who gave me my husband, and in turn, my family.
So this year, when a blizzard came to town the weekend before Christmas, I decided not to freak and fret over the snowed-in weekend and no-go errand runs. Rather, I tallied up the suddenly free hours from two rescheduled Christmas parties and had a crazy thought. While the older boys played outside until they were blue...
I found my stash of fabrics...
and cut and sewed and ripped out stitches and cursed and sewed some more...
I decided on a crazy quilt because I didn't have time to plan any blocks. Morgan's quilt for her newest little one, over on One More Moore, provided the inspiration for the design. I just cut the fat quarters into 2 1/2 inch strips, then sewed three different strip patterns together. I then cut the pieces into 6 1/2 inch square blocks and pieced them together, alternating their orientation. I originally planned to make the quilt the size of a throw, but Charlie convinced me that that's basically a useless size for snuggling on the couch because throws can keep a full-sized man's upper or lower body warm, but not both. Noted. So, to increase the size, I added a border of white and made some blocks for the corners. It was all done on the fly and I'm sorry that there are no pictures of that--sort of short on time as it was--but here is the finished quilt top.
I continued to de-stash by piecing two fabrics together for the backing and used some store-bought tape for the binding--which I sort of hate but whatever. I almost went through the roof when I came up four inches short of completing the binding. Seriously, four inches. And in case it's not obvious, that is when the cursing occurred.
Luckily, after my in laws arrived on the 22nd, I was able to pop into Joanne's to pick up another pack of binding to covertly finish the quilt after everyone went to bed on Christmas Eve.
Here is a shot of the backing. You can see that I just quilted in the ditch--practicing free-motion quilting is on this year's to-learn list as I have no idea how some of you do such a lovely job of it! I used organic cotton batting and made sure to prewash my fabric, but not the batting, so that when I washed the completed quilt, it would get all wrinkly and yummy.
In the corner, I placed a little poem that Charlie helped me write. To print it on fabric, I ironed white cotton fabric onto freezer paper, then cut it down to 8 1/2 x 11 inches so it would feed into our ink jet printer. I printed the wording directly onto the fabric and heat set it with my iron. Before turning it into a patch for the back of the quilt, I prewashed it to check for color-fastness. I was very happy to find it held up perfectly in the wash.
My mother-in-law absolutely loved the quilt and I was so happy we could be with her the year we gave it to her! This was the largest quilt I've made to date...before this attempt, I'd only made a handful of baby quilts. But now I think I'd like to make quilts for the boys' beds. And I fully intend to give myself more than a few days to do it!
ETA: I'm linking up to Kimba's DIY day here.
ETA: I'm linking up to Kimba's DIY day here.
Reader Comments (3)
Oh Sandra, I just ADORE it!! It turned out lovely- you should be so proud!!
xoxo
Morgan
You touched my heart and I don't even know you! I can only imagine how deeply this gift with the lovely poem touched your MIL's heart. I know she will treasure it always.
You have a great eye for selecting fabrics. The quilt is just beautiful.
The quilt is so beautiful! Your mother-in law is very lucky to have a daughter-in-law as sweet as you, and I'm sure you must feel the same about her, to make her such a loving gift.