This quilt started life as a foundation paper piecing QAL with hosted and designed by Becky. I ended up going for a bed sized quilt and it took me over a year to finished. Around the same time, we had a lot of bereavement in the family and I decided to use this quilt to give to a cousin Kathleen in memory of one of our mutual Aunts who Kathleen was very close to.
Becky lives in the US, Kathleen and myself in the UK, but I knew it would go to Kathleen's cottage in Ireland so green, white and gold seemed a good colour choice.
All the fabrics on the top came from stash and I'm sure I broke all the rules; there are solids, batiks and prints of all descriptions in there. I organised my greens and yellows into three piles, light medium and dark and used about 7 or 8 fabrics in each pile. I think I counted 51 or 52 fabrics in total.
To make it specific to my Aunty Martha, I used a sheet from her home I found when I cleared it out.
I pieced it, then quilted in four sections using Aurifil variegated thread in yellow and green. I spent months deciding on how I would quilt it and practised different things. I managed to put the four quilted pieces together in such a way that you can't tell it was quilted separated. Its a lot easier to manage small pieces on a domestic sewing machine.
Working on the quilting in particular was quite emotional, I thought of Martha a lot but in a good way. A lot of tears were shed over it but sometimes tears are healing, it was certainly the case for me.
Blogger’s Quilt Festival Stats
Memories of Martha
Finished quilt measures : 60″x72″
Special techniques used : foundation paper pieced.
Best Category : Bed Quilt, Home Machine Quilted
19 comments:
Beautiful quilting. Beautiful colours. Beautiful story.
Oh, wow! Your quilting is amazing!
I still think this is the most gorgeous thing I've seen in a long time. Absolutely fabulous and the feeling behind it all makes it even more beautiful.
Shevvy, it's fabulous! The quilting is seriously impressive!! What an amazing gift and I'm sure making it helped you through the grieving process too. Gorgeous - bet you win!!
Oh wow Shevvy your quilting is amazing. All that practice quilting has well and truly paid off. What a beautiful quilt and really lovely story.
Every time I see that quilt, I am amazed. It has so much movement. Lane
It is a beautiful quilt and story Shevvy x
It's absolutely stunning and the quilting is just exquisite.
WOW, your quilt is amazing!
Absolutely lovely Shevvy and a lovely tribute to your aunt too.
Cheers
What a beautiful quilt .. such intricate quilting. Lovely story too.
I like this one as much as I did the first time I saw it. Green and Gold is such a striking colour combination.
You did a great job on all that quilting and Im not surprised this one is a favourite.
This is absolutely gorgeous! Love the yellow and green together
Your detailed quilting is amazing! What a lovely way to remember your aunt.
Yep, I'm with everyone else, it's simply fabulous. I may have decided on a block to teach paper-piecing but you took it to a whole new level with your fabrics and quilting. If I ever decide to create patterns, I'm coming to you for collaboration!
I still hope to see it in real life one day. A double-visit to Ireland to meet up, I think.
You know I love this quilt and I am so pleased to see it again in the Festival. I just love the way the colours work and the quilting is stunning.
Shevvy - I think your quilt is absolutely stunning, both the piecing and the quilting you have done is magnificent - it is sooo detailed and perfect. I am in AWE!!
Shevvy, when I saw the first photograph my bottom jaw dropped! Your choice of colour, colour placement and quilting has created a surface that looks like a precious jewel when the sun sparkles through it. Absolutely magnificent. Without a doubt, you have done both yourself and your Aunty Martha very proud.
What a beautiful, cheerful quilt - and I'm sure just how your aunt would want to be remembered.
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