Projects Archives - Page 87 of 213

Anchor’s Aweigh Quilt

May 23, 2016 jennifer Quilting and Sewing

I saved it for a trip to the beach.

This quilt has been finished for months, but I could only photograph it in my favorite place.

For obvious reasons, I would think!

I love this quilt. I love all the quilts I make, and every time I finish one, I think I *might* love it best. But this one is special. All my life, trips to the beach have been precious to me. It’s a place where I feel more whole than I do anywhere else. As a missionary I fell in love with the Puget Sound, with water and bridges and ships at anchor in harbors. With all of the colors that come with life near water. All of it. And though I live at the foot of the dramatic Wasatch Mountains, I’m a “by the sea” girl with all my heart. And anchors? Well, the analogy of anchors has ever been dear to me, and I’ve been blessed with some pretty secure anchors in my life.

My friend Xenia quilted this for me, and I’m so happy with her work. As I requested, she quilted the rope winding around the anchor and alternating patterns in the colored stripes, much like the original Anchor’s Aweigh quilt by Tula Pink.

I love the way Xenia quilted alternating patterns into the alternating white and aqua stripes in the background. For the binding I used a navy rope print; it creates a subtle stripe look and continues the nautical feel of the quilt.

It’s a really big quilt and I hope it will be one that we enjoy for many, many years. The making of it was fun – my sister Kristen and I each made one at the same time. There were hundreds of two inch squares to piece, but it was completely worth it.

I’m thrilled with my anchor! Thanks for stopping by!

Jennifer

Scrappy Prosper Quilt

May 15, 2016 jennifer Quilting and Sewing

A little more than 18 months ago I met Cheryl. While I felt drawn to her when she first joined our Relief Society meeting, I had no idea how much her friendship would bless my life. Cheryl is one of those women who has more BIG problems to deal with than most of us do. And by big, I mean real, hard, obvious things, things that if she listed for you, would make you feel amazed that she hadn’t quit long before, and even more amazed that she wasn’t allowing every waking minute of her days to be defined by them. She has every reason to be a victim, to be cynical, negative, unhappy.

Except that she isn’t. She is amazing.

I learned so much from her during the months that she lived nearby. Being around her filled me with a desire to be better, to carry my own challenges more gracefully, to resist internalizing them so much, or letting them define me. I’m so, so glad that we met and became friends.

She moved away last summer, and so I made her a quilt. It’s a huge, scrappy version of my Wishing Well (or Prosper ) quilt block, much like my Scrappy Swoon from years ago. The purple and navy are colors that remind me of her, and the aqua I added because it’s me. I particularly love the scrappy low volume background. Lots of different fabrics in this quilt!

The quilt measures about 81″ square, and I quilted it on my domestic machine in a spiral. Not the easiest task, but it worked and I like the results. The binding is a soft white/aqua stripe that compliments the quilt nicely.

I’m grateful to have a few photos of this quilt. I know it’s being used and loved in its new home, and that makes me very happy.

Jennifer

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Established. {a finished variation of the wishing well quilt}

February 15, 2016 jennifer Musings on Life and Beauty, Quilting and Sewing

Every quilt has a story.

This one is no different. Perhaps it will interest you, or perhaps because I made it and experienced it, the story is only important for me. Either way, I’d like to share it.

Sometimes creative ideas come all in one, but sometimes several unrelated things all converge at the same time, and at the intersection, inspiration is born. This quilt, named “Established”, is a result of such an intersection, and it builds on the story I shared here of making my Wishing Well quilt . As you can see, this is a large, single block quilt. I have always been drawn to barn quilts. I love the way they look, and wondered, if I were to have one of my own, which block I would choose. A barn quilt, the prosperity block, 2 Chronicles 20:20, were sort of swimming around in my mind. Then I read about a contest being held, and to enter you simply had to make a quilt out of American Made Brand solids. I had never made a quilt entirely of solids, so I decided to try it and see what would happen.

The funny thing is, I don’t think I’ve ever been interrupted so much while trying to get something done! It was a crazy time of year, and school was starting, and it was that insane year (August 2014) that ALL EIGHT of my children were going to be in school, from kindergarten to 12th grade. I would race to my machine to sew, and within minutes someone needed something. Each time I took a deep breath, reminded myself that quilts can wait and mothering is my #1 priority, and went to meet the need. The deadline loomed and I thought I’d never make it. The deadline was extended and I hoped. I was interrupted. Again and again. At last the deadline came and passed and I had only begun to piece my backing. Oh well.

The kids got settled in school. I kept working on it. I decided to learn some new things, like carefully marking my straight line quilting, and learning how to free motion quilt some feathers. I made mistakes and told myself it wouldn’t have shown well, anyway. But I also loved it because it was so strong and bold. And that beautiful verse of scripture was now so deeply rooted in my associations with this quilt block that I thought of it every time I worked on it.

Finally it was finished, and it represented many firsts for me. The backing was my first try at improv piecing, a result of using every last scrap to make it fit. The quilting was a first. All solids were a first. Lots of things happened here that I’d never done before. I wondered if I would be disappointed that I hadn’t reached my goal, but to my surprise, I wasn’t at all. When I looked at it, it made me happy because it reminded me that I’d kept things in the proper perspective and stayed rooted in my values and in commitments I’d made about being a mother. I wanted it to have its own name, but also wanted it to be closely related to my Prosper (wishing well) quilt. So I called it, “Established.” And I love it. It’s the first quilt (other than a few minis) that I’ve hung in our home for display.

Also, I think this is my favorite picture I’ve ever taken of a quilt. I feel like the spot and the quilt were made for each other. I almost wished I could just leave it there, or paint one there, or take this place home with me so I could hang it there always. It makes me so happy.

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